34: Make A Choice: IGNORE-ance or KNOW-ledge

CHAPTER 7, TEXT 15: Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me.

CHAPTER 7, TEXT 16: O best among the Bhāratas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me – the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

One evening when I was thirteen years old in Hawaii, I smoked marijuana with a few of my friends at an abandoned hotel. We then went to the beach and laughed and played in the shimmering blue water in the setting sun.

The night set in fast. My friends went home and somehow I ended up at the beach alone. This was an age before cell phones, so I couldn't call my parents. I had no money for a payphone. Besides, I thought nervously, I didn't want my parents to catch whiff of anything I had been doing.

So... I walked home.

In the dark, along roads where headlights blinded me and whizzed by, through quiet streets up the mountain towards my house, I walked. I was coming off the high from the marijuana, and one side effect is to become paranoid. So walking in the dark my mind conjured monsters, ax-murderers, and ferocious beasts. You're just coming down from your high, Bhakti, get a grip, I told myself. But fear flooded my veins.

By the time I got home, the high (and the fear) had worn off. I walked through my front door exhausted to the core of my being - not only by the fear, but by my attempt to have fun. What a shallow, unreliable, and futile method to experience happiness. I had simply become miserable.

That night, I vowed to never smoke marijuana again, or take any other mind-altering substance.

The next morning, I opened up an old songbook, filled with prayers by the saints in the Vaishnava tradition. I wanted to know - what is real happiness? Surely these people had it figured out, and maybe their songs would show me the way.

That fateful evening when I was thirteen was so miserable for me that I decided to turn to God. I could  have just as easily shrugged off the miserable experience as a one-off event and kept on smoking marijuana and stumbling in the metaphorical dark. But somehow, I made a choice.

There must be more to life than this. 

Show me. 

Please. 

That choice set me on a lifelong path for the pursuit of truth and love.

These two verses from the Bhagavad-gita, verses 15 and 16 of Chapter 7, highlight in such piercingly clear ways the types of people who refuse to turn to Krishna and those who do turn to Krishna.

Below I arrayed my analysis of these two verses and the analogous types of people, which is based on the commentary by Baladev Vidyabhusan; I wove in Prabhupad's translation and commentary as well.

Ultimately, the greatest distinction between these types of people is those people who choose to ignore Krishna (and cultivate ignorance) and those who choose to know God (and cultivate true knowledge). I did  not only make the choice to know God when I was thirteen - my relationship with God and the way I turn to Him continues to evolve over time. I am called to choose on a regular basis: turn towards or turn away?

These verses are not meant to condemn, but are meant to give us the clarity to understand our own relationship with God and to ask the question: Which one of these am I?

And then - make a choice.

Full Purports by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here for Verse 15: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/15/
and here for Verse 16: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/16/

33: Cultivating the Connection

CHAPTER 7, TEXT 8: O son of Kuntī, I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable oṁ in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.

From personal experience, a broken heart from betrayed love is probably the most excruciating pain I've ever endured.

Also from personal experience, a whole heart to give and receive love with another human being is probably the most joy I've ever known.

Love is pain.

Love is joy.

See the problem here??

We all want love, but love could be our downfall OR our salvation. So what is love?

Love, at its core, is an exchange between two people. Brene Brown, a Ph.D. researcher on shame and connection, writes, "Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people..."  (https://brenebrown.com/definitions/). This means that love is not an object to be given or an object to give away. And if love cannot be given or taken away, then that must mean that love eternally resides within the heart of each and every one of us. Essentially, love is a connection that is either cultivated or neglected.

Bhakti is the love that exists between God (Bhagavan) and the spirit soul (bhakta) - that love is not given to us, nor can it be given away. The propensity to love and serve God is intrinsic to our very nature. Bhakti is either dormant (and neglected) or active. What's more, "We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be seen and known" (Brene Brown, https://brenebrown.com/definitions/). Bhagavan in His most sweet and vulnerable form is when he goes by the personal name of Krishna. (An equivalent would be like calling President Obama by his first name, Barack.)

Calling God by His "first name" - Krishna - is very intimate. By saying the name Krishna, we are invoking God's most vulnerable and powerful self, and Krishna is allowing Himself to be seen and known.

