arjuna uväca
yo 'yaà yogas tvayä proktaù
sämyena madhusüdana
etasyähaà na paçyämi
caïcalatvät sthitià sthiräm
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: O Madhusüdana, the system of yoga which you have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.
PURPORT
The system of mysticism described by Lord Kåñëa to Arjuna beginning with the words çucau deçe and ending with yogé paramaù is here being rejected by Arjuna out of a feeling of inability. It is not possible for an ordinary man to leave home and go to a secluded place in the mountains or jungles to practice yoga in this Age of Kali. The present age is characterized by a bitter struggle for a life of short duration. People are not serious about self-realization even by simple, practical means, and what to speak of this difficult yoga system, which regulates the mode of living, the manner of sitting, selection of place, and detachment of the mind from material engagements. As a practical man, Arjuna thought it was impossible to follow this system of yoga, even though he was favorably endowed in many ways. He belonged to the royal family and was highly elevated in terms of numerous qualities; he was a great warrior, he had great longevity, and, above all, he was the most intimate friend of Lord Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Five thousand years ago, Arjuna had much better facilities than we do now, yet he refused to accept this system of yoga. In fact, we do not find any record in history of his practicing it at any time. Therefore this system must be considered generally impossible in this Age of Kali. Of course it may be possible for some very few, rare men, but for the people in general it is an impossible proposal. If this were so five thousand years ago, then what of the present day? Those who are imitating this yoga system in different so-called schools and societies, although complacent, are certainly wasting their time. They are completely in ignorance of the desired goal.
TEXT 34
caïcalaà hi manaù kåñëa
pramäthi balavad dåòham
tasyähaà nigrahaà manye
väyor iva su-duñkaram
TRANSLATION
For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kåñëa, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.
PURPORT by His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivendanta Swami Prabhupad
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 (Kaöha Upaniñad 1.3.3-4) it is said:
ätmänaà rathinaà viddhi
çaréraà ratham eva ca
buddhià tu särathià viddhi
manaù pragraham eva ca
indriyäëi hayän ähur
viñayäàs teñu gocarän
ätmendriya-mano-yuktaà
bhoktety ähur manéñiëaù

