Way to Restrain our Monkey-Mind
Mind is the doer. Actions performed by the mind or with the association of the mind are considered as actions. Actions performed by the senses alone without the involvement of the mind are not considered as actions. But the mind, by nature, is fickle, unrestrained, and ponders over things. The fickleness of the mind can be compared to that of a monkey. That's why it is extremely difficult to control the mind.
Arjun raised the same question in Gita 6.34. Lord Krishna answered
Arjun raised the same question in Gita 6.34. Lord Krishna answered
असंशयम् महाबाहो..गीता 6.35
Asanśayaṁ mahābāhō..Gītā 6.35
Asanśayaṁ mahābāhō..Gītā 6.35
An untrained monkey wanders aimlessly all day long
"Yes Arjun, indeed the mind is extremely fickle and it is very difficult to control it, yet it is not impossible. It can be controlled thru constant practice of remembering God and renouncing the desires of the world".
Shri Maharaj Ji shed more light on the topic and explained the step by step process to easily restrain our mind.
A monkey is naturally fickle minded and cannot stay still. It jumps from tree to tree all day long. When a trainer tries to teach a monkey to stay still, he ties a 100 feet rope around his neck? When the monkey tries to go beyond 100 feet, the tied rope around it's neck gets pulled, thus causing him pain.
Despite his repeated attempts, the monkey cannot go farther than 100 feet and when he tries to go beyond this 100 feet limit, he feels the pain. Eventually the monkey realizes his limits and decides to jump within the area of 100 feet. Then the trainer reduces the length to 50 feet. In the beginning the monkey tries to go to 100 feet, but again experiences the same problems and settles to stay within 50 feet. In this manner the trainer finally reduces the length of the rope to 1 foot.
Shri Maharaj Ji shed more light on the topic and explained the step by step process to easily restrain our mind.
A monkey is naturally fickle minded and cannot stay still. It jumps from tree to tree all day long. When a trainer tries to teach a monkey to stay still, he ties a 100 feet rope around his neck? When the monkey tries to go beyond 100 feet, the tied rope around it's neck gets pulled, thus causing him pain.
Despite his repeated attempts, the monkey cannot go farther than 100 feet and when he tries to go beyond this 100 feet limit, he feels the pain. Eventually the monkey realizes his limits and decides to jump within the area of 100 feet. Then the trainer reduces the length to 50 feet. In the beginning the monkey tries to go to 100 feet, but again experiences the same problems and settles to stay within 50 feet. In this manner the trainer finally reduces the length of the rope to 1 foot.
Helplessly, the monkey controls itself and stays within 1 foot. Thereafter the trainer starts teaching him various tricks. You must have seen animal shows where monkeys follow instructions and obey the trainer.
Likewise, our mind is also very fickle and unsteady. It wanders aimlessly around the world. When we try to contain its thoughts and try to meditate on God’s divine form, it repeatedly reverts back to material thoughts due to its previous habits from innumerable past lifetimes. Nevertheless, one should not get perturbed by this.
Likewise, our mind is also very fickle and unsteady. It wanders aimlessly around the world. When we try to contain its thoughts and try to meditate on God’s divine form, it repeatedly reverts back to material thoughts due to its previous habits from innumerable past lifetimes. Nevertheless, one should not get perturbed by this.
Where ever your mind wanders off to, visualize your Beloved Shyam Sundar standing right there.
Instead, let it go wherever it likes to go and practice visualizing the presence of your beloved Shyam Sundar at the place it goes For example, if your mind wants to see Taj Mahal let it go there. Dont try to stop it. See the beautiful Taj Mahal then visualize your divine beloved Shyam Sundar standing on top of it.This kind of constant practice will gradually compel the mind to give up the labor of roaming aimlessly all over and it will eventually start focusing on the Divine form of God.
Furthermore, it is imperative to have a genuine God realized saint as your Guru. One must listen to His discourses devoutly, and contemplate on His philosophy sincerely to know more about God, the aim of our human life and how to attain our goal to realize God.
This practice along with the knowledge imparted by a genuine saint will dispel all of our doubts and illusions. Then we will experience rapid progress towards our desired goal.
Furthermore, it is imperative to have a genuine God realized saint as your Guru. One must listen to His discourses devoutly, and contemplate on His philosophy sincerely to know more about God, the aim of our human life and how to attain our goal to realize God.
This practice along with the knowledge imparted by a genuine saint will dispel all of our doubts and illusions. Then we will experience rapid progress towards our desired goal.
