Training the mind

As long as man is stuck in the mind, as long as he doesn’t purify the mind, this love will never shine. You will never realize this love. Even if you think you know it because you have read about it, or somebody has told you about it, or because Swami has said it, and you say, “Yes, I know this love is there,” as long as you don’t purify your mind, as long as you don’t purify yourself… it will be difficult to realize this love. How do you purify the mind? The easiest way to purify the mind is to chant. Chant the name of God continuously. You were chanting the Maha Mantra, “Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.” It is said by just chanting this mantra, one can gain liberation. But one has to chant it with faith. Mere chanting alone will not help, but chanting with the heart, will help. How do you chant with the heart? How do you train the mind to calm itself? By focusing it. It happens when you discipline yourself and say, "Okay, today I will chant." Let’s say you start by taking your japa mala or rosary, and you chant your mantra. By focusing yourself on chanting, you’re discplining the mind to focus on the mantra. The more you do it you will see, and you will not even need your japa mala, you will not need a rosary because it will automatically be chanted inside your heart. When you become the mantra, you reach a point of realization. You reach a point of elevation, but it’s not the final one. There is still more to go. And how you get there is only through abandoning yourself in the hand of God. When you say, “Lord, I surrender to you. I surrender myself, my body, my mind, and my soul completely to you.” Not superficially, but sincerely. And how do you do it sincerely? When you're sincere with yourself and say, “Yes, God, I want you. I’m surrendering myself to you.” When this comes from your heart sincerely, it will happen.