"The individual soul is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. 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 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 Kåiñhëa Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare-Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare" the great mantra for deliverance, in all humility. The method prescribed is sa vai manaù kåñëa-pädäravindayoù: [SB 9.4.18] one must engage one's mind fully in Kåñëa. Only then will there remain no other engagements to agitate the mind.
Lecture Begins:
There is a beautiful example given here by Arjuna, explaining that to control the mind appears to him to be more difficult than controlling the raging wind. Arjuna, he appears as the most intimate personal friend of Sri Krishna. At a time before the Kaliyuga has begun. We see Kaliyuga began about this time, as long of Sri Krishna was present on this earth the effects of Kaliyuga could not take place. So here is the intimate associate of Lord Sri Krishna. In a previous age, a far more religious and pious age than now accepting a more humble position. You see in order to begin progress in spiritual life, this is the first prerequisite is to take a humble position. Most people do not like to admit their faults, people are not willing to be truthful and honest about their defects, but they are very anxious to even tell so many untrue things about their glories. This is human nature. When we come before our spiritual master, it is said, Srila Prabhupad would tell us often one should present oneself as fool number. There is no greater fool than I. One should never boast about ones glories or about ones good qualities before a superior spiritual personality but rather one should take a very humble position as was exemplified by Srila Sanatan Goswami and Srila Rupa Goswami who are the most qualified and most celebrated of all personalities. They were the prime ministers of the King of Bengal and all great scholars and vasinavas would come to their court to learn Bhagvatam from them, but when they approached Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu they appeared in such a humble state of mind that we do not know anything. Who are the most fallen Jagai and Madhai you delivered them, they were murderer, thieves, rapist, drunkards but they never served low class men as we have done. For us to attain your mercy we have the same chance as dwarf would to touch the moon but nevertheless we are in the helpless situation and you are patita pavana. You are friend of the most fallen .So we have no other hope in our helpless condition than to beg, to appeal then to pray for your causeless mercy. If we think that we deserve the mercy of Guru, Vaishnava and Krishna that is our disqualification .If someone is so great and celebrated as Sanatan Goswami were praying for causeless mercy than what is our position. To simply open our minds, open our hearts, to fall at the feet of great souls and beg for their causeless mercy .Because if their mercy is not causeless we have absolutely no hope of gaining the shelter of the feet of Krishna. You see when we first come to spiritual life and we make a little bit of progress, we think I am very very advanced, look at what I can do, look at how I can control my senses, look how much enthusiasm I can engage in devotional service, look at those around me are not so advanced. Infact I am very advanced and when one makes a little more progress in spiritual life , one considers oneself very advanced and one advances a little more one considers oneself very very advanced and when one advances slightly more one considers that I am worship able, I have lotus feet and when one makes more advancement one realizes I am nothing I am useless I am a fallen soul. If one makes some more advancement one realizes I am insignificant before God and before the great souls .So you see when the great personalities are honest they reveal the true glory of their humility. As I was saying most people do not like to admit to their faults, now here is Arjuna, he is speaking as the one of the two principle personalities of Bhagvad Gita and Arjuna was most aware that this Bhagvat Gita since it was a dialogue between him and Krishna, it would be a scripture which will be read by millions of people, billions of people throughout all of eternity. If you knew already that people will be reading your words, you would be very careful of what you would speak to protect your good name and fame but Arjuna was willing to reveal his heart not only to Krishna but to everyone. Krishna he says, I cannot control my mind, the system of yoga which you are explaining is impractical and unendurable to me, for my mind is restless and unsteady and as far as I am concerned this mind is so restless, so turbulent, so obstinate, so very strong to subdue it seems to me more difficult than controlling the wind. Now please do not think that Arjuna is just an ordinary conditioned soul but if you read beautiful works, writings, and words of a great personality they always present themselves in this way because they feel this way. Because they feel that they completely like a child crying out for his mother, take shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna and for that reason alone that they are such great ,celebrated persons. Have you ever considered controlling the wind, even modern man with his greatest technology, when a hurricane or a cyclone or a tornado comes into the city,can they stop it, can they shoot their nuclear bombs to destroy it, to defeat it, only thing that they can do is to go in their basement and hide while the cyclone does his work of destruction. Even the powerful energy created by man has never subdued or controlled the wind, this is the power of the wind. Arjuna is not saying that mind is as difficult to control as wind, he is saying it is more difficult to control than the wind and if you think you can control your mind that is evidence that you are totally under the influence of your mind in the form of false pride. So therefore, until we can find someone to control the wind how can we have any hope that that person will help us to control our mind. Therefore, when Krishna appeared, he displayed for all the world, all men how easy it was for him to control the wind. This two place in Vrindavan, Krishna performed his past time when he was only a small baby of less than one year old. At that time a great demon, an asura entered into Vrindavan , he was just not an ordinary wind ,he was a raksasha, demon who took the power and force of the wind, he came as a whirlwind and by his mighty potency he completely covered the sky and it was pitch black and trees were blowing and the houses were blowing and the dust filled the air, no one could even see their hands in front of their faces. The residents of Vrindavan were completely overcome by this great demon in the form of Trinavarta and mother Yasoda, she was trying to find here child Krishna to give him protection because this is the nature of the lover to always be thinking of the protection and welfare of the object of our love and Krishna is the supreme object of every ones love. So mother Yasoda in great anticipation was searching searching searching for child Krishna but she could not find him anywhere she was going mad, running here and there calling out Gopal, Gopal where have you gone, you see when Krishna performs his divine pastimes there are many great instructions to be learnt. First of all we see that a devotee is never equal to God. Time and time again through the scriptures how devotees are temporarily overcome by demons, by the demoniac forces of this world. Sometimes foolish people think how is it possible that if person is a pious devotee that such a person can be overcome by a demoniac forces, but time again it takes place, Krishna says I will always protect my devotee kaunteya pratijänéhi na me bhaktaù praëaçyati
but what does that mean that under all circumstances he protects the faith and devotion of that devotee, it does not mean the protection of the body because if Krishna meant that I will always protect the physical body of my devotee that he would be constantly contradicting himself, because in the course of time, Krishna explains in Gita, that I am devouring and destroying everyone and then he says Time I am the destroyer of all. Time does not destroy the soul, time cannot destroy the faith and the devotion in the devotee but time will destroy your physical body. So when Krishna says I protect my devotee than why would he first protect your body than few years later destroy it. Bhagvat Gita is not the materialistic scripture for those who are attached to the body, to the senses and to the objects of senses. Bhagvat Gita is the transcendental scripture meant to bring us to the point of understanding the true wealth of the soul and that true wealth is in the form of bhakti or devotion For Krishna’s devotee he will always protect the supreme wealth of devotion under any circumstance and Krishna allows the demon to come into Vrindavan to come into the lives of his devotees only to increase their attachment to him and this what took place with mother Yasoda and the residents of Braja dham .When Trinavarta the great whirlwind entered into the arena they were not thinking of protecting themselves ,they were not thinking of protecting their homes they were only thinking how will we protect Krishna and when they learnt that Krishna was captured by Trinavarta and was being taken higher and higher in the sky it only increased their love for him. In this feeling of separation, it intensified their remembrance, intensified their desire to serve him and please him.

