Devotee: Verse number five. "A man must elevate himself by his own mind. Not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul and his enemy as well (BG 6.5)." Purport: "The Sanskrit word ātmā, self, denotes body, mind and soul, depending on different circumstances. In the yoga system, the mind and the conditioned soul are especially important since the mind is the central point of yoga practice. Ātmā here refers to the mind. The purpose of the yoga system is to control the mind and to draw it away from attachment to sense objects. It is stressed herein that the mind must be so trained that it can deliver the conditioned soul from the mire of nescience."
Prabhupāda: In the aṣṭāṅga-yoga system, this eightfold yoga system, dhyāna, dhāraṇā—they are meant for controlling the mind. (Don't make sound.) Mind, unless you control the mind, in the beginning it is said a man must elevate himself by his own mind. Mind is the driver. The body is the chariot or car. So just like if you call your, ask your driver, "Please get me into Kṛṣṇa consciousness temple." The driver will bring you here. And if you ask your driver, "Please get me in that liquor house." The driver will drive you there. The driver's business is to drive you wherever you like. Similarly your mind is the driver. If you can control—but if the driver takes your license, that wherever he likes he will take you. Then you're gone. Then your driver is your enemy. But if your driver acts on your order, then he's your friend. So actually the yoga system means to control the mind in such a way that he will act as your friend, not as your enemy.
Actually the mind is acting as my, because I have got little independence, because I am part and parcel of the Supreme who has got full independence, therefore I have got little independence. The mind is controlling that independence. If mind says, "All right, let me go the Kṛṣṇa conscious temple," and the mind can say, "Oh what is that nonsense, Kṛṣṇa, let us go to some club." so mind is driving you. Therefore our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to fix up the mind in Kṛṣṇa, that's all. He cannot but act as friend. You see? He has no scope to give any one place. As soon as Kṛṣṇa is seated on the mind, just like as soon as there is sunshine, the sun is on the sky, there is no scope of darkness. There is no possibility. Darkness will never become before the sun. Similarly Kṛṣṇa is just like sun. You keep Kṛṣṇa on the mind. The māyā, darkness will never be able to come. That is the first-class yoga system. That is the perfection of yoga system. One whose mind is so strong that mind will not allow any nonsense to come in, then where is your falldown? The mind is strong, the driver is strong. He cannot take you anywhere unless you desire.
So the whole yoga system means to make the mind strong. Not to deviate from the Supreme. That is perfection of yoga system. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18). One should fix up, just like Ambarīṣa Mahārāja fixed up his mind only on Kṛṣṇa. And there was a fight between a great yogi, aṣṭāṅga-yogī, Durvāsā Muni. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, he was a king, he was a householder, he was pound shilling man. Householder means he has to take account of pound, shilling, pence. Dollars, cents. King, he was actually king. So Durvāsā Muni was a great yogi. He was envious of this king. That, "How is that, I am so great a yogi, I can travel in the space, and this man is ordinary king, he cannot show such jugglery of yoga system, but still people honors him most. Why? I shall teach him some lesson." So he picked up some quarrel with the king, that's a long story, I shall state it some other day, so after all he was defeated. And he was directed by Nārāyaṇa to take shelter of the feet of the king, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. These instances we see from authoritative scripture. But he was simply keeping Kṛṣṇa in his mind. And he defeated the greatest yogi. Durvāsā Muni, he was so perfect yogi, that within one year he traveled all over this material space and beyond this material space in the spiritual space, went directly to the abode of God, Vaikuṇṭha, and saw the Personality of Godhead personally. Still he was so weak that he has to come back and fall down on the feet of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. But Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, he was ordinary king, he was simply thinking of Kṛṣṇa, that's all. These instances we'll see.
