Devanagari
भ्रातृव्यमेनं तददभ्रवीर्य-
मुपेक्षयाध्येधितमप्रमत्त: ।
गुरोर्हरेश्चरणोपासनास्त्रो
जहि व्यलीकं स्वयमात्ममोषम् ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
bhrātṛvyam enaṁ tad adabhra-vīryam
upekṣayādhyedhitam apramattaḥ
guror hareś caraṇopāsanāstro
jahi vyalīkaṁ svayam ātma-moṣam
Synonyms
bhrātṛvyam
—
the formidable enemy
;
enam
—
this mind
;
tat
—
that
;
adabhra
—
vīryam — very, very powerful
;
upekṣayā
—
by neglecting
;
adhyedhitam
—
unnecessarily increased in power
;
apramattaḥ
—
one who is without illusion
;
guroḥ
—
of the spiritual master
;
hareḥ
—
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
caraṇa
—
of the lotus feet
;
upāsanā
—
astraḥ — applying the weapon of worshiping
;
jahi
—
conquer
;
vyalīkam
—
false
;
svayam
—
personally
;
ātma
—
moṣam — which covers the constitutional position of the living entity .
Translation
This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. O King, please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus feet of the spiritual master and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Do this with great care.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
By neglecting this enemy of great power, which increases constantly in power, by being attentive and possessing the weapon of bhakti at the lotus feet of the Lord and the mantra given by guru, conquer this enemy, which steals the treasure of Paramātmā.
Therefore one must capture the mind. Neglecting the mind, the enemy (literally brother’s son), one must attack it. By neglecting it, it is defeated. One should not praise the mind by noticing it and giving it desired enjoyment. However, the intention is not to destroy the mind completely, since the mind has already been described as the cause of elevation as well as degradation in verse 7, and as taking shelter of the Lord in the verse 8. And one should not kill one’s brother’s son (bhrātṛvyam). How is the mind described? It increases greatly (adhyedhitam) by taking shelter of its transformations. “But how can I who am weak conquer the mind which is so strong?” One should have the weapon in the form of worship of the feet of the Lord as the nine forms of bhakti and in the form of the mantra given by guru, or one should have the weapon of worship of the feet of the Lord who is the guru. The mind is not a friend (vyalīkam) because it bewilders a person by showing its transformations and steals away the form of Paramātmā (ātmā), the treasure of life. It is a great thief.
He who makes his mind give up sense objects by the weapon of bhakti, and, having destroyed ignorance, applies the mind to Kṛṣṇa is called liberated. He who nourishes ignorance filled with impressions of desire and takes shelter of the transformations of the mind, since he lacks bhakti, is called conditioned.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eleventh Chapter of the Fifth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
Chapter Twelve
Jaḍa Bharata Refutes the King’s Arguments
Purport
There is one easy weapon with which the mind can be conquered — neglect. The mind is always telling us to do this or that; therefore we should be very expert in disobeying the mind’s orders. Gradually the mind should be trained to obey the orders of the soul. It is not that one should obey the orders of the mind. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to say that to control the mind one should beat it with shoes many times just after awakening and again before going to sleep. In this way one can control the mind. This is the instruction of all the
śāstras.
If one does not do so, one is doomed to follow the dictations of the mind. Another bona fide process is to abide strictly by the orders of the spiritual master and engage in the Lord’s service. Then the mind will be automatically controlled. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:
brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
When one receives the seed of devotional service by the mercy of the
guru
and Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one’s real life begins. If one abides by the orders of the spiritual master, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa he is freed from service to the mind.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Eleventh Chapter, of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
entitled “Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa.”