SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 6 Text 5
uddhared atmanatmanam
natmanam avasadayet
atmaiva hy atmano bandhur
atmaiva ripur atmanah

uddharet--one must deliver; atmana--by the mind; atmanam--the conditioned soul; na--never; atmanam--the conditioned soul; avasadayet-- put into degradation; atma--mind; eva--certainly; hi--indeed; atmanah--of the conditioned soul; bandhuh--friend; atma--mind; eva--certainly; riouh--enemy; atmanah--of the conditioned soul.

TRANSLATION

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

JOURNAL:

In his purport Srila Prabhupada writes; The purpose of the yoga system is to control the mind and to draw it away from attachment to sense objects. It is stressed herein that the mind must be so trained that it can deliver the conditioned soul from the mire of nescience.

The most practical aspect of this teaching is japa. The constant dragging of the mind back to the Holy Names seems tiresome at times but hearing as well as chanting are necessary. The combination of the two, when practiced correctly, will train the mind to stay on task while at the same time allow the soul to experience God Himself.