When Krishna was about twelve and a half year old, he left Vrindavan then it is explained that all the residents of Vrindavan were merged in the ocean of separation in fact Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami explains that after Sri Krishna left Vrindavan Gopis cried for the rest of their lives and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has explained that this feeling of separation is the essence of pure love, it is the highest form of expression of devotion, Vipralambah seva .But Krishna did not just wait until it was time for him to leave Vrindavan, even when he was living there he would merge his devotees into this ocean of separation .When Krishna was being brought by Trinavarta in the air ,when they could not find him in the utter darkness although he was only the few inches away. They will merge in separation and they went mad in the ecstasy of anticipation to serve Krishna, to please Krishna, to protect Krishna. Not a blade of grass can move without the sanction of the Lord and especially in Vrindavan, Krishna’s own home, so when Krishna allows these great asuras to enter, his plan is to temporarily appear and allow others to be appear to be overcome by demons to increase the love of his devotees because they feel so helpless that they simply have to cry out to Krishna Hey Krishna , Hey Govinda .

But another wonderful instruction in this story is this as Krishna was being taken higher and higher and higher and higher by Trinavarta, it is described by Srila Prabhupad in the purport of Srimad Bhagvatam, he was very joyfully like a small child taking a ride, children like to take ride on merry go round and children likes to take ride on roller coasters, it is very exciting. So similarly Krishna is a baby and he wanted too. Our children have the tendency to take rides because Krishna originally had this tendency to take rides. We can have not other inclinations that are outside of Krishna, everything is emanating from Krishna, they may be perverted but in the purest sense, every emotion, every feeling, every desire, everything emanates from Krishna. So Krishna was enjoying this nice roller coaster ride being brought higher and higher and higher by this demon Trinavarta, but suddenly in an extraordinary way he became very heavy and his weight grew heavier and heavier and heavier anato anyana( time 24.11) Krishna,he can by lighter than the lightest or he can be heavier than the heaviest, bigger than the biggest or the smaller than the smallest. Although he maintains the size of a tiny baby he assumed the weight of an enormous mountain and Trinavarta was becoming weaker and weaker and weaker and he became so much fearful for his life that with all of his strength he was trying to push Krishna away .But Krishna in his own charming manner hold on to his neck with his beautiful child like arm. Try to understand Trinavarta, we could say, he represents our mind and when the mind becomes uncontrolled it is like a demon, therefore in this verse today, Arjuna is appealing to Krishna as Madhusudna because Krishna delivered a great, powerful demon Madhu at the beginning of the creation and because mind is like the powerful demon he is appealing to Krishna please conquer my mind I cannot do it. So demon of Trinavarta is like our mind when it becomes uncontrollable it creates darkness in our life, it covers our intelligence, it uproots all of our good, pious and saintly qualities.Arjuna explains that Krishna why is it even I am trying to restrain and control my senses still I am forced to act helplessly, abominable ways. This is because the demon of your mind is sweeping like the wind through your consciousness and when we become the devotee we understand that I cannot control my mind ,I cannot control my senses, I have no power and the politicians, the professors in my university, my friends and the relatives cannot help me. It is only Govinda that can help me. And Krishna appears within the sound of his name Kali-kale nama-rupe krishna-avatar.Therefore a sincere devotee understand that there is no other shelter than the holy name. Bhakti Vinod Thakur prayed that I have seen and considered all the fourteen worlds and my conclusion is that Krishna without your holy name there is nothing that can save me. But when we chant the holy name we have to chant it in such a way that we are really feeling ourselves in a very helpless and humble condition crying out for Krishna ‘ Please catch hold of this mind, Madhusudan kill this demon of mind, I am being conquered at every step ‘ and then what happens is Madhusudan , Sri Krishna he catches hold of our mind just like he caught hold of whirlwind demon Trinavarta, but you know Trinavarta understood that this Krishna is very powerful ,he is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier, therefore he was trying to get Krishna away. So similarly, as we start becoming purified as by the grace of Krishna we become more and more spiritual as we are taking more and more shelter of him our mind is going to feel very dangerously afraid .The mind like Trinavarta is going to do everything within its power to get rid of Krishna, to push him off, to get him out. Please there must be something else to do right now than to chant the holy name, yes I know I should wake up early in the morning but mind is saying no get this Krishna out of here. Sleep later, you are tired .In this way your mind Trinavarta is trying to push your mind. As soon as he pushes Krishna away you are completely controlled by the demon of your mind. You are the property of maya. Aaah, I am supposed to chant the holy name 16 rounds’ no problem Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare-Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare( very fast).Time is up ,last bead is done I am finished. While we are chanting our mind is thinking what to do now what to do tomorrow or what to do the next day ,who is saying this and who is saying that and what about everything else. In this way holy name is right there but mind is tricking you get rid of the holy name, think of something else, feel something else, plan something else, the mind is constantly trying to push Krishna away, taking shelter of Krishna while we are chanting the holy names means to be attentive, to understand the urgency and the need that if this child Govinda lets go of the hurricane of my mind for a second I am finished and Krishna says

