Spiritual Questions and Answers with Radhanath Swami

How to get out of the cosy zone?
Question to Radhanath Swami: I understand that I have to change for the better. But to get out of the cosy zone is very difficult at times. How to come out of that cosy zone with determination?
Radhanath Swami Answers: In order to make progress in any field, you should have faith in where you are going and you must be willing to take a certain amount of risk. A mother is gladly willing to go through so many changes, and she is gladly willing to come out of her cosy zone because she wants a child. She goes though the changes with gratitude because she is so happy that she has a child that will grow up.

It is much cosier to sit on your couch, eat potato chips and watch television than get up and run. But if you want to be healthy you have to run and work on health. On every level, to progress, tapasya or austerity is required.
We have to come out of the cosy zone for achieving anything. If you do not do it willingly for a higher cause – and the highest cause is to reconnect with God – material nature is going to tear you out anyways. Disease tears you out of cosy zone; old age tears you out of cosy zone. Nobody can remain in cosy zone, so why be attached to it? Have faith in higher cause and step out to make progress.

Prabhupada Katha

As they walked together under a steel bridge, Prabhupada pointed upward with his walking cane, "Look"-a sign under the bridge read UNALLOYED STEEL-"they have unalloyed steel, and we have unalloyed devotional service.
"What if people don't want to hear our message?" Pradyumna asked.
"The people might not understand our message, but Krsna will be pleased," Prabhupada replied. "And that is our mission. They thought Jesus Christ's mission was stopped. They killed him. But his mission was attained. He preached three years only, but so many followers. He pleased Krsna. We must not be disappointed that no one is hearing Krsna consciousness. We will say it to the moon and stars and all directions. We will cry in the wilderness, because Krsna is everywhere. We want to get a certificate from Krsna that "This man has done something for Me.” Not popularity. If a pack of asses says you are good, what is that? We have to please Krsna's senses with purified senses."

Spiritual Questions and Answers with Radhanath Swami

How to keep the mind steady?
Question to Radhanath Swami: I wanted to know how to keep the mind steady; usually we have contradictory ideas and thoughts going in mind.
Radhanath Swami Answers: The nature of the mind is like that of a monkey, it jumps from branch to branch. It goes to one branch, then to the next branch, then to the branch next to that, then again the first branch—2nd, 4th, 10th,1st, 9th, 3rd. It’s the way the mind works. But when you give the monkey a nice ripe banana, it’s happy. Similarly, Bhakti is about giving the mind a deep and fulfilling experience.

Though we may not get that higher taste immediately, but since we know it’s there waiting for us, that helps us keep the mind steady. Coming back to the analogy of the monkey, if the monkey has the banana, it will stop jumping from branch to branch even before it has tasted the banana; it stops jumping in order to go through the process of pealing the banana.
Our spiritual practice, our sadhana, is like pealing the banana. We know that the higher taste is there – inside – just as the monkey knows that the banana is there inside the peal. And just knowing that it is there, and keeping our mind focussed on the process, our mind can be kept steady.
So when we are chanting the holy names the mind will go here and there; do not worry about it; just bring it back. Bring it back to the divine sound vibration, to that object of our meditation. Try to keep it there, and if it runs away – and it will surely run away–we bring it back as soon as we realize it has run away.
While we do seva, if we realize our mind is wandering, we just bring it back. ‘I am doing this for Krishna; let me do it in the best possible way.’ The more we take responsibility to do something wonderful for God – sweeping the floor, cooking a meal or doing our business – if we are really doing it for Krishna, for God, we are going to be attentive to whatever details we can, and that keeps our mind focussed.