One Has to Win Their Internal Battle to Awaken Their Consciousness

• 08 Nov 2022

“Who has Conquered the Mind, The Mind is the Best of Friends; But for One Who Has Failed to Do So, His Mind Will Remain the Greatest Enemy.”

Bhagavad Gita (6.6)

Internal battle is the state of mind in which the individual is not able to decide what should be their next decision as per their future plan of action. Life has several occasions in which the mind suffers from a dilemma. Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta ascribes to Arjun’s state of mind. In the battle of Kurukshetra when Arjuna was surrounded by the Kaurava’s army he then became trapped in his emotions looking after Bhishma Pitamah and Guru Dronacharya. Arjuna faced two kinds of battle at that point. One is inner battle and the other is external battle. External battle is basically the battle of Kurukshetra in which Arjuna was supposed to fight against the Kauravas. Internal battle is basically the battle with his emotions which Arjuna fought with himself.

Internal battle is the battle in which the individual has to fight with his weakness such as anger, ego, delusion, desires and worldly attachment. The Arjuna chariot which was driven by Sri Krishna had five horses which symbolizes five basic human senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. These senses are the source of human desires. Individuals have to fight against the allurement of these worldly desires which emerge from these senses. Shri Krishna Symbolizes consciousness. If the command of the senses comes in the hand of the consciousness, then it leads to the awakening of the individual and the individual will achieve the permanent state consciousness. Awakening of consciousness will only be achieved through inner battle. The majority of the individual is slave of his mind, what the mind wants, they lure in it and live life just to fulfill it.

Consciousness is simply self-awareness. The more mindful you are of your thoughts and ideas, the more conscious you will become. The more you learn about yourself and the world, the more enlightened you will become. This awareness is personal and unique to you. If you can put your feelings into words, they are a part of your consciousness.

Consciousness is a form of action or process. It is controlled by the brain, just like any other behavior. When an individual asserts to concentrate in its objective to attain it by abandonment of sensual pleasure and comfort, he is truly battling in a battlefield where he is fighting with his uncontrolled mind every second. When the individual's mind is brought under control, awakening and enlightenment begin to occur gradually. The awakening of consciousness leads to the individual's detachment from superficial outer luxury and a desire to achieve something truly meaningful instigated.

You may battle someone and take his possessions, but if you win your mind, you can rule the entire universe. The question now is how triumph over the mind aids in the conquest of the entire cosmos. To understand this, we must examine our cognitive processes and inner understanding.

When we move on the path that controls our mind then in this process, we are actually exploring our mind. The human mind is as complex as the universe and exploring the human mind is like exploring the universe. If an individual succeeds in knowing his mind, he will be well aware of the universe. When your mind wakes up to a new reality, a new lesson or a new realization, it is an awakening.

It is true that a person who has control over his mind and thoughts may achieve anything in life. However, our mind is frequently unstable, disobedient, and dissatisfied. You spend your entire life thinking and working about your career, family, relationships, triumphs and failures, difficulties and struggles. Then, all of a sudden, you understand that there is more to life than the chase of momentary pleasures. It is an awakening.

There is a Mahabharata that each person must confront. Only those whose consciousness controls their mind would be able to win this war of Mahabharat. He advises Arjuna that he may achieve total perfection in life by mastering his mind. He makes it very evident that nobody can achieve serenity and happiness in life without control over their mind.

Shri Krishna advises Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita to surrender to him before carrying out his responsibility. If we consider Shri Krishna to be conscious and Arjuna to be the body, then consciousness is telling the body to act exclusively under its supervision so that the body (Arjuna) might win the internal battle of daily life i.e., Mahabharat.

When a person tries to concentrate in one spot, his mind tends to wander and travel here and there. Knowing well that no important message will arrive, you start checking your social media platforms every few minutes. But you check since it is difficult for you to focus on your task. You begin working once again, but after a short while, you turn to exploring the internet. You search for recent news. You often check Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp. You take breaks that are unnecessary. You discuss stuff with coworkers to pass the time.

The mind begins to think in an uncontrolled manner, draining all of the body's conserved energy. When you realize that your energy and time are exhausting by thinking about irrelevant subjects, then you'll try to manage his attention by focusing it in one spot. Therefore, you spend several hours or even days doing a task that you might have finished in a few hours of focused effort. This is a continuous effort that an individual must undertake. Essentially, this method serves as a learning and self-exploration tool. He makes a lot of mistakes while learning. But he gains the expertise by attempting several times. This ongoing endeavor is basically a mental struggle, which we might call Mahabharat.

Meditation was used by the ancient Vedic sages to calm their minds and raise their consciousness. They concentrated on the sanctifying characteristics and transcendental shapes. They would compel them to refocus on their meditational subject. You must not, however, give up. You will ultimately master your mind by constant practice, as practice leads to perfection. As a result of practice, consciousness grew and spread. The mind wakes as a result of consistent effort, which leads to perfection.

“According to the letter of the Gita, it is possible to say that warfare is consistent with the renunciation of fruit.”

Mahatma Gandhi