How to Control the Mind from wandering and get Peace of Mind?
Two male devotees asked like this:
(1) “Hare krishnaprabhu!! I m a devotee associated with iskcon,……….! I chant maha mantra 4 Rounds daily… I “day dream” a lot prabhu! And because of that i m nt able to study n my score in the exams have also decrease a lot!! Please give me any solutions to this problem prabhu!! Hare krishna!!!”
(2)
“prabhu I need to study . I have obstacles….how do I find inner peace?? bt still I do know tatkrsna lives in his name in tz age….so I recite the mahamantra 11 tyms evyday during praying…….so huw to find inner peace?”
REPLY:
Sun is a sphere of fire. Keep a piece of paper under sun light. It will not burn even after hundreds of years. Whereas, take a lens. Focus the same sunlight on that paper. It will burn within seconds.
Same sun light. It burns the paper when it is focused through lens. Because, all its energy is focused on a particular point. So, the power of the sunlight is sharpened. Whereas, when there is no lens, the light of the same sun is scattered.
What you know from this?
When we focus our attention on a single thing, our brain will be sharp. If we think more, your brain will be under confusion always. So, there will be no sharpness.
(If Krishna is our intelligence, why should Senses, Mind and False Ego dominate us? READ HERE!)
If you concentrate your brain in only one activity, your brain co-operates with you. So, you will concentrate well and you can control the mind from wandering.
This is like opening so many folders in your system at a time. If the RAM is insufficient, it will hang or become slow. If you work with just one or two folders, the same system will work fast.
Thus, if you day dream more, you can’t shine in any work. Because, there will be so many desires, imaginations and expectations. So, your mind can not involve in any activity.
And, whatever you dream, you will get only those things that are okayed by Krishna and that are aimed by you.
So, stop dreaming. Start acting. Engage your mind in only one activity at a time. That activity should be PRODUCTIVE.
(How to engage our mind, thoughts and actions for Krishna? READ HERE!)
Make a chart of priorities in your life. You must spare time only for the following things in your student life:
(1) 1-2 hrs for Chanting and reading about Krishna.
(2) More time for attending school/ college.
(3) More time for reading school/ college lessons at home.
(4) 20-30 minutes reading for general awareness using good newspaper that will help for planning your career.
(5) Some minutes for your parents.
(6) Temple visits on weekends.
(7) Some minutes to meet good friends, preferably devotees.
If you stop with these activities during your student life, you can balance all your activities.
If you make “Some minutes” as “More time” in the above list, you will get reverse result only. So, you should have preferences in life.
(HOW TO DIVERT THE MIND AND SENSES INTO KRISHNA’s SERVICE? READ HERE!)
For every Krishna Conscious student, school/ college studies are also very important. Because, you have to earn well and maintain your family and help vaishnavas & temples who are preaching Krishna Consciousness. No devotee should be idle a burden for others. He must stand on his own legs and help devotees.
The whole Bhagavad Gita speaks about PERFORMING PRESCRIBED DUTIES with renounced mindset. Krishna never says us to skip our duties.
So, plan as said above and lead an effective student life
GETTING PEACE OF MIND
Inner peace comes only when your mind is free from thoughts. But, As agreed by Krishna Himself, our mind will wander here and there and it is very difficult to control our mind. However, Krishna says that by sustained practice, we can control our mind.
What is sustained practice? it is not sitting in a closed room alone. You may be alone. But, your mind will be travelling from America to Africa and even beyond to heavens. So, mind can’t be emptied at all. As said by Srila Prabhupada, doing yoga practices targeting empty space will also not offer expected peace of mind. It is temporary.
Then, what to do?
(Manas, Buddhi and Ahankar, ie, Mind, Intelligence and False ego – Details! READ HERE!)
As I said above, mind can never be mechanically controlled. However, to Control the Mind from wandering, its dusts should be REPLACED with nectar. So, if you rorcleansed. Instead, hear from bonafide devotees about Krishna, your mind will be filled with the nectar of Krishna. When Krishna Consciousnes is getting filled in your mind, all the anarthas will say good bye stage by stage without any efforts from your side.
So, read Krishna Katha and always think of the lilas of Krishna. See everyone as the product and part of Krishna. Reading means, REGULAR READING in an organized manner. Do all your household/ professional works thinking of Krishna.
Then, chant atleast 16 rounds as recommended by Srila Prabhupada. You have written that you are chanting 11 times. I appreciate your chanting Mahamanthra; But, I do not know why it is just 11 times. If it is 11 rounds (11×108), it is good. If it is 11 times, it should be increased. Because, this kaliyuga is very strong. So, Start from 108 times (One round) that takes just 7 minutes. Then increase month after month and come to the stage of 16 rounds. If you chant this much and read Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Krishna Katha & other books of Srila Prabhupada, you will find your mind getting filled with Krishna and your anarthas are getting replaced.
When Krishna occupies your mind, your mind will remain peaceful because you will depend on Krishna and you will face even the negatives as the blessings of Krishna.
So, start this process to control the Mind from wandering from today onwards. Not casually. Seriously.
(MIND CONTROL TIPS WHILE WORSHIPING KRISHNA OR CHANTING! READ HERE!)