In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna talking about various aspects of meditation (“Yogam”), and in due course, we’ve understood what are the prerequisites for the same. As we proceeded forward with this important discussion, we’ve also witnessed how difficult it is to focus our mind while meditating. It is very tough to meditate with a thoughtless mind because of the fact that our mind can keep hopping on and hopping off from one thought to the other “seamlessly” at all times! Hence, achieving a state wherein our mind will completely be devoid of any thoughts, is next to impossible for normal people like us. This is why, Bhagawan Krishna is explaining that while we meditate, the easiest way to bring our mind under control is to portray Him in our mind. This is relatively simple because all of us might be knowing and having Bhagawan’s divine physical form as a portrait captured in some corner of our mind. Hence, it is always better to have Bhagawan in our mind and start meditating.
However, having said that, even if we try having Bhagawan in our mind, is it going to be easy for us to focus on Bhagawan’s portrait and continue meditating for a longer time? The answer is a big “NO” many times! Our mind is so notorious that it is going to slip from one thought to the other, as mentioned earlier, and hence, it is not going to stick with Bhagawan’s portrait image for a longer time. Our thoughts are going to take us around the world! 🙂 Now, the question comes as to how do we bring our mind under control. This is where we have a simple technique – We need to have a continuous watch on our thoughts and thought patterns. For instance, whenever we sit for our “Yogam”, initially we might start with imagining Bhagawan’s portrait. However, after a few minutes, our mind starts wavering somewhere else and the portrait of Bhagawan is gradually forgotten. At this point, we should develop that awareness of watching our thoughts drift. We should be able to understand within ourselves as to how our thoughts are shifting from one point to the other seamlessly. As we start watching ourselves every now and then, we would gradually be able to draw a pattern in which our mind is slipping away from Bhagawan’s thought. Once we draw the pattern, we have an opportunity to change this pattern and redirect our mind towards Bhagawan.
This is of course a very slow and a gradual process and it would definitely take a lot of time. For some of us, we might be able to do it within 5 to 10 days, and for many of us it might even take months and years to achieve this level! However, the point here is that we should not lose our focus. We should not get demotivated along our path. As mentioned, the path is tough and is definitely going to take a lot of effort. Controlling the mind is not as easy as we think it might be. This is where, Bhagawan Krishna talks about perseverance and patience. Perseverance is nothing but how we’re able to perform our “Yogam” on a consistent basis without leaving the practice mid way and abandoning it. Patience is nothing but how we’re staying calm and composed even if we’re not able to achieve success in this pursuit for a long time. Thus, both these qualities are extremely important for a spiritual “Saadhak” according to Bhagawan Krishna!
Thus, the point here is very simple – When it comes to performing our “Yogam”, of course, it is easier said than done. Performing our “Yogam” entails a lot of effort, commitment, perseverance and patience. Many of us might still know all these, but we might be reluctant to start doing it. We’ve to start somewhere, shouldn’t we? Hence, let us take this as an opportunity to start our “Yogam” practice from today, after reading through Bhagawan Krishna’s divine words of wisdom. Only when we start, we would get to know the actual difficulties on the ground and we would be able to strategize our way through. Without even starting and putting any sort of effort, all whatever we’re reading here is going to be a mere waste of time and energy! Hence, let us take this conscious effort starting from today and let us push ourselves to commence the practice of the “Yogam”, which is the essence of the sixth “Adhyaaya” of the Bhagawad Gita. We shall wait till the next episode to move on further with our discussion! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 