So what does this all have to do with this Chapter 7, Verse 8 of the Bhagavad-gita?? What does being hardwired to love, being scared to love, and using God's personal name have to do with Krishna sharing that He is, say, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras?

Prabhupad writes, "Because the impersonalists are very much afraid of addressing the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa by His innumerable names, they prefer to vibrate the transcendental sound oṁ-kāra." The key word in this sentence is "afraid." The very reason why people become impersonalists and refute the existence of a personal God who has a form and a name is because they're afraid... of love.

We all know how painful love can be, and so impersonalists have simply chosen to not cultivate that connection of love with God the person. After all, a broken heart on the scale of loving God could be cataclysmic!

Still, there's a secret: "But [the impersonalists] do not realize that oṁ-kāra is the sound representation of Kṛṣṇa."

There's no escape ;)

Krishna says in this verse that He is the om-kara, so for those who are afraid to connect to God in a loving relationship, He still makes Himself accessible through an impersonal sound. Prabhupad writes, "The Supreme Lord can be preliminarily perceived by His different energies, and in this way He is realized impersonally." When loving God seems too far away, too scary, too impossible, then we can start here, in this preliminary way: experiencing His energies. They're all representations of Krishna Himself that we can experience right now, in this moment.

A glass of New York City tap water (which is famous for being drawn from natural springs) sits on my desk; I just took a sip. That clean taste is Krishna.

The morning sunlight shines with brilliance upon light brown bricks of the apartment building outside my window. That light is Krishna.

Sitting here at my desk, I just vibrated the syllable om. That syllable is Krishna.

Right now I can hear the clock tick. That sound vibrating through ether is Krishna.

I move my fingers across this keyboard and look upon this screen. The ability to do so is Krishna.

Right here, right now, I can experience God, if only I have the vision. No need to fear any kind of personal relationship or connection that could end in a broken heart, because maybe - if I'm honest - I'm scared and a little intimidated to really love God. So Krishna says here: Just experience the original and purest lights, sounds, smells, tastes, and movements of this world and You will know me.  

In this way, Krishna is allowing His most powerful self to be known through these energies. Maybe He's not so vulnerable - like using his personal name of Krishna - but that's okay. In this way, Krishna is emphasizing that all pathways to experiencing, knowing, and loving God are valid. Prabhupad points out, "Practically speaking, there is no conflict between personalism and impersonalism. One who knows God knows that the impersonal conception and personal conception are simultaneously present in everything and that there is no contradiction." In this way, the spiritual journey is meant to be understandable and accessible to all.

Right now.

Right here.

Bhakti is meant to be cultivated through the simple medium of appreciation. Just appreciating the glass of water, the sunlight, and sound, our heart grows and softens. We begin to understand that God is not vaulted off in some inaccessible cloud in the sky looking down on us. He is infused within every moment and every movement of our lives, if we only have the vision to see.

"When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in."
Kristin Armstrong

Full purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/8/

32: The Goal of Life

CHAPTER 7, TEXT 3: Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.

I once asked a parking attendant, "What do you believe is the goal of life?"

Grumpily, he finally responded, "To be happy and make others happy, okay? Now let me get back to giving parking tickets,"

His answer astounded me because not only did I agree with him, I was sure that the whole world would agree with him. Here was some random, ordinary person doing his mediocre job, for all the world - according to spiritual calculations - a lost soul deep in ignorance.

Yet when asked, the goal of life was on the tip of this man's tongue - be happy and make others happy. This is the perfection of life.

In this verse, Krishna says that out of many thousands of men, only one may endeavor for perfection. My sense is that we all know what the perfection of life is; after all, the answer was on the tip of the parking attendant's tongue. But very few people actually endeavor for perfection. Prabhupad writes, "Generally mankind is simply engaged in the animal propensities, namely eating, sleeping, defending and mating, and hardly anyone is interested in transcendental knowledge." Most of us are so caught up in simply surviving in this world, happiness is equated with getting enough food or having a nice place to sleep. We equate "happiness" with surviving with pleasure.

But pleasure comes and goes.

An intelligent person understands that true happiness must transcend the temporary comings and goings of, say, a delicious meal or pleasurable sex. Real happiness must be... eternal.

