The business of the mind.

        The business of the mind is saṅkalpa and vikalpa. Saṅkalpa means to decide to do something, and vikalpa means again to reject it. That is the business of mind. Everyone desires peacefulness of the mind, but the nature of the material mind is saṅkalpa and vikalpa—restlessness. We cannot fix the mind in a peaceful condition. Without spiritual intelligence, the mind will accept and reject that which is favorable and unfavorable for the comfort of the senses. On the material level this acceptance and rejection translates into hankering and lamentation. No matter how great or horrible of a position we find ourselves in, we are hankering for those things which we do not possess and we are lamenting for those things which we have lost. That is our material business. The restless nature of the mind is what keeps most people from experiencing the bliss of Kṛṣṇa consciousness—even devotees. As aspiring devotees we may have our prescribed service that we regularly engage in, but unless we become satisfied in our position we will not be able to relish the nectar of bhakti. By licking the bottle, we cannot taste the sweetness of the honey.

manaḥ-prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ

maunam ātma-vinigrahaḥ

bhāva-saṁśuddhir ity etat

tapo mānasam ucyate

        "And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one's existence are the austerities of the mind." (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 17.16) To achieve this satisfaction and austerity of mind we must detach it from sense gratification. Contemplation of the objects of the senses inflames the desire to enjoy those objects. When the burning desire becomes too compelling, the senses sheepishly follow the dictation of the mind. Therefore the mind should be trained to always think of doing good for others. Gravity of thought properly aligns our mind in this vein. Gravity means that we are serious and dignified in quality. We should not deviate from Kṛṣṇa consciousness and must always avoid sense gratification. Avoiding sense-gratification and being straightforward in our dealings will purify our nature and lead us to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When we come to this level of purity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness we will be equal to everyone and can genuinely be their well-wisher; not hankering for what they have and lamenting that we do not have. This is the test of advancement. We have no lamenting, no hankering, and we are equal to everyone. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. "The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater." (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 5.18)

        So in this way, when we are situated with equal vision, we come to the devotional platform:

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā

na śocati na kāṅkṣati

samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu

mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

"One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me." (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 18.54) Once we come to this devotional platform, then we are eligible for the highest benefit:

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti

yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ

tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā

viśate tad-anantaram

"One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 18.55)

        So, the requisite satisfaction of the mind for the highest goal 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 Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata. One can take advantage of this knowledge and thus become purified. As Parīkṣit Mahārāja heard Śrīmad-bhāgavatam he said, nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt: (Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 10.1.4) "Narrations about Kṛṣṇa are the proper medicine for those suffering in material existence, and such narrations are very relishable to hear, especially for those who are free of all material hankering."

        As long as we are in material existence, we will feel hankering and lamentation because this world is being conducted chiefly by the modes of passion and ignorance. Therefore ordinarily we hanker to possess something, and if somehow or other we acquire that thing and it is lost, we lament. Even sometimes we lament upon acquiring something that we realize is unfavorable once we have it. Hankering and lamenting and other effects of the lower modes of nature are known as abhadrāṇi, dirt within the heart. So while Parīkṣit Mahārāja has said that narrations about Kṛṣṇa are especially relishable for persons who have transcended all hankering and lamenting, he also says that for the common man these narrations are bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt—very pleasing to the ears and the heart, and the proper medicine to cure the disease of material life and cleanse the dirt within the heart.

        Therefore our program in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness society is to give people in general a chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa. This is our mission, which has been given to us by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He said (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 7.128):

yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

"On my order become a spiritual master and try to explain kṛṣṇa-kathā to everyone you meet." Kṛṣṇa-kathā means words spoken by Kṛṣṇa, such as the Bhagavad-gītā, and words about Kṛṣṇa, such as Śrīmad-bhāgavatam. Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered us to distribute these two kinds of kṛṣṇa-kathā throughout the whole world. By reading kṛṣṇa-kathā and sharing Kṛṣṇa with everyone, we can very easily traverse this ocean of material existence and relish the supreme taste of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this very lifetime.