We may sometimes doubt: “The mind is so wild. Will I ever be able to conquer it?”
Surely we can, reassures the Bhagavad-gita (06.36), provided we strive by appropriate means.
The mind provokes us by fantasizing about worldly pleasures. However, these fantasies of the mind are just that: fantasies. No matter how real and rapturous the fantasy of pleasure appears, the real pleasure in all worldly indulgences is meager and measly.
As we cannot live without pleasure, the only way we can sustainably save ourselves from the provocative mind is by experiencing a higher happiness. The easiest way to experience this higher happiness is by chanting mantras comprising the holy names of Krishna. Among various such mantras, the Hare Krishna mahamantra is the most recommended mantra for the current cosmic age.
Chanting the mantra evokes the higher happiness in two ways, through remembrance and service:
1. Remembrance: All of us have an innate, inalienable relationship of love with Krishna. Just as the remembrance of a loved one warms our heart with joy, the remembrance of the supreme beloved Krishna warms our heart with the supreme joy.
2. Service: Love is expressed and intensified through service. As the Hare Krishna mahamantra is a manifestation of Krishna in sound, it offers us the opportunity to serve him by attentive hearing. By thus serving him, the resulting love intensifies and heightens our experience of the higher happiness, thereby silencing the noisy mind.
Thus, we can counter the power of the provocative mind to tempt us toward lower pleasures by the power of the evocative mantra to channel higher happiness.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 06 Text 36
“For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion.”
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