Summary:

In this session, we explore the concept of a mature mind as described in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verses 18-25. The discussion focuses on managing desires responsibly, distinguishing between binding and non-binding desires, and the importance of developing emotional and mental maturity.

The session delves into the indicators of a mature mind, including perspective-taking, accommodation, authenticity, compassion, and connection to Ishvara. It emphasizes the need for perseverance, mindfulness, and the ability to convert ownership to trusteeship.

The importance of following dharma, maintaining a healthy self-image, and developing resilience are highlighted. The session also touches on the concept of repairing trust and understanding Ishvara's compensation system.

Throughout the discussion, practical examples and analogies are used to illustrate key points, such as the flame protected from wind representing a composed mind. The overall message emphasizes the gradual process of developing a mature mind capable of understanding and applying spiritual knowledge.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 18: 

युक्त-आहार-विहारस्य युक्त-चेष्टस्य कर्मसु ।
युक्त-स्वप्न-अवबोधस्य योगः भवति दुःखहा ॥ ६-१७॥
yadā viniyatam cittam ātmani eva avatiṣṭhate ।
niḥspṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyaḥ yuktaḥ iti ucyate tadā ॥ 6-18॥
When the mind has gained a certain composure (and) remains in the self alone, when one is free from longing for all the objects (of desire), then (the person) is said (to be) one who is accomplished.

• Verse about building a mature mind. So far, we said mature mind = Resilience to various challenges, accommodation, composure, following dharma, emotional maturity, ownership to trusteeship.
• niḥspṛhaḥ sarva kāmebhyaḥ: Your relationship with desire.
  • Desires need to graduate to desire for moksha. Other desires support your main desire of moksha. EG: If don’t listen to music, hobbies – you’ll go kuku!
  • Desires not bad. It helps you engage in world to learn/mature and build grey-brain-matter.
  • Furthermore, mind comes with Jnana/iccha/kriya shakti: Capacity to know, desire, act. To rid of any 3, you’re denying yourself 3 blessings. So no question of destroying desires.
• How to manage desires responsibly?
  • Even if moksha is primary goal, acknowledge you have other desires which actually nurture you. Vedanta doesn’t say to stop working or avoid relationships to pursue moksha.
• BINDING-DESIRES:
  1. WHAT ARE BINDING DESIRES?
     • If you’re going after one big desire that’s taking lot of your time/energy/focus, and makes you lose sight of the teaching, then it’s binding (unhelpful) in nature. In other words, a binding desire robs you of time/energy in reference to what you’re really seeking. But can’t help yourself. You’re helplessly spending hours at a time doing something you know isn’t that important nor is it changing your life in any significant way.
     • Binding desires are convenient for you; they tend to ignore the well-being of others. They steal your attention from external world, they introvert you into your own bubble.
     • Binding desire create a pressure in you, “I have to __”. SOLUTION: Ask, “What is my loss?”.
  2. EG HOW BINDING-DESIRE CREATES HAVOC IN LIFE: (Desires done for my convenience alone)
     • After 5/10 years of marriage, romance goes down. Husband sees someone attractive. Starts with coffee. Followed by dinner. Relationship. His wife calls him out. He responds, “What are you saying? So suspicious!”. Now all things start surfacing; guilt, shame, fear of being found out, justifying to hide facts. Think you’re smart, but Ishvara is smarter.  
     • So keeping your desires in check isn’t about doing another a favour (such as the wife), but giving yourself a favour. Because binding-desires cause you to sacrifice dharma, which is your natural program that sustains your peace.
     • Staying informed about news and politics for hours a week, and when you ask the person what’s going on, it’s the same generalized opinions as someone catching up for minutes a week.
  3. EG OF CONVERTING BINDING TO NON-BINDING DESIRE: (Mastery Over Desires)
     • Suppose you’re working in job you don’t enjoy (binding desire), but enjoy the comforts it provides. Can change attitude by seeing your job as opportunity to develop communication skills. This is mastery of desire.
  4. TWO EXTREMES OF MANAGING DESIRES:
     • (1) Suppress emotions, push forward anyway. (2) Go along with the emotional roller-coaster.
     • Both cases: Need to manage intelligently. EG: Woman fell in love with someone at work. She knew couldn’t risk losing husband/children. So she invited man to home who became friends with husband.
• NEXT VERSE: What will managing desires do for you?

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 19: 

यथा दीपः निवातस्थः नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता ।
योगिनः यत-चित्तस्य युञ्जतः योगम् आत्मनः ॥ ६-१९॥
yathā dīpaḥ nivātasthaḥ neṅgate sopamā smṛtā ।
yoginaḥ yata-cittasya yuñjataḥ yogam ātmanaḥ ॥ 6-19॥
A lamp, protected from the wind, does not tremble. This illustration is cited for the composed mind of the meditator who practices contemplation of the self.

