The universe’s vastness and our smallness render irrelevant much of what happens in the universe. We don’t let, say, a comet shooting through the solar system distract us from our daily schedules.

Our mind is like a universe – it stores billions and billions of memories. Even forgotten memories are still stored somewhere in it, as we might recognize during nostalgic moments. Within our mental universe, unexpected thoughts such as irrational cravings or unfounded worries can pop up at any time. Such mental pop-ups may well be beyond our capacity to control, predict or even explain. Thankfully, they are often like shooting comets – they will pass, provided we don’t dwell on them. If we dwell inordinately on them, we unwittingly lend them our mental energy. Powered by our contemplation on them, they grow prodigiously. And craving for unimportant things or worrying about unlikely eventualities sucks outrageous amounts of our time.

Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (06.05) urges us to elevate, not degrade, ourselves with the mind. To elevate ourselves, we need to filter our mind’s thoughts based on their relevance. Central to evaluating relevance is purposefulness – when we know what we are doing and why, we can quickly decide what matters and what doesn’t.

Gita wisdom explains lucidly our role and goal within the universe – we are eternal souls who have transmigrated through many bodies and accumulated innumerable memories over many lifetimes. In our present human form, we are meant to attain immortal life by learning to love and serve Krishna. Only those thoughts that contribute to our service to him are ultimately relevant. The more we internalize that purpose of devotional service and harmonize our life with it, the more we become equipped to neglect our mind’s random flights of fantasy or worry, thus investing our time and life fruitfully.

Explanation of article:

Podcast:


Download by “right-click and save content”