But the fact is, very few of us are actually interested in eternal happiness. It's just too far off. Better to stick to delicious meals and pleasurable sex.

So it is a rare soul indeed who decides to actually endeavor for real, eternal happiness. And Krishna says that while that soul is rare, s/he achieves happiness every so often.

The thing is, I would also translate the parking attendant's response of the goal of life, "to be happy and make others happy" as to love and be loved. I would dare say that even on a theoretical level, most of the world would agree with this statement. Love is the only way the soul can truly be happy or make others happy.

Thus, to love and be loved is the perfection of life.

Whew.

Love.

What a loaded word.

So let's start with a definition. Brene Brown, a Ph.D. a researcher on shame and connection offers a definition of love: "We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection. " (brenebrown.com)

Brown's definition of love offers us the reality that love is not easy. Love takes work. Yet love is the true goal of life - to be vulnerable, to be seen and known, to cultivate connection with trust, respect, and affection. Love is a cultivation that takes time and energy and is fraught with possible pain and hardship.

Love is definitely a kind of happiness that transcends simple pleasure or enjoyment.

In this sense, when Krishna says that even when a rare soul achieves perfection, even more rare is "one who knows Me in truth." Is not Krishna saying here, in Brown's words, that it is rare for Krishna to be "deeply seen and known"?

The path of love is a challenging path, and to love God is the most challenging of all. In Brown's words, it means that to love God we must cultivate trust and respect for God as well as kindness and affection.

To cultivate trust and respect, we must set boundaries, honor our word, show up on time, and more. This is not easy. These things are the nitty-gritty, the nuts and bolts of "love," and this all applies to loving God. The word for the eternal loving relationship between God (Bhagavaan) and the soul (bhakta) is bhakti. Prabhupad writes, "Actually the path of bhakti is not easy. The so-called path of bhakti practiced by unauthorized persons without knowledge of bhakti may be easy, but when it is practiced factually according to the rules and regulations, the speculative scholars and philosophers fall away from the path." This means that the path of loving service to God is not an exercise of the mind meant for textbooks and university halls or even TED Talks. The path of love is bound by rules and regulations, which means that love is meant to be practiced in action. Insincere people will simply fall away.

Brown elaborates on her definition of love by saying that "Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people." This definition aligns well with the understanding that while love of God is present within the heart of every living entity (nitya-siddha krishna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya, CC Madhya Lila 22.107), that connection must be nurtured and cultivated through service, trust, respect, and kindness.

At the end of the day, if we accept that God is a person, we must also understand that even if we follow every rule and regulation and offer respect and affection to God, He still has free will. Love is not a recipe or a business exchange or a mathematical equation. Love between persons always involves the willingness to open the heart and be vulnerable.

So we do our best. We follow the rules and regulations of love, we show up on time and cultivate love of God through our nitty gritty actions and nitty gritty prayers.

Then maybe one day, most wondrous of all, God may choose to be vulnerable to us, to be deeply seen and known, to be known in truth. In the  purport of this verse, Prabhupad quotes the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234: "[Krishna] reveals Himself to the devotees, being pleased with them for their transcendental loving service unto Him.”

Transcendental loving service is meant to demonstrate our sincerity. Service is meant to put our hearts on our sleeve, to unfurl our hearts that have been wound up so tight for so long. How amazing that in seeing this sincerity, God would choose to reveal Himself to US. God would actually be vulnerable and open His heart to be deeply seen and known. I can think of no higher happiness that to have God open his heart to me of His own free will.

Full purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/7/3/

Day 31: A Really Good Question

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 38: O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa, does not such a man, who is bewildered from the path of transcendence, fall away from both spiritual and material success and perish like a riven cloud, with no position in any sphere?

Arjuna has received instructions about the nature of the soul and  the supreme value of pursuing the spiritual path. These instructions are so logical and make so much sense, it's difficult to deny that the ultimate goal of human life is to set one's mind on Krishna and offer one's very self in devotional service.

But Arjuna has a doubt.

This goal is so high - love of God - that it seems unattainable.

So Arjuna is wondering - on behalf of all of us - if I fall from the spiritual path, where will I fall?

