In this inspiring question and answer session, a sincere devotee asks Swami Prakashanand Saraswati how to offer the mind to Krishn. Swamiji, a revered spiritual teacher and guide, responds with deep insight into the role of intellect and emotion in devotion. Using the heartfelt story of a boy and his faith in Gopal, he beautifully illustrates how true surrender arises when understanding and urgency awaken together in the heart.
Swamiji Question &Answer:
Question: A Devotee Asks, “How do I give my mind to Krishn?”
Answer: We have two forms of the mind, the emotional form and the form that understands intellect. The intellect is the governing power in your personality. Whatever your intellect decides to do, you act accordingly. You want to see, you don’t want to see, you want to get up, you want to lie down. Your mind says all the time, “This is bad. This is good. Go there. Don’t go there. Follow this. Don’t follow this.” It is all the decisive mind, the intellect.
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The simple answer is, the more deeply you understand with your intellect that, “I have to love Krishn. He is my only beloved. No matter what happens, how long it takes, I have to give Him my whole heart,” the more the giving of the heart actually occurs. They both develop simultaneously. Less understanding, less giving of the heart. Deeper understanding, deeper giving of heart. Understand, and you have given the heart simultaneously. Not even a fraction of a second delay.
I’ll give you an example. There was a little boy. He went to school. His school was way up beyond in a wooded area, so he used to get scared when he came home in the evening. One day he asked his mother, “Mother, don’t I have any elder brothers to help me or to go with me?” She said, “Yes, there’s an elder brother. But he has gone to the woods. He never comes to me.”
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“So can I find him?”
“Oh yes, you can find him.”
“What is his name?”
“His name is Gopal.”
So the boy understood, “My brother Gopal is in the jungle, and if I need him, he will come.”
He forgot about it as he went back and forth to school, because he wasn’t scared. But one day he came home late and was really scared, so then he remembered, “Oh, my mother has told me that I have a brother. His name is Gopal.”
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Just look at the situation. When his mother told him about Gopal, he took it casually, “When I need him, I’ll call him.” But when he came to the jungle and it was dark, raining, with a long way to go, he got really scared.
Now there are two things. What was he scared of? He was scared of death, or some kind of disaster. Say some disaster is going to befall you. When? After ten years. You don’t care. “I’ll see you after ten years.” If it is going to happen within a year, you think, “I will do something.” If it’s going to happen within a week, then you think, “I will do something!” You see, the closer the disaster, the more you feel. You are more attentive to it.
The disaster was at hand. The jungle was scary, with wild beasts and jackals howling, so the boy got scared. He called for Gopal.
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“Gopal, Gopal, Gopal! GOPAL!!” He called as if he were going to die. Gopal had to come. (Gopal means Krishn.)
Now take this whole incident.
He took it to his heart in the very beginning when his mother told him, “Your brother is there.” He liked the idea, to have someone. “I have someone who I can depend on.” But he was not desperate. But when he saw the disaster, he was desperate, “Oh, I have to find my brother Gopal.” He gave his heart completely to Krishn and Krishn had to appear.
The same thing happens with every devotee.
First, how seriously do you take that He is yours? This is one thing. Then, how seriously do you take it that if you don’t meet Him in this lifetime, what may happen? There are two things: gain and loss. Think of both sides. What will you lose and what will you gain. Both incite your excitement towards finding Krishn.
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So, keep both in your intellect- the gain and the loss. This way, if we keep these two things in our intellect, our heart is already given to Krishn, that extent of our understanding of how much we will gain – that Divine love which even Brahma sought for millions of years but did not find. Oh, that love?! We can get that love with the Grace of Radha. And the disaster, what would happen?
The state of divine consciousness you have today, you might also have earned millions of times in your past uncountable lifetimes. Why didn’t you find Krishn? Some mistake happened. What could be the mistake? Any sin? No, negligence. It seems a very small thing -negligence. You neglected your devotion, became careless, got involved with the world, became worldly… So if you will lose this chance, what will happen? You could lose again for millions of lifetimes. Who knows?
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Conclusion:
Swami Prakashanand Saraswati reminds us that sincere understanding through intellect awakens complete devotion. When the desire for Krishn becomes urgent and heartfelt, His divine presence is certain to manifest.
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