VI: 25

[Krishna Jaya]

Chapter 6, Verse 25

 

“Patiently, little by little,

They free themselves

From all mental distractions,

Quietly leading the mind

Into Spirit.”

 

Paramahansa Yogananda:

 

When a glass is filled with muddy water and then placed on a table, after a little while the mud particles settle on the bottom of the glass. An ordinary person’s mind is muddy with myriad restless thought-streams running through the river of consciousness. During ordinary activity, the invading thoughts completely intermingle in the consciousness. This is why average people have no inkling about how restless they are. They discover it when they start to meditate. For the first time, they gain some distance from the bewildering torrent of thoughts. The mistake is often made that the mind is being made more restless by meditation. Such beginners, watching with alarm the unsettled thoughts, are cautioned in this verse not to give in to despair. Rather, they need to patiently wait for the restless thoughts to settle down.”

Sri Krishna Prem:

For countless ages, the mind has been turned outwards and has been given free rein to attach itself to the objects of desire.  It is not to be expected that it will be possible to wrench it away at once.  Throughout the day, constant effort needs to be made to retain in the consciousness as much as possible of insight gained during the meditation period.  Hold on firmly to whatever degree of realization you were able to gain in that calm period, for a short period of uncontrolled thought, an hour of despondency, or even five minutes of anger will undo what has been experienced; and, like the web of Penelope, what was woven in the morning will come unraveled by the end of the day.

[The virtue of vigilance cannot be overestimated.]