What's more, if one is on the spiritual path, then maybe material life is neglected. So not only would someone fail at spiritual life, s/he would fail at material life too. Double whammy! Prabhupad writes: "If the aspiring transcendentalist fails, then he apparently loses both ways; in other words, he can enjoy neither material happiness nor spiritual success." This is a lose-lose situation, and it's a possibility for each and every one of us:

Failure.

No progress, no success, no belonging, just...

You failed.

Prabhupad defines the term "riven cloud":  "A cloud in the sky sometimes deviates from a small cloud and joins a big one. But if it cannot join a big one, then it is blown away by the wind and becomes a nonentity in the vast sky." Note that the cloud may start off in a smaller cloud - this represents being in the material world, with relatively small goals and small aspirations. When a cloud breaks off to join a bigger cloud, this represents the soul's desire to achieve something much grander than itself. But when the cloud fails to belong in that spiritual place - the soul is "bewildered on the path of transcendence" - then it wanders and dissolves into nothingness. It belongs neither here nor there - it is "riven."

Arjuna's fears strike a deep chord. Not only do humans want to succeed in an endeavor, they also need to belong. Karyn Hall, Ph.D. writes in her article "Create a Sense of Belonging" in Psychology Today, "A sense of belonging is a human need, just like the need for food and shelter." The possibility that one may not belong anywhere and simply dissolve into a "nonentity" is a frightening prospect indeed. We're hardwired to be connected to something bigger than ourselves. But the problem is that we could fail to belong, and we could fail to succeed in life. 

In his question, Arjuna is expressing some of our deepest fears: failure and belonging nowhere.

Don't you notice that when a question is good, like, really good, we want to know the answer? Well, now we're set up. We want to know.

So let's lean in and hear what Krishna has to say.


Full Purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/38/

Hall, Karyn. “Create a Sense of Belonging.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 24 Mar. 2014, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pieces-mind/201403/create-sense-belonging.

30: Be Sincere

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 33: Arjuna said: O Madhusūdana, the system of yoga which You have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.

In Chapter 6 entitled Dhyana Yoga, Krishna is instructing Arjuna to follow a very stringent system of yoga practice to purify the body and mind. Go to the forest, sit upon a firm yet soft mat, gaze at the tip of the nose with eyes half-open, and control the mind until it becomes like a "lamp in a windless place" (6.29).

One would imagine that as an obedient disciple to God Himself, Arjuna would be nodding his agreement to all of these instructions. Even if he did have misgivings, Arjuna would never object to instructions given by the guru.

Right?

Not quite.

Krishna has presented a system of mysticism to achieve perfection, but it is "rejected by Arjuna out of a feeling of inability."

Cue inner sigh of relief.

The yoga of mystic meditation and mind control seems interesting, and the past few dozen verses have certainly made valid points about the importance of self-control and recognizing the divine within others and within oneself. That said, Arjuna does not mince words - he declares that the system "appears impractical and unendurable."  In fact, Arjuna is a warrior and already highly self-disciplined; he also "had much better facilities than we do now, yet he refused to accept this system of yoga... Of course it may be possible for some very few, rare men, but for the people in general it is an impossible proposal."

Arjuna's rejection of Dhyana Yoga demonstrates two things. The first is that above all, The Bhagavad-gita is a practical scripture; this wisdom is meant to be applied by the common man in every age, every place, and every culture. The Gita is not meant for a few, rare men. The Gita is meant for the people in general, and people need practices that are accessible and meaningful. The Gita is meant for you and for me, today, here and now.

The second thing that Arjuna's rejection of Dhyana Yoga demonstrates is how a disciple should engage in dialogue with the teacher. Arjuna uses his intelligence and is respectfully, unflinchingly honest. What kind of disciple would Arjuna be if he just nodded his head and "accepted" everything that Krishna was telling him to do, but in his heart he felt doubtful and incapable? Arjuna speaks up about his concerns. Thus he is showing us how to conduct ourselves on the spiritual path - Do not blindly follow, but also do not blindly reject.

Use your intelligence.

Use your heart.

Be practical.

Ultimately, be sincere.

Full purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/33/

29: The Fire

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 24: One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with determination and faith and not be deviated from the path. One should abandon, without exception, all material desires born of mental speculation and thus control all the senses on all sides by the mind.

