Drunken Monkey - A satire on the Mind

Monkeys of Vrindavan

 Here is a nice verse that caught my attention this week –

"MarkaTasya suraapaanaM madhye vrushchika damshanam

tanmadhye bhUta sanchaaro yadvaa tadvaa bhaviShyati”

"A monkey is fickle by nature. Then, he got drunk, consumes alcohol, gets stung by a scorpion, and a Ghost enters or possesses him, his fickleness reaches a level beyond imagination."

Ok, to begin with , he is a monkey who is chanchala or fickle and then surapanam – alcohol to make him tipsy, Vrischika. a scorpion bite to make him real crazy and top of all possessed by a Ghost. I also heard that (not in this sloka) that he also steps on a burning coal.

This is a satire on our mind, which is running, jumping everywhere and going crazy which if not controlled will go to places, do things and act in ways which are totally unimaginable and hard to predict. That’s why we need to control our mind.But, how do we control this mind which is as good as the above monkey.. Read on....

Monkeys of Vrindavan

Imagine this..There was a Monkey.Immediately, my mind runs to vrindavan.The monkeys there are so notorious, they steal peoples spectacles, caps, bags what not for a ransom. So, when they steal something, they wont run away but, go to some high place like a tree or a wall and will be watching the owner.The only way to get the good back from this gentleman is to give him something like, couple of Bananas, piece of coconut or anything that arouses his interest.That's why, the first thing the tourists are advised by local people is to remove their spectacles.What if someone cant see without glasses.? Good luck... So, the negotiation starts..The monkey stilling on the top of a wall or tree and the person below showing her bunch of bananas.You show the gift, move a step forward, he move a step forward.Slowly, the negotiation process continues, step by step, until each other are within the arms distance of each other.Then, depending on how daring the person is, the person might simply exchange the good hand to hand or simply, throws the ransom near the monkey and the monkey throws the belongings of the person at them and snatches the prize.This is a perfect scenario. But, so many times people may loose both the ransom and their belongings, or they may get them in a broken or unusable condition because, after all a monkey might get bored and chew on to the plastic and fiber of the glasses etc.

Anyway, this is the little background and glimpse of a monkeys way of life.

In the Chapter 6 Dhyana Yoga of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, after Arjuna listens to the practices of Dhyana and Yoga of mind and body, sitting on a elevated seat made of Kusa grass, concentrating on the tip of the nose, controlling the breathing and so on,which is practiced by the powerful sages of bygone era, Arjuna says this to Lord Krishna.The system of yoga, which you summarized seems to be impractical and unendurable for me for the mind is restless and unsteady.And, further

on in the next verse 34 he says,

"cancalam hi manah krsna

 pramathi balavad drdham

 tasyaham nigraham manye

 vayor iva su-duskaram"

Translation and purport by Srila Prabhupada

For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.

PURPORT

The mind is so strong and obstinate that it sometimes overcomes the intelligence, although mind is supposed to be subservient to the intelligence. For a man in the practical world who has to fight so many opposing elements, it is certainly very difficult to control the mind. Artificially, one may establish a mental equilibrium toward both friend and enemy, but ultimately no worldly man can do so, for this is more difficult than controlling the raging wind. In the Vedic literature's it is said:

atmanam rathinam viddhi sariram ratham eva ca

buddhim tu sarathim viddhi manah pragraham eva ca

indriyani hayan ahur visayams tesu gocaran

atmendriya-mano-yuktam bhoktety ahur manisinah

"The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and

senses. So it is understood by great thinkers." Intelligence is supposed to direct the mind, but the mind is so strong and obstinate that it often overcomes even one's own intelligence. Such a strong mind is supposed to be controlled by

 the practice of yoga, but such practice is never practical for a worldly person like Arjuna. And what can we say of modern man? The simile used here is appropriate: one cannot capture the blowing wind. And it is even more difficult to

capture the turbulent mind. The easiest way to control the mind, as suggested by Lord Caitanya, is chanting "Hare Krsna," the great mantra for deliverance, in all humility. The method prescribed is sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh:

one must engage one's mind fully in Krsna. Only then will there remain no other engagements to agitate the mind."

And, in the next verse Lord Krishna acknowledges this fact and says, still it is possible to control the mind by suitable practice and detachment.

In Srimad Bhagavatham there is a verse which says,

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.52

krite yad dhyayato vishnum

tretayam yajato makhaih

dvapare paricaryayam

kalau tad dhari-kirtanat

Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Treta-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra

Personally, I found Chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra was most suitable for me, where you dont need to follow so many rules and regulations, maintain difficult postures and also go to a secluded place in the forest but, can be practiced anywhere

sitting at your home, walking in a park. The ideal way is to chant in the morning before sunrise during the time called Brahma Muhurta,sometime between 4:00Am to 6:00 AM in the morning, because at that time of the day it is said that the mode of goodness prevails.

What about alternative process of Yoga ? All glories to them, few years ago I used to practice Raja Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama and I did that for about 5 to 6 years and I realised that it was not for me, impractical, too hard and less results.