BHAGAVAD-GITA 17:16

February 22, 2003

BHAGAVAD-GITA 17:16

manah-prasadah saumyatvam

maunam atma-vinigrahah

bhava-samsuddhir ity etat

tapo manasam ucyate

WORD FOR WORD

manah-prasadah--satisfaction of the mind; saumyatvam--being without

duplicity towards others; maunam--gravity; atma--of the self;

vinigrahah--control; bhava--of one's nature; samsuddhih--purification;

iti--thus; etat--this; tapah--austerity; manasam--of the mind;

ucyate--is said to be.

TRANSLATION

And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification

of one's existence are the austerities of the mind.

PURPORT

To make the mind austere is to detach it from sense gratification. It

should be so trained that it can be always thinking of doing good for

others. The best training for the mind is gravity in thought. One

should not deviate from Krsna consciousness and must always avoid

sense gratification. To purify one's nature is to become Krsna

conscious. Satisfaction of the mind can be obtained only by taking the

mind away from thoughts of sense enjoyment. The more we think of sense

enjoyment, the more the mind becomes dissatisfied. In the present age

we unnecessarily engage the mind in so many different ways for sense

gratification, and so there is no possibility of the mind's becoming

satisfied. The best course is to divert the mind to the Vedic

literature, which is full of satisfying stories, as in the Puranas and

the Mahabharata. One can take advantage of this knowledge and thus

become purified. The mind should be devoid of duplicity, and one

should think of the welfare of all. Silence means that one is always

thinking of self-realization. The person in Krsna consciousness

observes perfect silence in this sense. Control of the mind means

detaching the mind from sense enjoyment. One should be straightforward

in his dealings and thereby purify his existence. All these qualities

together constitute austerity in mental activities.

permission.

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