How to Make a Restless Mind Remember Krishna
Roopdhyan - lovingly visualising the divine form of God - is the primary sādhana. Engaging in sankirtan and other devotional practices alongside it is certainly good. However, a common difficulty arises during Roopdhyan: due to past habits, the mind often wanders away from God toward whatever it is attached to.
When this happens repeatedly, you should neither become angry nor disheartened. Anger leads to the downfall of the mind. If you allow anger to enter an already restless mind, it will only grow more agitated. On the other hand, if despair takes hold, you will not be able to perform sādhana at all (nirutsāhasya dīnasya).
Always remember that everything you have learned in this world has come through practice and repeated mistakes. From a child in first grade to Brihaspati, the preceptor of celestial Gods, everyone makes mistakes. No one is omniscient. Yet, due to false pride, people do not accept their mistakes. Even if the Guru points out a mistake, you immediately respond: "No, Maharaj Ji! That is not correct." Instead of considering the Guru’s correction as your good fortune, you answer back - this is nāmaparādh. Even if you do not reply aloud but fail to regard it as your good fortune and instead become upset, the effect is the same. Whether you speak it aloud or think against the Guru in your mind, the result is the same. One who reacts this way can never attain their goal, even if they remain in the association of the greatest saints for countless lifetimes - because of nāmaparādh, they will continue to lose whatever spiritual merit they earn. This fault is present in all of you.
Sādhana is done only with the mind. Therefore, wherever the mind goes, let it go. It will stop in one place. Place Shyamsundar in that place. In other words, have the son of Nand, Shri Krishna, relentlessly pursue the mind, the son of Maya. When you practice this repeatedly, the mind will begin to attach itself to Him once in every fifty attempts at first. Gradually, it will get attached to Him once in forty attempts, then once in twenty, and then once in ten attempts. Through consistent practice, the mind will begin to understand that you place Shyamsundar wherever it goes. Then it will start to think, "What is the use of turning to the world?" At that point, Shyamsundar will settle into the mind, and it will no longer be drawn toward the world. The mind will develop attachment to Shri Krishna.
When the mind becomes attached to impure, insentient things in this world - like tea, cigarettes, or alcohol - it keeps returning to them. So, if you repeatedly remember Shyamsundar, why would the mind not become attached to God? He is the very ocean of bliss. Shri Krishna told Uddhav -
Viṣayān dhyāyataḥ puṁso viṣayeṣu viṣajjate
Mām anusmarataś cittaṁ mayyeva pravilīyate.
One who repeatedly contemplates worldly objects becomes attached to them. But one who repeatedly remembers Me will become attached to Me.
To bring about this transformation, you must repeatedly contemplate: "He alone is mine. Happiness lies in Him alone. The soul's only relationship is with Him. I am not this body; I am the soul. He alone is my well-wisher. All others are indirect enemies."
The very people you consider your friends are, in fact, the ones acting as your enemies. Why do you not turn toward God? The reason is precisely these five, six, or eight individuals to whom your mind remains attached. Even if all your worldly relations were to die, your attachment to your body and your pride in it would remain. It is because of this handful of people, whom you wrongly consider your friends, that you are unable to attain your goal. Recognize them for what they are. Do not be deceived.
Instead, repeatedly practice visualizing God. Wherever the mind wanders, place your worshipable deity there. With a few days of consistent practice, the mind will gradually begin to develop an attachment to God. As you practice this repeatedly and begin to experience divine bliss, you will progress easily.
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