I have a (totally unscientific) theory that when anyone wakes up to spirituality, s/he goes through a "fanatic" stage. No matter what tradition one belongs to, there seems to be an obsession with rules ("NO onions/garlic/vinegar/mushrooms/chocolate"), and the "right" thing  to do seems so obvious ("just do what the scripture says!").

This Fanatic stage is usually accompanied by extreme enthusiasm to participate in all gatherings (Kirtan Melas! Church on Sunday!), rituals (Holy Communion, sing a prayer before eating), and cultural connections (wear a sari/anarkali/gopi skirt, wear yogi pants). Holy days/seasons are observed with fastidious attention to detail and any requisite fasting is done with a kind of fiery passion.

I went through my own reawakening Fanatic stage when I was about 13 years old. I had a mysterious illness that could have been death knocking on my door, so I seized upon spirituality with a fervor to make sense of my short life before my time was up.

With an unrelenting passion for truth, I became obsessed with rules, doing the right thing, attending as many gatherings as humanly possible, following rituals, and observing holy days with zeal.

This went on for a couple years.

One can imagine that my family members tolerated me with remarkable self-control. But one day, my father said to me gently and firmly, "You want to be a devotee [of God] for your whole life."

His words sobered me. Quieted me.

The fire of enthusiasm must be tempered.

I may sound tongue-in-cheek, and that I seem to be smirking at The Fanatic (and myself) for being immature and silly.

On the contrary, I believe (unscientifically) that being a "fanatic" is a necessary stage of spiritual growth. Being "fanatic" is a kind of extreme enthusiasm, like a fire that burns brightly in the night, and that is beautiful - albeit dangerous.

Fire needs fuel to keep burning, and this fuel is Determination. Determination keeps the fire burning. Even then, fire will burn up the fuel of determination. So we need to keep adding logs of fuel, day after day, year after year. Adding the fuel unswervingly is Perseverance.

Prabhupad quotes Upadeśāmṛta, Verse 3 in the purport to this verse in the Gita: "One can execute the process of bhakti-yoga successfully with full-hearted enthusiasm, perseverance and determination." Thus all three elements are needed for success on the spiritual path. 

The fire, fuel to the fire, and the dedication to keep adding fuel are all elements of spiritual life, to keep the fire of love and devotion burning in our hearts. 

28: Healthy Soul

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 16: There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogī, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

How fascinating that an ancient scripture that is meant for realization of the divine - a seemingly ethereal and otherworldly endeavor - is giving advice straight out of the family doctor's list of guidelines.

Don't eat too much.

Don't eat too little.

Don't sleep too much.

Don't sleep too little.

Moderation, moderation, moderation.

So practical. So simple. Deep down, we all know that these guidelines are essential for a healthy body, even a healthy mind.

But a healthy soul?

Krishna says that "there is  no possibility of one's becoming a yogi" if one does not learn these practical steps of moderation.

Eating and sleeping are primary functions of what it means to even be alive, no matter what species. But human beings have elevated eating and sleeping to be some of the most pleasurable experiences of existence.

No other animal cooks its food. Other animals eat their food raw (no oven! no stovetop!) and as is (no salt! no spices!). Human beings love to eat, and often, we eat too much. Prabhupad writes, "Too much eating means eating more than is required to keep the body and soul together." Other than the family doctor advising a patient to eat in moderation to keep body and soul together for health reasons, why is overeating considered unfavorable for becoming a yogi?

Because eating beyond one's need is really about enjoying for oneself. Satisfying myself. I'M the center.

But becoming a yogi is about putting God in the center.

Learning to love is about putting others in the center.

Now, to enjoy food and enjoy life is a need - the soul is naturally pleasure-seeking, ananda mayo bhyasat (Vedanta Sutra). Deprivation will only backfire - I'm sure we've all had the equivalent experience of going on a diet or juice cleanse or whatever and then bingeing on potato chips when it's over. This pendulum swing of indulgence-deprivation actually just keeps the focus on US, we're still in the center. Whether I'm enjoying or suffering, the focus is still on me, and that defeats the goal of yoga and the goal of love.

Indeed, even when one eats to keep body and soul together, still we can keep Krishna in the center of this activity by offering all the food we eat to Him first.