ye yathä mäà prapadyante
täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham
mama vartmänuvartante
manuñyäù pärtha sarvaçaù

That as you approach me I reward you accordingly, to the degree you are grabbing onto Krishna helplessly to the degree he will keep his mind around ,he will keep his lotus like protection of his arm around our mind ,he will keep it under control. Going to the temple to associate with devotees, aah mind knows then the mind will be with Krishna so the mind pushes no no you have better things to do, you don’t have time, you have the family, you have the business, how can you go to the temple it is irresponsible, pushing Krishna this is the business of the mind. We put every other priority before Krishna therefore Krishna puts every other priority before us. He reciprocates accordingly. So therefore, there is only one hope for conquering this demon like mind is to always keep it at the feet of Krishna, to always welcome Krishna within our mind by striving, by struggling, Krishna says that the mind is more difficult to control than the wind but by constant practice and detachment it can be done.
ananyäç cintayanto mäà
ye janäù paryupäsate
teñäà nityäbhiyuktänäà
yoga-kñemaà vahämy aham
For my devotee if you give everything according to your capacity, I will preserve what you have and carry what you lack. If we sincerely endeavor to execute the order of spiritual master andthe scriptures and sincerely endeavor to apply these principles to our life by always remembering Krishna ,always engaging in the loving service of Krishna, always anxious to associate with the devotees of Krishna and in every situation possible to take shelter of the holy name ‘ Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare-Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare’ then Krishna it is his guarantee

man-manä bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru
mäm evaiñyasi satyaà te
pratijäne priyo 'si me

his promise that you will come to me without fail, I will take control of your life, I will conquer your mind, I will conquer your heart with the sweetness of my love .This is Krishna Consciousness, so Krishna grew heavier and heavier and heavier and Trinavarta grew weaker and weaker and weaker until he came crashing to the ground and met his death. Krishna Consciousness according to Srila Rupa Goswami is that process of humbly opening our heart and inviting Krishna to be the enjoyer of our life, to be the controller of our life, to be the master of our life .Material consciousness is to kick Krishna away and try to be the enjoyer, controller and master of our own destiny. And you see if we have Krishna we have everything and if we do not have Krishna, all we have to look forward to is the inevitable death. Therefore, we see in the lives of great souls, under any circumstances there glory is to always in joyful state of remembering Krishna, seeing the divine hand of Krishna, the blessed will of God in the background of everything that takes place in the entire creation .This is Krishna consciousness ,to see Krishna everywhere and in everything.

