Many of our problems often seem to have an inbuilt mental glue. They stick to our minds constantly. Especially during our mantra meditation, we frequently find our mind doing mediation about problem-solving. The mind pretends to act as an intermediary between us and the problem. As a mediator, it promises to find a solution, but actually it makes us distracted, distressed and drained.

Gita wisdom helps us understand that the glue is present not in the problem, but in our own mind. When we misconceive that our sense of security depends on worldly conditions, then problems that threaten the worldly status quo appear overwhelming. So, we become mentally preoccupied, even obsessed, with tackling that threat, thereby unwittingly glueing our mind to it. When we try to meditate in such a situation, meditation starts seeming like a waste of time that blocks us from real problem-solving.

To meditate attentively amidst problems, we need to address the root problem: our misplaced sense of security. Putting our sense of security back in its proper place requires intelligence sustained by conviction (buddhya dhruti-grihataya), as indicated in the Bhagavad-gita (06.25). This involves two steps:

• Intellectual recollection: Reminding ourselves that the only authentic security is in our spiritual relationship with Krishna – that alone is lasting, everything else is passing.
• Mental reorientation: Redirecting our minds to seek security in Krishna through meditation.

This two-step inner change will help us see meditation in a fresh light: not as a distraction from the real issues of life, but as the most real issue of life that lays the foundation for dealing with all the other issues of life. This reformed vision will not only glue the mind to meditation, but also make it calm and clear so that it can mediate and solve the problems more effectively. 

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