Be the master of your mind, not the slave, says Sri Krishna in Geeta

By Shirish B. Pradhan

Be the master of your mind, not the slave, says Sri Krishna in Geeta

–     Do no identify yourself with the body, which decays, changes and ultimately dies. Think that you are the immortal, changeless, beginnings, endless Soul or consciousness, which never dies.

–     Do not think about the fruit or result, give hundred person to the work, and you will get the best result.

–     Geeta consists of knowledge of Vedas and Upanishads in the form of a capsule, which is useful for all.

–     Follow your dharma or duty, do whatever is suitable for you, as per your nature. Don’t copy other’s, do as per your need. Following another person’ dharma will not bear good result, even if it looks the best.

–     Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna “to discipline your mind and sense organs so that you can become your own master, not the slave.”

Shrimadbhagwat Geeta is written some 5,000 years ago by Ved Byas in 18 chapters and 700 shlokas. It consists of a dialogue between Bhagwan Shri Krishna and warier Arjuna in the battle field of Kurukshetra. Geeta is popular among the people the world over across the wide spectrum of humanity irrespective of religious beliefs and sects.

Geeta consists of knowledge of Vedas and Upanishads in the form of a capsule, which is useful for all, be them religious minded people, politicians, managers, administrators, businessmen, intellectuals and the common people. It is said that Sri Krishna milked four Vedas in the form of a cow making Arjuna the patra to make available the nector of Vedic knowledge in the form of milk to the benefit of the entire humanity.

“Work for the sake of work, without keeping in mind the fruit of action or the result,” is the central teaching of Geeta. If you can fully concentrate on your work or the action, then the best of the fruit you can attain. Do whatever is expected from you, give your hundred percent to the action, without even thinking about the fruit, then only you will succeed in life, is what Geeta intends to teach. It doesn’t say that don’t enjoy the fruit. It tells us, not to focus on fruit, but to focus your whole attention to the work, the action, the duty. If you fully focus on work, if you give your hundred percent to the action than the fruit will bound to come in the best possible way.

Even if you don’t get the expected result from the action, you will not be frustrated or disturbed if you don’t bother about the fruit. The spiritual message of Geeta is that, yo will bind yourself to the worldly affairs and become confined to the birth and death cycle if you are attached to the fruit. Don’t contemplate about the fruit, don’t think about the fruit, just do the action and at the end you will be free,” says Sri Krishna in his teachings through Geeta.

Geeta also teaches us not to identify with the physical body, which is subject to decay and ultimately death. You are not the body, but you are the soul, the immortal, says Geeta. You cannot kill and cannot be killed either, says Geeta. The sword cannot cut you, the fire cannot burn you, the water cannot make you wet and the wind cannot dry you, because you are not the finite body, which is subject to death and decay, according to Geeta. Our body changes, mind and mood change, even the motions and ideas change, but what we actually are, the consciousness, the soul neither gets birth, nor changes or dies. You are the immortal soul, not the the combination of flesh, bone and blood, made up of the five elements, which is subject to change and is mortal, says Geeta.

Geeta teaches us to take things easily. Live in the present moment, what is past is just memory and the future is just imagination. The present moment is the only Truth, according to the teachings of Geeta. Don’t be affected by small changes in the surroundings like hot and cold, day and night, success and failure, joy and sorrow, which come and go all the time. Be the witness to all these things, without identifying with them. Such a person, who won’t be too much happy when the joy comes and won’t bee too much sad when sorrow comes, is known as Sthita Pragya. Be indifferent and be neutral to the ups and downs in life without identifying your self with the change in your surroundings or your mental conditions. You cannot change the world and you cannot change the sequence of events that are happening. What you can do is to change your perception, to change your attitude and your behaviour.

Geeta also tells us to do what is right for you, without copying others. The dharma or duty for others may not be the dharma for you. Do your own duty, do whatever is suitable for you. Do for what your are made of. When Arjuna throws away the weapons and tries to follow the dharma of a Sanyasi, who takes food by begging with others, Sri Krishna reminds him of his duty or dharma. DO your own dharma, and dont’ follow others’ even that looks excellent. Do what is suitable for you, as per your capacity and nature. If you try to follow other’s dharma it will not do good for you and for the society as well, says Sri Krishna

Finally, in Geeta Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna “to discipline your mind and sense organs” so that you can become your own master, not the slave. Our mind is our own friend and it is our own foe. The mind and sense organs, which have been conquered or disciplined become our friend, whereas the mind and sense organs which have not been conquered become our enemy, says Geeta. One who masters his own mind and sense organs can conquer the world. But if you can’t manage your own mind and sense organs then you can’t make any progress in life, says Geeta.

In Geeta Sri Krishna offers two solutions to properly train ones mind and sense organs. One is to discipline it through regular practice. If you can practice regularly such as doing Yoga, Pranayam and proper behaviour you can train your mind gradually, to become focused and to be calm and quiet. Another technique is to abstain deliberately from thinking about the subjects of gratification or enjoyment.

In one instance, Arjuna asks Sri Krishna:

Oh Lord, what forcibly makes us to perform such sinful acts even going against one’s own free will ? (Geeta Chapter 3.36) Sometimes, we become just helpless to do bad things even when we know that its results will be disastrous for us.

To this Sri Krishna has a solution:

If we repetitively think about the sense of gratification, than our mind will surely be attached to that subject, which results in desire and attachment. If there comes some obstacle on the way towards fulfilling our desire then comes anger, which destroys our ability to discriminate between right and wrong. Then we forget the morale or teachings of the scriptures or the Guru which ultimately leads to destruction or devastation (Geeta Chapter 2.62-63). Therefore, what is required is to give good thought to our mind or not to think about sense of gratification too much. Therefore, be watchful, whatever input you give to the mind the same output or result will come out.