By: BK Dr. Savita
Source: The Daily Guardian 
Dated: May 5th, 2025

Are all my thoughts useful, purposeful, or positive? Do I have unnecessary or negative thoughts that leave me feeling sad, irritated, or resentful? The mind is my faculty, and it is I, the soul, who creates thoughts, so do I have control over my thinking, or does the mind sometimes control me, such as when I am buffeted by mental storms? 

If a driver loses control of his or her car, there is every likelihood of meeting with an accident. Similarly, having little or no control over our mind can cause us to ‘accidentally’ say and do things that we may regret later. In a car, the brakes and the steering wheel play the main role in controlling its movement. When the brakes are powerful, we can stop the car safely whenever needed. If the brakes are weak, we may apply them with all our force, but by the time the car comes to a stop it might be too late. A brake failure can have dire consequences.

It is the same with our mind: if it is in our control, the journey of life goes smoothly, but if it runs riot, the results can be unhappy. What does it mean to have control over the mind? We should be able to focus it where we want, when we want, and for as long as required. If unwanted thoughts arise, they are stopped immediately. If our ‘brake’ is weak, we might struggle to control our thinking. As a result, there will be lack of clarity, confusion, and even emotional upheaval, and we can end up making ill-advised choices in our words and behaviour. On the other hand, when we have mastery over the mind, we can detect harmful thoughts and feelings as they begin to arise, and check them. Mental clarity and focus enable us to respond appropriately to every situation, no matter how challenging it is. 

Whatever thoughts we have in the mind, and whatever judgment our intellect makes, both need a powerful brake, and they also need the power to steer. While driving, when we see that an accident is likely to occur, and the brake fails to work, we have to steer the vehicle out of danger’s way. Putting a full stop to our thoughts is the brake, but if the brake cannot be applied for some reason, we can steer our intellect away from waste thoughts to positive thoughts. Both these powers are essential, and when we have them, the energy of the intellect is not wasted. Instead it gets accumulated, and the greater our stock of this power, the better is our discernment and decision-making.

For accurate discernment, it helps to have a clean heart and a clear intellect. When the intellect is not clouded by desires, ego, fear, or any other weakness, it can read people and situations correctly and respond aptly. There is no scope for waste thoughts, and if at all they arise, we can immediately apply the brakes on them.

BK Dr. Savita is a Rajyoga teacher 
at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Abu Road, Rajasthan.