Bhagavad Gītā: Chapter 6: Text 34

Bhagavad Gītā: Chapter six: Dhyāna-Yoga, Text 34

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद् दृढम्   │

cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham

तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम्  ││ ३४ ││

tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyoriva su-duṣkaram

          Figure 02: The individual is the passenger in the car of material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is driving instrument and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and sense (6.34 purport) (Prabhupāda 2017)

Vocabulary

cañcalam—flickering; hi—certainly; manaḥ—mind; kṛṣṇa—O Kṛṣṇa; pramāthi—agitating; bala-vat—strong; dṛḍham—obstinate; tasya—its; aham—I;  nigraham—subduing;  manye—think; vāyoḥiv—of the wind; iva—like; su-duṣkaram—difficult.

Translate the following verse into English

            For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.

Purport and Brief out the Moral teachings in the following verse

            The mind is so strong and obstinate that it sometimes overcomes the intelligence, although the mind is supposed to be subservient to the intelligence. For a man in the practical world who has to fight so many opposing elements, it is certainly very difficult to control the mind.

Artificially, one may establish a mental equilibrium toward both friend and enemy, but ultimately no worldly man can do so, for this is more difficult than controlling the raging wind. In the Vedic literature ii is said:

“The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body and intelligence is the driver. The mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So it is understood by great thinkers.”

            Intelligence is supposed to direct the mind, but the mind is so strong and obstinate that it often overcomes even one’s own intelligence, as an acute infection may surpass the efficacy of the medicine. Such a strong mind is supposed to be controlled by the practice of yoga, but such practice is never practical for a worldly person like Arjuna. And what can we say of modern man? The simile used here is appropriate: one cannot capture the blowing wind. And it is even more difficult to capture the turbulent mind. The easiest way to control the mind, as suggested by Lord Caitanya, is chanting “Hare Kṛṣṇa,” the great mantra for deliverance, in all humility. The method prescribed is sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa- padāravindayoḥ: one must engage one’s mind fully in Kṛṣṇa. Only then will there remain no other engagements to agitate the mind. (Prabhupāda 2017)

Bibliography

Elizarenkova, Tatyana J. Language and Style of the Vedic Rsis. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995.

Lochtefeld, James. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 2. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2002.

Macdonell, Arthur A. A Sanskrit Grammar for Students. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1927.

Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1923.

Müller, Friedrich Max. A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature. London: Williams and Norgate, 1860.

Prabhupāda, A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami. Bhagavad Gītā as it is. California: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2017.