Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 2
Ṛṣabhadeva’s Indifference to Siddhis, Vigilance Toward the Mind, and the Kali-yuga Rise of Anti-Vedic धर्म
ऋषिरुवाच सत्यमुक्तं किन्त्विह वा एके न मनसोऽद्धा विश्रम्भमनवस्थानस्य शठकिरात इव सङ्गच्छन्ते ॥ २ ॥
ṛṣir uvāca satyam uktaṁ kintv iha vā eke na manaso ’ddhā viśrambham anavasthānasya śaṭha-kirāta iva saṅgacchante.
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied: My dear King, you have spoken correctly. However, after capturing animals, a cunning hunter does not put faith in them, for they might run away. Similarly, those who are advanced in spiritual life do not put faith in the mind. Indeed, they always remain vigilant and watch the mind’s action.
In Bhagavad-gītā (18.5) Lord Kṛṣṇa says:
FAQs
This verse warns that the mind is inherently unsteady, so one should not place naïve, straightforward trust in it; instead, one must be vigilant and disciplined.
He highlights hypocrisy—people may appear agreeable externally while remaining internally duplicitous, just as a hunter uses outward tactics to trap.
Do not follow every impulse as “truth”; cultivate steadiness through regulated habits, self-examination, and devotion-centered practices that align thoughts and actions.