BG 17.16 (1972)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 16
- मनः प्रसादः सौम्यत्वं मौनमात्मविनिग्रहः ।
- भावसंशुद्धिरित्येतत्तपो मानसमुच्यते ॥१६॥
- manaḥ-prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ
- maunam ātma-vinigrahaḥ
- bhāva-saṁśuddhir ity etat
- tapo mānasam ucyate
SYNONYMS
manaḥ-prasādaḥ—satisfaction of the mind; saumyatvam—without duplicity towards others; maunam—gravity; ātma—self; vinigrahaḥ—control; bhāva—nature; saṁśuddhiḥ—purification; iti—thus; etat—that is; tapaḥ—austerity; mānasam—of the mind; ucyate—is said to be.
TRANSLATION
And serenity, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purity of thought are the austerities of the mind.
PURPORT
To make the mind austere is to detach it from sense gratification. It should be so trained that it can be always thinking of doing good for others. The best training for the mind is gravity in thought. One should not deviate from Kṛṣṇa consciousness and must always avoid sense gratification. To purify one's nature is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Satisfaction of the mind can be obtained only by taking the mind away from thoughts of sense enjoyment. The more we think of sense enjoyment, the more the mind becomes dissatisfied. In the present age we unnecessarily engage the mind in so many different ways for sense gratification, and so there is no possibility of the mind's becoming satisfied. The best course is to divert the mind to the Vedic literature, which is full of satisfying stories, as in the Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata. One can take advantage of this knowledge and thus become purified. The mind should be devoid of duplicity, and one should think of the welfare of all. Silence means that one is always thinking of self-realization. The person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness observes perfect silence in this sense. Control of the mind means detaching the mind from sense enjoyment. One should be straightforward in his dealing and thereby purify his existence. All these qualities together constitute austerity in mental activities.