Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.6.4
Mukti· LiberationRestrain the Mind’s Harmful Impulses
“An unchaste woman is very easily carried away by paramours, and it sometimes happens that her husband is violently killed by her paramours. If the yogī gives his mind a chance and does not restrain it, his mind will give facility to enemies like lust, anger and greed, and they will doubtlessly kill the yogī.”
What the purport teaches
- An unrestrained mind gives an opening to enemies such as lust, anger and greed. These can ruin a yogī’s spiritual progress.
- Someone desiring freedom from material conditions must always keep the mind under control. Trusting its impulses leaves one vulnerable.
- When a yogī becomes controlled by the mind, he falls back into the material condition. The purport therefore stresses constant care in disciplining the mind.
Try this today
When anger or greed arises today, pause before acting and refuse to follow that impulse.
Ask yourself
Which impulse most often gains an opening when I stop watching my mind?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.