A field vulnerable to flooding needs to be protected by barriers. But if the barring walls are very low, the protection will be largely illusory.
Our consciousness is like a field for cultivating the yield of spiritual realization, culminating in the twin realizations: we are souls, parts of the all-attractive supreme, Krishna; and love for Krishna is life’s ultimate purpose and supreme joy. To cultivate this yield, our consciousness needs to be protected by barriers that block outer stimuli unfavorable for our spiritual growth – stimuli that are grossly, immorally sensual.
However, the default barrier at the entry of our consciousness is usually our mind. That is, if something feels good to the mind, we let it in. And if something feels bad to the mind, we keep it out. But the mind’s feelings are rarely a reliable parameter for discerning sense from nonsense – its barriers are ludicrously low. It will let in any stimuli that feels good, even if that activity is worthless or even harmful. And it will keep out any stimuli that feels unpalatable, even if that activity is eventually immensely beneficial.
The Bhagavad-gita (15.07) indicates that if we don’t act as eternal parts of Krishna, we get driven by our mind and senses. When we have no access the higher pleasure of absorption in Krishna, we get seduced by the mind’s promises of pleasure without considering consequences.
To protect ourselves, we need to recognize that we can’t rely on the mind alone. What, then, do we rely on? On Krishna’s guidance given in the Gita.
We need to equip our intelligence with Gita wisdom and engage this spiritually-informed intelligence as our protective barrier. When we thus practice bhakti-yoga as delineated in the Gita, in the field of our consciousness will grow eternal ecstatic love for Krishna.
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