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One can understand the Supreme Soul and one’s position in relationship with Him when one is completely freed from the unwanted association of ordinary men. In this way one can become fit to cross the ocean of nescience. The cause of conditional Life is attachment to the external energy. One has to conquer these mental concoctions: unless one does so, he will never be freed from material anxieties.

Although mental concoctions have no value, their influence is still very formidable. No one should neglect to control the mind. If one does, the mind becomes so powerful that one immediately forgets his real position. Forgetting that he is an eternal servant of Krishna and that service to Krishna is his only business, one is doomed by material nature to serve the objects of the senses. One should kill mental concoctions by the sword of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee (guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija).

SB 5.11 Summary

I have had two thoughts running through my mind over the past few weeks and although they appear to be separate entities are in fact similar in thought; that being of nostalgia and how we react to those devotees who suffer from mental health distress.

You see we can get caught up in a wave of nostalgia; do you remember a song, a film, a place, people or events, but what is the use? It just allows the mind to focus away from Krishna and entraps us in the cycle of repeated birth and death.

So is nostalgia wrong? Well no, not quite as if we have nostalgia, then the Vedic understanding is that Krishna too has nostalgia, this is spiritual nostalgia, the best. I am always fascinated listening to devotees recall their times with Srila Prabhupada and other senior devotees and yes, simply put it’s nostalgia.

Now recently I was talking to a very interesting devotee who suffers from some mental health distress. We were recalling why we were attracted to each others' Guru Maharaja, the main reason was that despite everything they remained ever patient, ever understanding, and even when others had given up on us, they remained there.

Yes, through it all as we struggled with the basics of devotee life, our Guru Maharajas' continued to hold out a hand to help pull us back home, back to godhead; we had in some way become enwrapped in nostalgia for our own spiritual masters.

But you know what impressed me the most was that despite the problems faced and the subsequent hospital admissions, they continued to seek devotee association and when possible offered service, I have seen many temples shun those in similar situations when they are in need of the greatest compassion and protection.

But then I realized this one key point, in fact we're all suffering from a severe mental health condition, one that will entrap us in repeated births and deaths through many species of life, through many different types of suffering, both physically and mentally. We simply chose to enjoy without Krishna; a disease above all diseases, a mental health state above all mental health states.

The biggest hindrance remains always our mind, including the simple nostalgia it thrives on.