Sharanagati

(continues from the previous Friday)

Our goal is to make our mind into our friend. Mind has to be connected to something, and then it will be satisfied. If our thoughts, our willpower and our feelings are connected to the divine source, then peace of mind will come. And to control, to check if our mind is controlled or not, we have to face challenges. Therefore it is very useful to face challenging situations. Because if in such either dangerous or risky situations you don’t lose your peace of mind, then you have tested yourself and your control is proven. Shall I give you an example, or may be two? One is a story, another is a real story. But which is more real I don’t know.

About the difficulty of control. Once, there was a man and all of a sudden, a dragon appeared in his farmhouse, a fearful dragon. So, he wanted to escape. ‘This dragon will kill me, will eat me up. Where shall I hide? I want to escape!’ So he thought: ‘If I hide myself in my room, he will enter the room, burn out the whole house and he will eat me up finally. If I go to the cowshed – the same will happen. So, where is my shelter?’ Finally he decided: ‘Oh, I have to jump into the well! Because the dragon cannot enter the well, so I will be safe there, and there is some water, so even if he is vomiting fire into the well, I can neutralize it by water.’ So, he was jumping into the well, and you know they have this bucket and the rope, so he was hanging on the rope, not touching the water. And he thought: ‘Oh, now I am so safe! I am so peaceful. The dragon is shouting out there, but I am safe down here.’ Just imagine yourself in a dank well. You look up: dragon! But when you look down, you see another danger – a big black snake! You wouldn’t expect that the black snake is hiding in your well, but still it’s there. So, what shall you do? You cannot go down, because the snake will bite you, and you cannot go up, because the dragon will take you. You are hanging between two dangers. Nevertheless, you might feel safe, because the rope is strong. But, you know, this is not only you who is afraid of the dragon, a little mouse is also afraid of the dragon. A little mouse is also trying to hide in the well. He was entering the well through the same way as you, through the rope. But wherever this mouse goes, he is starting to eat, taste, chew. So, you are looking down: ‘Ah, the snake is there!’, again you look up and you see the small little mouse, eating up your rope. From this you can project your future – escaping from the dragon, but finally falling down as a prey to the snake. But fortunately, there is another direction that you can see – you can look around. Not up, not down, but around. And some bees are also hiding in the well. And honey is very sweet, so you touch the honey, you lick your finger and you say: “Honeyyyyy!”… and you’re gone, because the mouse has eaten up the rope.

So, even if there is life danger, it is very difficult to control the senses and the mind. You are running away from one danger, you are facing another, but if there is a little chance to enjoy – you will take it. Therefore a spiritual person has to control the senses and the mind. Because life is dangerous, and there is only one firm that finally everyone will become a customer of – the graveyard.

The other story is coming from the history of my Gurumaharaj. Once he was supposed to come here, to Sofia. But before coming here, he stopped in the ashram in Budapest for some time. And after two days he was supposed to leave. So, with one of my god-brothers they were approaching his car. You know, it happened in the previous political setup when yoga, preaching and Hare Krishna movement were not very welcomed. So they were approaching the car and what did they see – that the car was broken, opened up and broken. All of a sudden Gurudev said: ‘Oh, this is not a joke’. So, they made a right turn – not to put the disciple into danger. When he sent the disciple back to the ashram, Gurudev started to handle the situation.

So, the first case showed how difficult it is to control. And the second proved me how much a spiritual personality is controlled. Even if there is some real danger, he was not frightened at all, but immediately finds a solution, saves the disciple from the danger and takes himself the trauma.

So, control of mind is very crucial, it is very essential. Even in peaceful conditions, what to speak of dangers. Because you have to decide correct, you have to choose the best solution.

What will happen if our mind is our friend? The next verse will tell us: “For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquility. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same”.[1]

That means you can reach God if your mind is controlled. Why? Because you have this tranquility. Therefore we need to check if we have the tranquility or not. So, if there is a challenge, then you can measure where you are standing, what is your position. And the inner peace is a sure sign of spiritual elevation. The best way to achieve this inner peace is given: everything is there, in the holy name. Peace for the beginners, truth for the intermediates, and ecstasy for the higher grade. Everybody will reach according to his or her capacity. In God’s name everything is contained, all the divine energies are invested in the holy names. So, peace, happiness, purity are the immediate results of being connected to the Supreme. If you want this, then follow the advice – be connected. And this connection we can achieve very nicely through chanting, through calling out: “Hare Kṛiṣhṇa, Hare Kṛiṣhṇa, Kṛiṣhṇa Kṛiṣhṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare “. God Himself, His loving energy and the consequent happiness is contained in this mantra.

(to be continued)

[1] “Bhagavad Gita”, 6.7