Suppose we had a colleague with a take-charge attitude who pushed us into going along with their ideas. If they didn’t really know what they were doing, that would be bad enough. But if they didn’t take responsibility for problems arising from their decisions, that would be even worse. The worst would be if they pinned the blame for those problems on us.
Similarly outrageous is our mind’s conduct with us. Let’s see how.
Takes charge: For most situations we encounter, the mind has a ready impulsive reaction or is soon ready with one. Being impressed by its confidence, maybe even intimidated by its power posing, we often acquiesce to its promptings. Actually however, the mind is largely bluff and bluster — it doesn’t really know what is going on or what needs to be done.
Denies responsibility: When things go south, as they frequently do if we act impulsively, the mind nonchalantly shrugs off responsibility. It goes on with its dreaming and scheming, just shifting its attention to something else, while leaving us to clean its mess.
Blames us: If at all we pause to contemplate how we were impelled by the mind into short-sighted choices, the mind vehemently pins all the blame on us. Thrusting our thoughts back to our actions, it makes us feel crazy, guilty, angry —and gets us so caught in beating ourselves up that we don’t dwell on its shenanigans, neither past nor present.
Nonetheless, serious, steady reflection can help us realize that the mind is not leadership material; to the contrary, it is the antithesis of a good leader. Thereafter, we won’t let our mind assume the position of our inner leader, instead, we will strive diligently to become its leader — and rigorously refocus it whenever it wanders off, as the Bhagavad-gita recommends (06.26).
One-sentence summary:
The mind wants to take charge of everything but take responsibility for nothing — don’t be led by the mind; lead the mind.
Think it over:
Recollect one situation each when the mind:
- Tried to take charge of a situation despite not knowing what to do.
- Went on with its frivolity while leaving us in the mess it had created
- Consumed us in self-flagellation while getting away scot free.
***
06.26: From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
The tongue speaks at the cost of MIND