See sense gratification as spiritual deprivation
“You are depriving yourself of so much pleasure,” the mind whispers when we practice spiritual life seriously and regulate sense gratification. We may neglect the [...]
When the mind makes the irrational seem rational, catch it in its irrationality
When we do something irrational, we may wonder, “Why did I do such a thing?” Because the mind may have stupefied us by using some [...]
The defect of dallying with the mind is that it makes the dallier a defector
We are all in an inner war with the mind, which the Bhagavad-gita (06.06) indicates is often our enemy. In this war, scriptural rules that [...]
Expect meditation to be challenging before it becomes comforting
Seekers often ask, “Meditation is supposed to be rejuvenating, but I sometimes find it boring, even tiring. Why is that?” Because our misdirected mind distracts [...]
To eliminate mental phantoms, contemplate the transcendental person
The mind often makes problems far bigger than what they actually are. We get a negative appraisal, but the mind chews and stews on it [...]
Reposition the mind as the object of observation instead of its subject
Seekers often question: “My mind keeps getting distracted from Krishna. What can I do?” Make the mind the object of observation, answers Gita wisdom. Usually, [...]
The mind herds us and hurts us and hurts others through us
Under the influence of the mind, we often do things that hurt us and hurt others too. For example, being impelled into a fit of [...]
Muster determination to master distraction
Distraction is one of the biggest problems on the path of devotion. When we strive to fix the mind on Krishna internally, then we feel [...]
The mind may replay, but we don’t have to play
Sometimes some nasty images come in our mind and make us feel appalled at ourselves: “What kind of devotee am I to be thinking such [...]
Let the intelligence’s discrimination lead through the mind’s delusion to the heart’s devotion
We all have an inner enemy within us – some mysterious presence that impels us to act against our best interests. Different traditions refer to [...]
The defect of distraction distorts the defender into a defector
The life of a spiritual seeker is the life of a warrior – a warrior defending the territory of the consciousness against the forces of [...]
The mind needs not what it heeds and heeds not what it needs
The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) cautions us that the mind can be our worst enemy. How does the mind act inimically? By misdirecting our attention and energy [...]
The mind’s misdirection is not just mild but also wild
On the spiritual path, the mind misdirects us from our intended focus on Krishna to thousands of distractions. In fact, the mind distracts not just [...]
To go beyond thinking wisely and acting foolishly, strive for purification through devotion
“I knew that doing that would be stupid, still I ended up doing it. Why?” This exasperating question often confronts us when we succumb to [...]
Weaken your weaknesses – don’t let your weaknesses weaken you
In a war, an army wins not just by the determination of its soldiers fighting on the forefront, but also by the steadiness of the [...]
Work on mind control enthusiastically while Krishna works on mind conversion expertly
We all have first-hand experience how the mind impels us to self-defeating actions. So when the Bhagavad-gita (06.05) warns us that the mind can be [...]
Bhakti transforms our solitary struggle with the mind into a cooperative conquest
“What is the best way to control the mind?” To this universal question of all spiritual seekers, the Bhagavad-gita answers: bhakti-yoga. Let’s see how and [...]
Conscientiously correct the mind’s incorrect auto-correct
Computer text editors have an auto-correct feature meant to rectify inadvertent typing errors. But sometimes, especially on encountering an unfamiliar word, the auto-correct does the [...]
When the mind cries wolf, know that the mind is the worst wolf
We know the story of the boy who cried wolf, misinforming villagers about a marauding wolf when actually there was no threat. The mind does [...]
The mind can defeat us in a battle, but we alone can defeat ourselves in the war
We grow internally by living with moral and spiritual integrity. Such principle-centered living necessitates an inner war against the mind which stubbornly sticks to its [...]
Let’s not renew what we need to remove
The nature of the mind is to wander unsteadily and unstoppably. During its wandering it frequently goes to memories that are emotionally potent. These may [...]