The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) states that our mind can be our friend when it is controlled. To control our mind, it needs to be informed and reformed. 

Informed mind: If uninformed, the mind is oblivious to the various dangers present not just in the outer world but also in our inner world. These dangers arise from the unhealthy impressions that exist inside us. Mainstream education doesn’t inform us much about these dangers. Even when it discusses mental health problems and traces their sources to traumatic experiences, it doesn’t adequately address inner weaknesses such as lust, anger, greed, envy, hubris and self-deception. We all carry these weaknesses, to varying degrees, from our previous lives. To inform our mind holistically, we need Gita wisdom. 

Reformed mind: Knowing that our mind is vulnerable to inner enemies is not enough; we need to reduce the influence of those enemies and raise our mind’s immunity to them or best do both — and do both till the inner war is won. We can reform parts of our mind by cultivating healthy habits that will overwrite 

unhealthy inner impressions with their healthier counterparts. But the most thorough and rapid reformation happens when we connect the mind with its source, the all powerful, all-pure divinity. While all yoga is ultimately meant for establishing that connection, bhakti-yoga focuses most directly on that divine connection and facilitates its development most resourcefully. Establishing our personal connection with the divine can thus be considered the best habit, the most empowering choice at our disposal, the finest tool in our toolkit for reforming our mind. 

One-sentence summary:

To make our mind a reliable friend, it needs to be informed and reformed: informed about dangers, especially inner dangers in terms of the vices we carry from our past; and reformed by cultivating healthy habits and especially the healthiest habit of connecting with the Divine.  

Think it over:

  • To be reliable, why does the mind need to be informed? 
  • To be reliable, why does the mind need to be reformed?
  • How can we best reform our mind? 

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06.06: For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.

When does our mind become our friend?

To know more about this verse, please click on the image