(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

Every Time The Mind Wanders, The Intellect Must Keep A Close Eye On It And Bring It In

यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् |
ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् || 6.26||

yato yato niśhcharati manaśh chañchalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmanyeva vaśhaṁ nayet|| 26||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 6- Ver. 26:

Whenever and wherever the restless and unsteady mind goes, bring it back to God and keep it focused on Him.

Explanation

Meditation mastery does not happen overnight; the road to perfection is long and winding. We decide that the world is not our aim using the intellect’s discriminating power. Again, we recognise that God alone is ours, and God-realization is our aim, using the power of discrimination. As a result, we direct the mind’s attention on God.

The mind drifts away from God and returns to the world. This does not necessitate any effort; it occurs naturally. Shree Krishna requests that we not be disappointed. He claims that the mind is fickle, and that despite our greatest efforts to control it, it will stray off in the direction of its infatuation. We’ll have to do it again and again. The mind’s attachment to God will gradually get stronger. At the same time, its isolation from the rest of the world will grow. It will get increasingly easy to meditate as a result of this. But, first and foremost, we must be prepared for the mental war that lies ahead.

We begin to appreciate the rapidity with which the mind goes from thought to thought when we practise meditation. During meditation, Shri Krishna advises us to be highly cautious and aware of our thoughts. This vigilance must be cultivated as a habit. In other areas of our lives, we have developed alert behaviours. During meditation, we should be aware of stray thoughts. The mind is prone to wandering to ideas about objects, people, and circumstances that we value. Abhyaasa assists us in lowering our regard for wandering ideas.

Every time we have a stray idea, we should analyse it. We should examine each notion and declare that it is nothing more than a name and a form atop the everlasting essence. If thought is just about its name and form, it is not real; it lacks “satyatva.” And if it isn’t genuine, it doesn’t matter, so I shouldn’t pursue it.

In addition, if the same thought arises again, we should examine it and remark, “I have already established that this thought is not essential to me.” We acquire dispassion or vairagya towards that same notion if we do so every time it arises. Only then can meditation be effective.

Verse & what we can learn

The mind is unstable and restless by nature. Even if the mind is free of desire, it will wander. As a result, the intellect must keep an eye on the mind and reign it in whenever it deviates. The more prepared you are, the more successful your meditation will be.

Keep the atmosphere clean and use incense sticks to adorn the area. Turn on a lamp. Persuade the mind to return to the point of focus when it wanders. If one’s mind continues to wander, If the mind still refuses to follow, you may have to discipline it.

Intelligence is crucial in all of this. Begin a programme of intellectual development and preparation long before you start meditating. It will then assist you in the final part of your spiritual practise.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the Next verses, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna about transcendental happiness.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…