In this verse from Śrī Bhagavad Gītā, Lord Krishna speaks about the regular effort a sādhaka, a seeker on the spiritual path, needs to make to remind the mind of its true nature—the Self.
By saying yato yato, Lord Krishna in this verse teaches that regardless of the cause for the mind’s restlessness and wandering, a sādhaka should gently bring it back to the joy of the Self, over and again.
Lord Krishna alludes to a significant practice on the spiritual path, the practice of smaraṇa, remembrance. When we find the mind getting caught in thoughts and feelings that lead us away from the Self, we have the choice of remembering to bring the mind back to its true nature, the light of the Self.
Remembrance and re-remembering is a niyama, a form of self-effort that we sustain with regularity. Over time, through practice, the mind becomes established in the steady knowledge of the Truth. The mind comes to know and experience at all times that it is So’ham, the supreme Self.
This verse has stayed with me from the first time I read it, here on the Siddha Yoga path website. I often come back to it when I feel the need to quiet my mind and rest it on the Guru’s feet.
Again and again, this verse pops up in my consciousness, making me aware of how the restlessness of my mind keeps me away from my own true nature, the Self. Then I pray for my Guru’s grace to help me calm my mind so it can rest delightfully in the Self.
a Gurukula student in Gurudev Siddha Peeth
Reflecting on this verse, I found that I am using my mind for different purposes. And I know that the highest purpose is to stay connected to the Self, and one way of doing this is to repeat the mantra given by the Guru.
Yesterday, there was a traffic jam of unpleasant thoughts in my mind and I saw that it was difficult for me to repeat So’ham because my attention had been distracted by an object filled with issues. My mind, as a good friend, wanted to help me solve these issues while repeating So’ham only intermittently. The result was a headache.
I found it interesting that I emerged from this suffering by engaging myself in a useful task which immersed me in concentration and stillness. It was as if I had taken my mind onto a peaceful road lined with flowers in a beautiful landscape… and I caught my breath as my mind returned to—So’ham!
Rodez, France
This morning while offering my prayers at my puja, I silently spoke to my mind with love and respect, assuring it that I would constantly make an effort to greet it and draw it within. Instantly I felt calm and silent.
Then I opened the Siddha Yoga path website and found this teaching from the Bhagavad Gita. It connected beautifully to the promise I had made to my mind, and I felt a deep reassurance.
Nairobi, Kenya
This verse reminds me of the delight I experience when I do remember to bring my mind back to rest in the Self. When my mind does rest there, it is so happy. There is a sense of wonder that it would ever be enthralled with anything else.
I am so encouraged by these sacred words of Lord Krishna, and I know that this simple action, done over and over, is one of the most profound things I can do as a human being.
Adelaide, Australia
As I practice Gurumayi’s Message for 2019, this scriptural text reminds me to treat my mind as a friend, while holding the awareness “I am That.” Even though my mind can be “restless and unsteady” in daily life, I am trying carefully to use my intellect to keep me aware of the bliss of the true Self.
One way I do this is through japa, repeating the mantra So’ ham. Another way I do this is to provide my mind with different, interesting subjects to study daily through the Siddha Yoga path website. With contemplation, I experience that these different types of studying, and my daily practices, reveal the light which is the blessing of my beloved Guru.