Here Krishna, You enjoy first. You're the center.

Once You're satisfied, THEN I'll enjoy.

Learning to eat just enough and learning to let God enjoy first is the key to keeping a healthy soul.

Full purport for Chapter 6, Text 16 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/16/

27: From Enemy to Friend

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 6: 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.

Even in America, Land of the Free, everyone has a boss.

That boss may be my manager. Or professor. My parents. Maybe my husband, or wife. Maybe my boss is simply time, which tells me when to wake up and go to sleep. Or maybe my boss is my stomach, because I need to eat. There will always be someone "superior" giving me orders, whether I like it or not.

Prabhupad writes, "The constitutional position of the living entity is to carry out the order of the superior." So in this sense, there is no getting around having a boss and carrying out the orders of that boss - it is our very nature to serve.

Freedom does not mean having no boss and no one to answer to.

Freedom means I get to choose my boss.

Have you ever had a bad boss? I have. I remember dreading waking up in the morning because I had to go to work. No matter that I liked my coworkers and even the work itself. The negative, doubtful, nitpicky, over-controlling, and discouraging attitude of my boss cast a shadow over my work and life. But I was bound to serve my superior, whether I liked him/her or not.

In this analogy, the mind is not the highest boss, like the CEO or company owner, but it's the manager. The function of the mind is to accept and reject.

What do I like? What do I dislike?

What comes to me  is the image of a child who rejects broccoli with screams of disgust and accepts ice cream with screams of delight.

That's the mind.

That's our manager.

Great.

In this verse, Krishna says that the mind can be either the greatest friend or the greatest enemy, and without self-control the mind is the greatest enemy: "One who cannot control his mind lives always with the greatest enemy, and thus his life and its mission are spoiled." I need to become the boss of my mind, or my mind will take over my life and spoil it.

The good news is that my mind is only the manager, not the CEO.

The CEO is the intelligence. This means that my intelligence is capable of controlling my mind. I need to use my intelligence to control my impulses to accept and reject. Ultimately, though, "As long as one’s mind remains an unconquered enemy, one has to serve the dictations of lust, anger, avarice, illusion, etc." This is like living with a bad boss, day in and day out, a manager who is doubtful, nitpicky, temperamental, and negative. Living under the tyranny of lust, anger, hatred, and more is a life of hell.

The greatest choice to make in order to transform the mind from an enemy to a friend is to control it - to learn self-control, self-discipline, and self-knowledge. This is what it means to conquer the mind. A powerful and practical way to ways to cultivate self-discipline is to delay gratification. Viktor Frankl writes, "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." This is about expanding our free will and our ability to control our choices and ultimately our minds.

Delay, don't deny.

Delay the ice cream.

Delay the new clothes.

Delay the new gadget.

Delay the hurtful words.

Just the process of delaying is an act of self-control. We increase the size of that space between stimulus and response. And in the process of delaying, in that window of time, I can use my intelligence to accept what is healthy for me (the "broccoli") and reject what is unhealthy for me (the "ice cream").

Cultivating self-control makes the mind one's friend. Interestingly, the word "friend" comes from "Indo-European root meaning ‘to love’, shared by free" (britannica.com). To love is the root of both friend and free - which is the underlying message of this verse by Krishna. Our mind is our friend when we are free, and freedom is the very core of what it means to love.

We cannot love if we are not free.

So ultimately, if we conquer our minds, this does not mean that we are "free" of any superior. Our intelligence is the CEO of our company, but there's still the company owner - and the owner is Paramatma - the Lord in our heart.

Our owner is quiet, unobtrusive. He never raises his voice, so in the racket that our mind gives when it's our enemy, it's hard to hear him. But when we quiet down and control the mind, we can hear the Supersoul. He knows what's best. In this regard, "When the mind is conquered, one voluntarily agrees to abide by the dictation of the Personality of Godhead, who is situated within the heart of everyone as Paramātmā." If I can learn to control my mind, make it my friend, I can hear the quiet, beautiful voice of the Lord in my heart. Carrying out the orders of such a superior can only lead to peace, love, and true freedom. He is my truest friend.

Full purport for Chapter 6, Text 6 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/6/