नियच्छेद्विषयेभ्यो ऽक्षान्मनसा बुद्धिसारथिः मनः कर्मभिराक्षिप्तं शुभार्थे धारयेद्धिया
niyacched viṣayebhyo 'kṣān manasā buddhi-sārathiḥ manaḥ karmabhir ākṣiptaṁ śubhārthe dhārayed dhiyā
Synonyms
niyacchet—withdraw; viṣayebhyaḥ—from sense engagements; akṣān—the senses; manasā—by dint of the mind; buddhi—intelligence; sārathiḥ—driver; manaḥ—the mind; karmabhiḥ—by the fruitive work; ākṣiptam—being absorbed in; śubhārthe—for the sake of the Lord; dhārayet—hold up; dhiyā—in full consciousness..
Translation
Gradually, as the mind becomes progressively spiritualized, withdraw it from sense activities, and by intelligence the senses will be controlled. The mind, being too much absorbed in material activities, can be engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead and become fixed in full transcendental consciousness.
Purport
The first process of spiritualizing the mind by mechanical chanting of the praṇava omkāra and controlling the breathing system is technically called the mystic or yogic process of prāṇāyāma, or fully controlling the breathing air. The ultimate state of this prāṇāyāma system is to become fixed up in trance, technically called the stage of samādhi. But experience has proven that even the samādhi stage also fails to control the materially-absorbed mind. For example, the great mystic Viśvāmitra Muni, even in the stage of samādhi, became a victim of the senses and cohabited with Menakā. History has already recorded it. The mind, although ceasing to think of sensual activities at present, remembers past sensual activities from the subconscious status and thus disturbs one from cent per cent engagement in self-realization. Therefore, Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends the next step of assured policy, namely to fix one's mind in the service of the Personality of Godhead. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also recommends this direct process in the Bhagavad-gītā (Bg. 6.47). Thus, the mind being spiritually cleansed, one should at once engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord by the different devotional activities of hearing, chanting, etc. That is the surest path of progress even for the disturbed mind, if performed under proper guidance.