When things go wrong, our tendency is we do not ever want to admit that it is our fault, we want to blame everyone and anyone, the tricky thing is when they really, apparently at fault then we really think I have every bit of evidence to support my criticism of this person and in your own mind you can justify you are right but you have forgotten one factor that Krishna is in that person’s heart as well and not a blade of grass can move without his sanction ,Yes this person may be very unjust but Krishna is allowing such unjust person to inflict some injustice upon me. So when we criticize the person what we are really doing is we are criticizing the will of God. Krishna puts us in difficulties, in tragedies, in completely unfair conditions for our purification and if with the grateful and thankful heart we accept Krishna’s process of purification the we become Krishna conscious .We may have to fight for justice if that is the order of our Guru, we may have to fight against the demoniac forces that is our duty but whether we win or we loose we understand that is Krishna’s arrangement. If we give everything of ourselves, Krishna tells Arjuna, you are fighting this battle, you are fighting against demoniac forces, Duryodhana, is a envious rascal, he is a demon fight him and Arjuna had to fight this demon but Krishna said do not be attached to whether you win or loose, victory or defeat, success or failure, honor- dishonor, happiness or distress, these things are all under my control ,you just fight for the sake of pleasing me, after all if Duryodhana was not so unfair to Pandavas then Bhagvat Gita would have never been spoken ,Correct and we would all remain in the darkness of ignorance. If the Pandavas were not banished for 14 years to forest, we would not have the example of how Krishna allows his devotees to go through such things and yet they never give up their faith and devotion under any circumstance. So Krishna has to use his most advanced and most dedicated devotees to show us an example of how we have to live in this world under all circumstances to always be happy to see Krishna’s plan .What to speak of Sita ,is there any greater devotee than Sita and Ravana the great demon captured her and imprisoned her in the Ashoka groves of Sri Lanka for one year ,how is this possible, Of course we know was an illusory Sita but that illusory Sita was a unalloyed devotee and who was the expansion of the original Sita, How is it? But,while Sita Devi was in the Ashoka Grove it only increased her love for Ram she was constantly crying out Ram Ram ram ram Ram ,save me Ram , Please Ram, come Ram and it also increased love of Ram , he was wandering in the ocean of complete distress and separation ,searching and searching and searching for his Sita just to show the glory of the chastity and purity of how my devotee never forgets me, how even in the clutches of the demoniac forces, my devotee never gives up my Lotus feet .It is like yesterday I was listening, day before yesterday I was listening to the tape of Srila Prabhupad and one Indian gentlemen was asking him ‘ In the Bhagvat Gita Krishna tells Arjuna açocyän anvaçocas tvaà prajïä-vädäàç ca bhäñase
that you should not lament for the living or the dead, now Arjuna heard and realized Bhagvat Gita ,we accept that after hearing Gita he was putting it into his life with realization but after so many days of this battle his son Abhimanyu was mercilessly, unjustly murdered and when Arjuna came back to camp that evening and he got the news of the death of the son he began to weep and weep and weep and Subhadra was weeping incessantly so this Indian gentlemen explained to Prabhupad this seem like a contradiction Krishna told Arjuna do not lament for the living and the dead and then immediately few days later he is lamenting for the dead. So how do we understand this, after all the Acharya teaches by his example, if Arjuna was not an being an Acharya fulfilling the order of Gita then how are we supposed to do it and Srila Prabhupad explained that the nature of the devotee is his heart is soft and more you advance on the path of bhakti your heart becomes softer and softer and softer and softer. You come under the compassion and love for others, yes the soul cannot be killed, yes Abhimanyu was only his physical body that was only killed but still Abhimanyu was a great devotee and he was the son and Prabhupad says it is natural for father to cry when he looses his son, it is natural. It is natural for a devotee to cry when he looses the association of another devotee. So the fact that he cried only shows the softness of his heart but his determination, his enthusiasm to remain in the battlefield and fight, meant his lamentation was not material. Material lamentation means we give up, we loose our enthusiasm for devotional service. When Arjuna heard the news his enthusiasm increased, he was ready to destroy everyone, he was ready to execute Krishna’s order more than ever therefore, he was not lamenting materially he was fixed in devotional service ,his service was not influenced by happiness or distress, honor or dishonor ,birth or death he remained steady for the pleasure of Krishna. This is the transcendental platform of consciousness. Caitanya Mahaprabhu explains that if a sanyasi considers physical comforts he is breaking his vow. The great personalities come to this world for one purpose and one purpose alone for the mission of the Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and that mission is to bring people closer and closer and closer to Krishna, to intensify the devotion of the followers and of the innocent persons more and more and more. Therefore if this situation increasing your devotion, if it is intensing your attachment for me, if it is intensing your helpless attachment for the holy name than that is my inner hearts greatest joy.

My only purpose, my only desire is you all become pure devotees, I don’t care whether I am sitting next to you or whether I am sitting in the prison whichever way which causes pure devotion to grow in your heart that is my only happiness. And after all Krishna knows how to purify us better than we know ourselves. So let us gratefully accept Krishna’s plan and how do we accept it by accepting the message behind it and responding positively ,to sacrifice more and more and more of our lives in the loving service of Guru and Krishna .To give more and more of our energy and our precious life force in the mission of our Guru and Krishna and with the more urgent sense to call out from the deeper and deeper depths of our hearts the holy name of Krishna ‘ Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare-Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare’ and thank Krishna with our folded palms millions times a day for showing us the glory of a great personality and to thank that personality billions times a day for sacrificing his life to show us what it means to be Krishna Conscious, to love Krishna and to love us.
Thank you very much

Hare Krishna