Therefore the highest perfectional yoga system is to control the mind. And you can control the mind very easily if you keep the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa within you, that's all. Simply think of Kṛṣṇa and you are conqueror. You are victorious. You become topmost yogi. Because after all, the yoga system is, yoga indriya saṁyama. Yoga means to control the senses. And above the sense, the mind. So if you control the mind, the senses are controlled automatically. Your tongue wants to eat something nonsense, but if your mind is strong, mind says, "No. You cannot eat. You cannot eat anything except kṛṣṇa-prasāda." Then tongue is controlled. So senses are controlled by the mind. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ (BG 3.42). My body means senses, my activities means sensual activities, that's all. But above the senses is the mind. Above the mind is the intelligence. And above the intelligence is the spirit soul. If one is on the spiritual platform, on the soul platform, then his intelligence is spiritualized, his mind is spiritualized, his senses are spiritualized, he is spiritualized. This is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because actually the spirit soul is working but he has given his power of attorney to this nonsense mind. He is sleeping. But when he's awakened, the master is awakened, the servant cannot do anything nonsense. Similarly if you are awakened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, your intelligence, your mind, or your senses cannot act nonsensically. They must according to that. That is spiritualization. That is called purification.
Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Bhakti means to act spiritually. How you can act? You have to act with your senses. Therefore you have to spiritualize your senses. Meditation, stopping action means stopping nonsense but acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is transcendental. Just like you have to stop your senses acting nonsense but that is not perfection. You have to act nicely. Then it is perfection. Otherwise if you don't train your senses to act nicely it will again fall down to the nonsense activities. So we have to give engagement to the senses to act for Kṛṣṇa. Then there is no chance of fall down. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Go on.
Devotee: "In material existence, one is subjected to the influence of the mind and the senses. In fact, the pure soul is entangled in the material world because of the mind's ego which desires to lord it over material nature. Therefore the mind should be trained so that it will not be attracted by the glitter of material nature. In this way the conditioned soul may be saved. One should not degrade oneself by attraction to sense objects. The more one is attracted by sense objects, the more one becomes entangled in material existence. The best way to disentangle oneself is always to engage the mind in Kṛṣṇa's service. The Sanskrit word hi in this verse is used for emphasizing this point, i.e., that one must do this. It is also said: 'For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.' Therefore the mind which is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the cause of supreme liberation."
Prabhupāda: Yes. There is no chance. Mind being engaged always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no chance of its being engaged in māyā consciousness. The more we engage our mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the more you keep yourself in the sunlight, there is no chance of getting into darkness. That is the process. If you like, you are at liberty. You can keep yourself within the room in darkness, and you can come in the broad daylight. That depends on your choice. But when you come in the broad sunlight, there is no chance of darkness. Darkness can be eradicated by light, but light cannot be covered by darkness. Suppose you are in a dark room. You bring one lamp. The darkness over. But you take something dark and go to the sunlight, it will fade away. So kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā haya andhakāra. Kṛṣṇa is just like sunlight. And māyā is just like darkness. So what darkness will do in sunlight? You keep yourself in sunlight. Darkness will fail to act upon you. This is the whole philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Keep always yourself engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness activities. Māyā will not be able to touch you. Because there is no possibility of darkness becoming influential in light. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That when Vyāsadeva, under the instruction of his spiritual master, Nārada, by bhakti-yoga: bhakti-yogena praṇihite samyak, praṇihite 'male. Bhakti-yogena manasi (SB 1.7.4). The same, mind, manasi means mind. When enlightened by bhakti-yoga, bhakti-light, bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite amale. When the mind becomes completely freed from all contamination. That can be done by bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite 'male apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇam. He saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam. And he saw this māyā just on the background. Apāśrayam. Light and darkness, along with, just like here is light. There is darkness also here, little darkness. So darkness remains under the shelter of light. But light does not remain under the shelter of darkness. So Vyāsadeva saw Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, and this māyā, darkness, apāśrayam, just under His shelter.
And who is this māyā? That is explained. Yayā sammohito jīva. The same māyā, the same illusory energy which has covered these conditioned souls. And who are those conditioned? Yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam (SB 1.7.5). Although this spirit soul is as light as Kṛṣṇa or God, although small. But he's identifying himself with this material world. Yayā sammohitaḥ, this is called illusion. When we identify ourself with this matter, yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam, paro 'pi manute 'nartham. Although he is transcendental, still he's engaged in nonsensical activities. Paro 'pi manute 'narthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate. And he acts dictated by this māyā. These are very nicely explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the First Canto you'll find, Seventh Chapter.
So our position is that. That we are spiritual sparks, lightning spark. But now we are covered by this illusory energy, māyā. And we are being dictated by māyā and acting and becoming entangled more and more in material energy. You have to get out from this entanglement by this yoga, or perfect yoga of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is yoga system. All right, stop. Any questions?