BGD Week 2: Turning the Mind into a Friend

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura ki jaya!

Last week, we began our journey at the entrance to the path of bhakti: Śaraṇāgati (Surrender). On the platform of śaraṇāgati, wherein one embraces the Lord’s guardianship (goptṛtve varaṇam), one becomes strongly established in their relationship (sambandha) with the Lord.

What comes next?

Ideally, once we surrender, the false ego should vanish. But for the majority of us, this process of śaraṇāgati takes time, and we find that we have to continue living with our stubborn mind. We are accustomed to identifying this mind as the "I," but the path of śaraṇāgati requires us to dismantle this false identity and replace it with our true identity.

In his Yāmuna-bhāvāvali (Song 26), Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura clarifies this transformation:

e bhaktivinoda kaya, ahaṁtā-mamatā naya,
śrī-kṛṣṇa-sambandha-abhimāne
sevāra sambandha dhari’, ahaṁtā-mamatā kari’,
tad-itara prākṛta vidhāne

"Bhaktivinoda says: There is no [mundane] sense of 'I' and 'mine' in understanding one’s relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but by maintaining a relationship of service to Him, one adopts the true sense of 'I' and 'mine.' Any other such identity is arranged by material nature."

The goal is to shift our identity from the current, temporary material "I" to the pure, eternal servant "I." But while we remain conditioned, we are stuck with a material mind that often acts against our spiritual interests. Therefore, we must convert this mind into our ally. As Śrī Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (6.5):

"One should elevate oneself by one’s own mind and not degrade oneself. For the mind alone is the friend of the conditioned soul, and the mind alone is his enemy."

This brings us to our second category: Upadeśa (Instructions).

In the songs selected for this week, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura engages in a direct dialogue with his own mind. By speaking to the mind, we actively separate our true self from the mind. We train it, turning it from an enemy that craves material pleasure into a friend that hankers for service.

In this week's selection, you will find songs that instruct the mind and clarify the path of bhakti:

• Songs based on Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Śrī Upadeśāmṛta: We are all familiar with Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Upadeśāmṛta (The Nectar of Instruction). One of the wonderful gifts to us from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is that he transformed these instructions into prayers to the Lord, begging for the strength to practically apply them to our lives and understand their deep meaning. These songs range from prayers for controlling the six urges to engaging the tongue and mind in constant kīrtana and smaraṇa while residing in Vraja under the guidance of one filled with rāga.
• Songs based on Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Manaḥ-śikṣā: In the same way, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura offers further guidance to the mind on how to truly follow and imbibe the instructions of Manaḥ-śikṣā. These songs offer direct guidance for how to relinquish various anarthas and cultivate unparalleled attachment (rati) for the Divine Couple and Their associates, leading to the matchless jewel of eternal service in the groves of Vraja.
• Selections from Kalyāṇa-kalpataru:
  • The 19 Upadeśa songs address various vices, such as vanity in scholarship, caste-related ego, and the hollow guise of false renunciation.
  • The 13 Upalabdhi songs focus on realizations arising from sincere remorse and disenchantment. Here, one laments a wasted life spent as a slave to material nature and recognizes that the "medicine" of impersonalism is actually a toxic poison more dangerous than the disease of illusion.
• Bhajana-gīti: These two songs expose the mind as extremely wicked and fickle, absorbed in lust and greed. They urge the mind to give up the cultivation of karma and jñāna to instead worship the lotus feet of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and remember the many intimate associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
• Śreya-nirṇaya: Although these songs are not framed as direct instructions to the mind, they are still filled with essential instructions that focus on discerning (nirṇaya) the highest good (śreya) by establishing that without kṛṣṇa-bhakti, all other endeavors are merely causes of bondage. They encourage the soul to escape the net of māyā and find shelter in unconditional kṛṣṇa-prema.

Your Selection for Week 2

Below is the link to the selection form for this week. As before, I invite you to read through the list and select up to four songs that resonate with your current struggle or inspiration.

Join the Daily Program

We are continuing our daily online sessions where we discuss these songs and their practical application.

Dates: Jan 1 – Feb 14, 2026

Time: 7:00 – 8:00 AM IST (Check your local time here)

Where: Zoom and YouTube

If you missed any of the previous sessions, you can catch up on the YouTube channel. For more details on ways to join our program and links to our WhatsApp groups, click here.

I look forward to taking this next step in our journey through the flow (dhārā) of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's songs.