(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

Mind Can Be Controlled By Constant Practice and Detachment

श्रीभगवानुवाच |

असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् |
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ||6.35||

śhrī bhagavān uvācha

asanśhayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate|| 6.35||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 6- Ver. 35:

Lord Shri Krishna said: What you say, O Kunti’s Mighty-Armed Son, is right; the mind is really difficult to control. It may, however, be controlled with practise and detachment.

Explanation

Shree Krishna does not deny the issue; in fact, he agrees with Arjun that the mind is difficult to regulate. However, despite the fact that many things in the world are tough to do, we continue to go forward. Shree Krishna promises Arjuna that vairgya and abhys can help him manage his mind. Vairgya is the Sanskrit word for detachment.
The elimination of attachment removes the mind’s unwanted wanderings. Practice, or a determined and persistent effort to change an old habit or acquire a new one, is referred to as abhyasa. The stubborn and turbulent mind must be brought to rest on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord by abhyasa, which is a very essential word for sadhakas. Vairgya is the practise of removing the mind from the world and bringing it to rest on God, whereas abhyasa is the practise of bringing the mind to rest on God.

Any change necessitates the acquisition of new skills and the abandonment of old ones. What we must learn and practise is abhyaasa, or discipline. Through the practise of continual dispassion, we must give up or relearn materialistic and desire-oriented thinking. Let’s take a look at abhyaasa, which means discipline. Our true self is revealed by the process of constant hearing, contemplation, and internalisation of knowledge (shravanam, mananam, and nidhidhyaasana).

We forget our true essence and believe we are this finite body, mind, and intellect due to the ignorance inherent in the human predicament. To overcome this ignorance, we must hear the knowledge of the eternal essence on a regular basis. However, before we can reach a point where we can hear such wisdom, we must first cleanse our minds of impurities such as selfish wants and the concepts of doership and enjoyership.

That is why Shri Krishna advised doing karma yoga to purify the mind of selfish desires first. Karma yoga leads to karma sanyasa, in which we gradually abandon the concepts of doership and enjoyership. Only then would the mind be able to think about and contemplate.

Verse & what we can learn

To stop our minds from being irritated, we must let go of our attachments to people, objects, and situations. We can gradually purify the mind of undesired wants, leaving room for reflection and meditation, using this double technique of continual discipline and dispassion.

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 more about controlling the mind.

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