715. Kulotteerna

Kulamu represents all the sensory organs. They are tools given to us for perception. Divine mother is beyond perception. Senses can't reach there. Thinking that what we perceive through senses is real is ignorance. Divine mother comes as gurumandala and shatters the ignorance of a seeker. Then he/she becomes a yogi. So she is called kulotteerna

Mind is the master of senses. If you have full control on your mind, then the senses are also in your control. But how can you gain control of your mind? What should you do? Is it even possible? This is explained in the 12th chapter of Bhagavadgita - Bhakti Yoga.

Shreyohi gnanamabhyasaath gnanathdhyaanam vishishyate

dhyanaatkarma phalatyaagah tyagaath shantiranantaram

Swaadhyaaya (self study or research), Abhyaasa (practice), Gnana (Wisdom), Dhyana (Meditation), Karmaphala tyaga (Selflessness). All these are tools to take control of your mind. Gnana is more powerful than Swadhyaaya and Abhyaasa. Dhyana is more powerful than Gnana and Karmaphala tyaga is more powerful to Dhyana.

Explanation - With swadhyaaya, you learn what to do and what not to do. But if you don't have the required mental strength, you cannot implement them. Abhyaasa gives that mental strength. You get gnana with Abhyasa, but it has to be refined with Dhyana. To concentrate in Dhyana, you need to shun selfishness. Let us discuss this with an example

Let us assume that your determination is to protect yourself from various ailments or diseases. With help from youtube videos, TV channels and friends, you can acquire good knowledge of the best practices to maintain good health and immunity. This is Swaadhyaaya. But this would be a plethora of information. Whom should you follow? What should you practice? 

Abhyasa - First fix your mind on the goal. Remind it multiple times in a day. Like in this case, keep repeating the phrases, 'I should improve my health', 'I should improve my immunity' etc whenever you find some free time. Best times are before going to bed and first thing after waking up. Repeating the goal multiple times will help fix your mind on the target. This is the first step to overcome anything. Eat seasonal fruits, exercise for at least 30 minutes and do pranayama every day. This is the gist of all the news feed/information you gather on health improvement. Learn how to do exercise or Yoga. Learn pranayam. Adjust your diet to include fruits in your food every day. Don't forget to remind your mind about it's goal. Keep repeating it. Make waking up early a habit. Do exercise early morning. Do Pranayama before going to bed in the night. Make these a routine. This is abhyaasa. Once you make it your routine, the mind won't let you miss it. It will remind you when you miss exercise or pranayama. It will remind you when the fruit basket is empty. That's the character of the mind. Once you put it in the right path, it automatically helps you in sustaining it.

Gnana - You need to understand the nuances of each of these techniques. Don't follow stuff blindly. Ask questions. Introspect. If you have doubts, seek answers/clarifications. When you put things to practice, knowledge transforms into wisdom. But it requires a bit of meditation to mature. That is Dhyana

Dhyana - Dhyana means meditation. It helps in the above process. It has countless tangible and intangible benefits. Most important one of all of those is it helps to clean the mind of unwanted distractions and harmful thoughts. Just meditate upon your favorite God for 5 minutes every day. Imagine the picture of your deity and anchor your mind on it. Chant His mantra. Don't let it get distracted.

Karmaphala tyaga - This is the last step. The fruit of all your efforts in the above example is improvement of your health and immunity. How do you measure it? Some assessment can be made through medical tests. But they won't be conclusive enough. The actual thing you should practice is to stop bothering about the fruits of your actions. Put your efforts wholeheartedly. And leave the rest to God. Tell God, "O! almighty! I am putting sincere efforts to improve my health. If there is any room for betterment, please let me know. I shall try to implement that too. Thank you". Leave the rest to Him. Talk to Him. Ask Him to talk to you. Ask Him to pardon your sins and help you in this endeavor. He will do it. Because He loves you. Remember my dear brother/sister, if you have to get it, you can get the maximum a human can get. But if God has to give it, He will give the maximum a human can take. Because His will is infinite.

Like this, you can take control of your mind and achieve the hardest or most challenging goals in your life. Go for it my dear brother/sister. Go for it. God is with you.