The Mind Game

 The Mind Game

One - As a student of Vedanta and a sincere seeker, I have been practicing Śravaṇam (listening), Mananam (reflection), and Nididhyāsanam (deep contemplation) on the nature of the mind.

Too often, we allow the mind to take charge—clinging to emotions and feelings—tossing us around like a ping-pong ball.

But is there something within us that can guide or control the mind? 

Yes—the Intellect (Buddhi), the faculty that discerns right from wrong. Then why does the mind so often overpower the intellect? 

Is there an entity beyond the intellect? Indeed, there is—the ultimate authority: the Self (Ātma), pure consciousness—the forgotten best friend.

The Self is ever-present, the source that animates body, mind, and intellect. It is like gasoline powering a car—when the fuel runs out, the car stops. Or like electricity energizing appliances—without it, nothing works. Similarly, when the Self departs, the body becomes lifeless. This Self is all-powerful, ever-blissful, and capable of governing the mind. Yet, we bury this best friend beneath layers of desires, attachments, and emotions until it seems lost within us.

We’ve all experienced something similar: You’re getting ready to leave for work and suddenly realize you can’t find your phone. Panic sets in. You search every usual spot—bedroom, bathroom, kitchen—but it’s nowhere. Frustrated and running late, you decide to leave without it. Then, as you sit in the driver’s seat, you feel something in your back pocket. Ah! The phone was with you all along. But because your mind was cluttered with other thoughts, you didn’t even notice. The Self is like that—always present, yet forgotten amidst the noise of desires and distractions.

Two -While doing Likhita Japa (is a practice where you write a chant repeatedly while chanting the same in mind) , I notice my mind wandering to a TV show I’ve been watching. Thoughts arise—Why did they portray that character this way? Then suddenly, the same mind realizes: Wait… why am I thinking about the TV show? I should focus on my Japa.

Perhaps this awareness isn’t the mind at all—it feels like the "Self" observing the mind. I even tell myself: “Ātma, if you are stronger than the mind, make it quiet and let me focus on writing.”

Then another thought comes: Let me visualize the Rama Murti from the temple while writing my Japa. This feels like the inner Self training the mind, guiding it back to devotion and discipline.

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Three - One day, my friend and I had a misunderstanding, and the conversation ended with him shouting, “Shut up!” I was stunned—completely speechless. For days afterward, I felt shocked and furious, thinking, How could he yell at me like that?

Even now, the memory feels fresh. I want to let it go, but the mind keeps replaying the scene like a movie reel. Each time it plays, it leaves another impression, and then a new inner dialogue begins. I imagine him sitting in front of me while I deliver a lecture in my mind.

It’s incredible how the mind works! I could be reading the Bhagavad Gita, yet the mind runs its own sidebar conversation. This is when I feel the need to invoke my Self—the deeper consciousness—and calm the mind, letting go of those thoughts.

Four - I’m attending an online Satsang (a group of like minded people studying together) on a Friday evening. During the session, the Guru says:

“Just because you are here tonight, listening to and understanding the scriptures—because you’ve placed spiritual learning above many other things you could be doing—is Bhagavan’s grace. You are here because you are qualified, and Bhagavan wants to give you this knowledge to continue your spiritual journey.”

Immediately, I feel an adrenaline rush—motivated and uplifted. But then another thought arises: I’m better and luckier than my husband or children who are doing something else. The ego bubbles up: OMG, my husband could learn so much from these talks. There are so many issues in his life that could improve if he only listened and adapted some of these teachings. Why isn’t he motivated to join? He’s just wasting his time… and the mind keeps spinning.

This is the moment when the Self must step in and remind the mind:
“Be in the present. Listen to the lecture. Contemplate for yourself. You have no control over how others spend their time.”