Mind Games

An edited version of this article appeared in the August 2011 issue of Back To Godhead (India edition).

Mind Games
Use your mind-key to open the door to eternal happiness.

My friend at IIT used to say, “It’s hard to carry on, but it’s harder still to let go.” When a college student says this, he’s almost always referring to a situation in which his sweetheart considers him just another homo sapiens. Or sometimes it might refer to a problem more serious than an unrequited and juvenile infatuation; he could mean something like having to bear the burden of financially maintaining his family while trying to study as much as any other student. But in all cases, this catchy line implies suffering from an attachment that is both unfulfilling and painful, yet one the mind cannot let go—either because the attachment is due to an obligation or, as in most cases, because it’s a mental fancy. When it’s a fancy, the mind becomes preoccupied with a “perfect” world where everything is ideal, even as the sights and sounds of the “real” world remind us of the harsh reality. The mental utopia is so intoxicating—and the sobering bouts of reality so agonizing—that we tend to prefer imagination to reality. It’s hard to carry on, but harder still to let go.

Mind: The Past-Present Oscillator

Yes, to let go of an obligation because it’s painful is undutiful. But most often, it’s not really our pressing obligations that bother us. Rather, it’s our mind. It is the nature of the mind, as Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.6.30–31) explains, to latch onto and become obsessed by unfulfilled desires, only to reject them later. For example, the mind tends to dwell on unfortunate past events—maybe a missed promotion at the office or something sad from our childhood. It also tends to dream of a grandiose future—a big house or immense wealth or power. We then hanker for this fantastical idea like mad. Not only that, even if our desires are fulfilled, the mind remains dissatisfied. Even that big house at the seaside will not keep the mind at bay. It will find something else to want, something else to moan about. A mind so engrossed in the past and future is uncontrolled, and an uncontrolled mind saps our energy; it doesn’t let us live in the present. The fickle mind forces us to run behind targets that move tirelessly and erratically. Go on with this long enough and it will lead to a mental breakdown. But it’s not actually the mind that breaks; it’s us who become tired of chasing the mind’s whimsical demands. The uncontrolled mind continues to do what it does best—torture us.

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita (6.6), bandhur ätmätmanas tasya yenätmaivätmanä jitaù/ anätmanas tu çatrutve vartetätmaiva çatru-vatthe: “For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.” Not only is the uncontrolled mind our greatest enemy, it’s also our closest neighbor. The combination is terrifying. Yet we tend to ignore the situation and play into the traps of the mind. In the art of war, it’s vital to know the opponent’s strengths. Only then can one devise a strategy to neutralize the enemy’s advantage and perhaps even use it to for our own good. The uncontrolled mind’s greatest strengths happen to be our greatest weaknesses: (a) we think, subconsciously at least, that our happiness lies outside ourselves, in favorable external situations; and (b) that we can control those situations.

The Nature of Material Happiness

Because we think that happiness is found in external situations – a big house or immense wealth or high social status, or even things like job security and good health - the mind can lure us into its obsessions. Impelled by the promise of happiness through these situations, we feverishly try to grab or create them. Why do we believe the mind? Because we think we can control the world and can therefore create and maintain external situations. It sounds outrageous to say we think we are controllers when it’s so obvious that we are not; yet we hanker for future favorable circumstances as if we control them. Since we don’t control most of the circumstances of this world, it’s obvious that even if we find ourselves in a favorable situation, it might not last. For example, even if we land a great job, it will not give us happiness all the time; the same job might become unfavorable after some time. Similarly, a big house might soon become a burden rather than a luxury. Thus, not only are the situations in this world temporary, even the same external situation might not remain favorable for long. The Bhagavad-gita (5.22) warns us that running after temporary external situations is a recipe for misery: “An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunté, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.”

The quest for happiness is natural to the soul. The Bhagavad-gita (15.7) explains that all living beings are sac-cid-änanda—eternal souls with full knowledge and bliss—and part and parcel of the Supreme Lord Kåñëa. We are meant for an eternal life of happiness and enjoyment, lovingly serving the Lord in our original home, the spiritual world. The souls in this world, us, are typically those who desired to experience an existence independent of Kåñëa and for whom Kåñëa kindly provided this material world along with a body they could use to interact with it. He also allowed us to forget our true identity. However, because we once tasted sublime love and happiness in the spiritual world, we are ever seeking for that same happiness even in this material world - but without serving the Lord. Since we are generally averse to serving anyone, we have developed the notion that we can become happy only by gratifying our own mind and senses. Yet our temporary and limited material senses can never taste in material pursuits the happiness we have tasted through spiritual senses by lovingly serving the Lord. Thus the mental dissatisfaction.

The Secret of Mind Control

This leads us to the secret of mind control. Controlling the mind does not mean stopping the mind’s activities but engaging the mind in the Lord’s service. Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.27.5) offers this infallible technique: “It is the duty of every conditioned soul to engage his polluted consciousness, which is now attached to material enjoyment, in very serious devotional service with detachment. Thus his mind and consciousness will be under full control.” The great devotee King Ambarisha exemplified this technique; he engaged not only his mind but all his senses in serving the Lord.

According to the Gita 2.50, the art of transforming our day-to-day life into a spiritual journey is called yoga. By constantly engaging in the joyful process of devotion, we not only control the mind but attain spiritual perfection. Instead of brooding over the temporary ups and downs of our life, why not use them as opportunities to serve and remember Kåñëa? Why not look at our life as a tool to be used to help our spiritual advancement? Why look at our life, insignificant as it is, as the end in itself? The human form of life holds the key to spiritual perfection. Why brood over the rust on the key when you can use it to open the door to eternal happiness?