Even if we can’t keep our mind in Krishna through absorption, we can still keep Krishna in our mind through attention.
The process of spiritual growth centers on an increasingly focused contemplation on and recollection of the supreme spiritual reality, the all-attractive divinity, Krishna. The summit of the spiritual journey is reached when our entire being is immersed in Krishna, especially when our inner world, which is directed by our emotional faculty (the mind) and our rational faculty (the intelligence), is immersed in Krishna. The Bhagavad Gita 12.8 assures that in such a state of immersion, we have already attained Krishna; we are already living in Krishna.
It is not that Krishna is merely a destination that we will attain in the future, at the end of this life, where we will be transported to his eternal abode. While there is truth to that understanding, a more evolved understanding is that when our mind and intelligence are completely absorbed in Krishna, we have realized Krishna as the supreme reality and are already experiencing his proximity, intimacy, and beauty, and are thus living in him.
Among our intelligence and our mind, it is the latter that is especially fickle. Indeed, it is far easier for us to focus our intelligence on Krishna and understand him to be the most valuable reality than it is for us to focus our mind on Krishna, given that it keeps wandering towards alternative objects, believing them to be more enjoyable.
That’s why, when our mind is placed in Krishna through absorption, it is considered the stage of samadhi or spiritual perfection. Thankfully, the Bhagavad Gita recognizes and acknowledges that such a state may be inaccessible for most of us at our present stage of practice and purification. That’s why the next verse provides us with a more accessible alternative: if we cannot keep our mind in Krishna through absorption, we can still strive to keep Krishna in our mind by cultivating attention in our devotion (12.9).
This means practically that even if our mind wanders to various other objects so that Krishna does not remain the sole object pervading our mind, we need not become so disheartened as to give up on our devotional efforts. Instead, we can at least try to ensure that Krishna is one of the components in our consciousness, even if he is not the sole component.
Even if we don’t have the conviction or realization to immerse our mind in Krishna, we can still have the determination and attention to ensure that among the various things present in our consciousness, Krishna is at least one among them. With practice, this presence of Krishna in our mind will grow until he rises to a place of prominence in our mind. Thus, with sustained practice, we will gradually rise from attention toward absorption.
Summary:
- The summit of spiritual growth is when our entire being, especially our fickle mind, is immersed in Krishna, delighting in him as the supreme source of pleasure.
- If our mind is not steady enough to be immersed in Krishna through absorption, we can ensure that Krishna is at least one of the components in our mind by cultivating attention to his presence.
- By sustained practice, Krishna’s presence in our mind will rise to prominence, and thus attention will evolve into absorption.
Think it over:
- How can we live in Krishna even in this life?
- Why does the mind play such a key role in our spiritual growth?
- How does the Bhagavad Gita provide us with an accessible pathway for growth in devotion?
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12.09 My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.
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