The mind often behaves like a child, and our responsibility is to act as a vigilant parent. Just as parents must care for children who cannot care for themselves, we must protect and discipline our minds. Expecting the mind not to act foolishly is itself a form of foolishness.

Parents understand that children are immature, impulsive, and prone to mistakes. If they fail to supervise their children, tragic consequences may ensue. Similarly, we must supervise our minds, acknowledging their tendencies and guiding them responsibly.

The Bhagavad Gita (6.34) describes the mind’s characteristics: restlessness, foolishness, strength when indulged, and truculence. These traits align closely with how a child behaves. If left undisciplined, children may grow into reckless adults, and similarly, an untrained mind becomes increasingly difficult to control.

The mind’s characteristics: RUST

The characteristics of the mind can be summarized using the acronym RUST:

Restless: Like a child constantly flitting between activities, the mind struggles to stay focused.

Unintelligent: The mind lacks mature discernment, often getting carried away by trivial or harmful impulses.

Strong: When indulged repeatedly, the mind’s impulses grow stronger, making them harder to resist.

Truculent: Once fixated, the mind becomes relentless and aggressive, pursuing its desires at any cost, regardless of the consequences.

This trajectory of degeneration can lead to severe consequences, sometimes spanning lifetimes. However, hope is never lost. While an adult child may become irreformable for their parents, our minds can always be reformed with the help of divine grace. By understanding the mind’s tendencies, we can intervene early and redirect it before it descends into dangerous trajectories.

Training the mind: A parental approach

Like a responsible parent disciplines their child from an early stage, we must discipline our minds before their tendencies grow out of control. Preventive care—acknowledging the mind’s nature and setting boundaries—is critical. And when the mind seems too far gone, we can turn to God for guidance and strength, as He is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent.

Summary:

  • The mind is like a child, needing vigilant parenting to train and discipline it.
  • The mind’s characteristics—restlessness, unintelligence, strength when indulged, and truculence—can be summarized with the acronym RUST.
  • While unchecked impulses can grow dangerously strong, the mind is never beyond reformation, especially with divine intervention.

Think it over:

  • Why is dealing with the mind similar to parenting a child?
  • Explain the characteristics of the mind as described in Bhagavad Gita 6.34 using the child metaphor.
  • Recollect incidents when your mind exhibited each of these traits and plan how you can act as a firm parent when these characteristics arise again.

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06.34 The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.