# The Mind *On controlling and conquering the mind* --- ### Friend or Enemy > The mind is the best friend for one who has conquered it, and for one who has failed to do so, the mind is the greatest enemy. This is the verdict of the Bhagavad-gītā. So we have to conquer the mind. And how to conquer? By engaging the mind always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. — [[spoken/1968/680816jm.mon|Janmāṣṭamī Lecture, Montreal, 1968]] --- ### Restless Like the Wind > The mind is very restless. It is very difficult to control. Cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham. Arjuna said, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, controlling the mind is more difficult than controlling the wind." — [[spoken/1970/700508ip.la|Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 6, Los Angeles, 1970]] --- ### Kṛṣṇa's Prescription > The mind can be controlled only by practice and detachment. This is Kṛṣṇa's prescription. If you practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become detached from material things, then your mind will be controlled. There is no other way. — [[spoken/1968/680816jm.mon|Janmāṣṭamī Lecture, Montreal, 1968]] --- ### Always Thinking of Kṛṣṇa > If you engage your mind always in thinking of Kṛṣṇa, then the mind cannot go anywhere else. That is the secret. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, offer obeisances to Me. — [[spoken/1972/721017sb.vrn|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6, Vṛndāvana, 1972]] --- ### Mind Creates Bondage > The mind is the cause of bondage and the mind is the cause of liberation. If the mind is absorbed in sense gratification, that is bondage. And if the mind is absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, that is liberation. Same mind. — [[spoken/1970/700508ip.la|Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 6, Los Angeles, 1970]] --- ### Meditation Means > Meditation means to concentrate the mind on Viṣṇu. That is the real purpose of meditation—to withdraw the senses from sense objects and fix the mind on Viṣṇu. That is real meditation. Not that you meditate on some void or some color. — [[spoken/1970/700508ip.la|Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 6, Los Angeles, 1970]] --- ### Like a Madman > Simply for sense gratification, they are committing so many sinful activities. It is like..., just like madman. A madman does not know what he is doing. Similarly, the materialistic persons, they are so much engrossed and become maddened to commit everything simply for sense gratification. — [[spoken/1970/701219sb.sur|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.34–39, Surat, 1970]] --- ### Where Is the Mind Going? > This is the business: where is my mind going? If it is going to Kṛṣṇa, it is first-class meditation. If it is going to sense gratification, it is the lowest meditation. So you have to train your mind. — [[spoken/1972/721017sb.vrn|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6, Vṛndāvana, 1972]] --- ### Practical Method > This chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is the easiest method for controlling the mind. As soon as you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, your mind is immediately attracted to the sound vibration. Mind is attracted by sound. So if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, the mind is immediately attracted. — [[spoken/1966/660909le.ny|Lecture on Hare Kṛṣṇa Mantra, New York, 1966]] --- ### Mind Is Not Self > The mind is not the self. The self is different from the mind. But we are controlled by the mind. Therefore we have to control the mind. If you control the mind, then you are master. If the mind controls you, then you are servant. — [[spoken/1970/700508ip.la|Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 6, Los Angeles, 1970]] --- *10 quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on the mind* [[wiki/quotes|Back to Quotes]]