• Wind can easily put out an unprotected flame, compared to flame within a solid frame, without holes. Similarly, when mind is not sufficiently mature (holes), it’s capacity to hold these ideas outside (amidst challenging winds), isn’t high. Whereas in class (where no wind blows), it seems clear. So it’s your job to recognize holes, and plug them. At one point, flame of knowledge becomes steady, even amidst cyclones. 

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 23: 

तम् विद्यात् दुःख-संयोग-वियोगम् योग-संज्ञितम् ।
सः निश्चयेन योक्तव्यः योगः अनिर्विण्ण-चेतसा ॥ ६-२३॥
tam vidyāt duḥkha-saṃyoga-viyogam yoga-saṃjñitam ।
saḥ niścayena yoktavyaḥ yogaḥ anirviṇṇa-cetasā ॥ 6-23॥
…may one know that dissociation from association with sorrow, to be what is called as yoga. That yoga should be pursued with clarity of purpose with a mind that is not discouraged.

• Duḥkha-saṃyoga-viyoga: Generally when there’s something unfavorable, and there’s no cognitive distance between itself and “I”, that creates sorrow. Whereas yoga (mastery of mind), is acknowledging a passing emotion is a passing emotion. It’s not mistaken as “I”.  If the passing emotion is recurring in nature and create suffering, then need to look into it, as indicates some distortion in your thinking. Doesn’t happen overnight. Takes years, thus niścayena (with perseverance; refusing to be discouraged).
• NEXT VERSE: Says same thing…

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 24-25: 

सङ्कल्पप्रभवान्कामांस्त्यक्त्वा सर्वानशेषतः ।
मनसैवेन्द्रियग्रामं विनियम्य समन्ततः ॥ ६-२४॥
saṅkalpaprabhavānkāmāṃstyaktvā sarvānaśeṣataḥ |
manasaivendriyagrāmaṃ viniyamya samantataḥ || 6-24||

शनैः शनैः उपरमेत् बुद्ध्या धृति-गृहीतया ।
आत्म-संस्थम् मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चित् अपि चिन्तयेत् ॥ ६-२५॥
śanaiḥ śanaiḥ uparamet buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā ।
ātma-saṃstham manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcit api cintayet ॥ 6-25॥

Giving up totally all desires, which are born of thought, completely withdrawing the group of sense organs and organs of action by the mind alone…
…with the intellect endowed with perseverance, may one slowly resolve the mind (in ātman). Making the mind abide in the self, may one not think of anything else.

• Don’t take literally “Give up all desires, and only think of atma”. Rather: Mind free from binding desires is able to contemplate on nature of atma. Contemplation becomes natural, easy, ongoing.
• NEXT VERSE: What is the outcome of having managed your mind? But first revision of what mind mastery involves…

Indicators of Emotional / Mental / Intellectual Maturity:

What are indicators of mature mind, needed for final understanding?

• Perspective: Ability to see from all perspectives.
• Accommodation: Constantly attempting to control those who we love the most. Instead letting them be themselves. Taking effort to understand where another is coming from. If need to stay away, fine, but take time to understand their point of view.
• Acknowledge: Acknowledging helplessness: Then asking for help.
• Authenticity: Acknowledging what’s happening in you, and your words/thoughts/actions are congruent.
• Compassion: Compassion (meaning reaching out in times of need) for self and others. Not beating yourself up.
• Connection: Connection to Ishvara
• Convert: Conversion of ownership to trusteeship.
• Desires: Desires are mastered: Reducing binding-desires by asking “What is my loss?”. Having only non-binding desires.
• Discerning power: What can I change and not change? In/out of my control.
• Emotional maturity
• Following dharma: Doing what needs to be done in a way that enriches your/others life.
• Healthy self-image: EG: Ability to feel cheer for someone’s success; non-envy. Next level is to use free will to enrich another’s life.
• Being Real: Lack of pretence (giving false appearance / making self bigger then life; Adambhitvam).
• Perseverance: Need because mind prone to losing enthusiasm through time.
• Mindfulness: Reducing mechanical thinking > deliberate.
• Repairing your trust:
  • Everyone is fallible. Ishvara’s compensation system alone is infallible. No other way to discover true trust.
  • EG: If say, “What’s the point of doing good! Good people suffer, bad people get away”; shows your lack of trust.
  • Story showing cause-effect relationship of Ishvara: Father bought property for daughter. Brother said it's depreciating in value and should be sold. Sister was hesitant, but brother sold anyway. When came to distributing the money, he said, “I took initiative, I did hard work, I want 50%”. Sister hesitantly accepted. Week later, brother's home was robbed, all jewellery taken. He couldn't trace cause-effect (for being unfair to sister), except to blame thieves.
• Resilience: Putting up with the pinpricks of life. Ability to bounce back quickly.
• Responsibility: Taking responsibility for your actions
• Teachability index: Willingness to accept change vs. Willingness to learn.

CONCLUSION: Growth is multi dimensional. Even good people like Arjuna, needs certain type of mind to understand the knowledge.

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Recorded 13 July, 2024