The mind can be the friend of the conditioned soul, just as it can be its enemy. Man must use it to elevate himself, not to degrade himself.
To the one who has mastered it, the mind is the best friend; but to the one who has failed in the enterprise, it becomes the worst enemy.
He who has mastered the mind, and thus gained serenity, has already attained the Supreme Soul (the full emanation of Krishna, also known as the third aspect of Krishna). Joy and sorrow, cold and heat, glory and disgrace, he sees them with one eye.
The spiritualist is the realised soul, the being to whom spiritual knowledge and the realisation of that knowledge give fulfilment. He has reached the spiritual level and possesses self-mastery. With one eye he sees the gold, the pebble and the clod of earth.
Even higher is the one who sees with an equal eye the indifferent, the impartial, the benefactor and the envious, the friend and the enemy, the virtuous and the sinner. The spiritualist must always endeavour to fix his mind on the Supreme Being. He must live in a solitary place, always remaining in control of his mind, free from all desires and feelings of possession.
In a holy and secluded place, he must provide for himself, neither too high nor too low, a seat of kusa grass, covered with a buckskin and a cloth of soft material. There he should sit firmly, practise yoga (the practice of union and communion with God) by controlling the mind and senses, fixing his thoughts on a single point, and thus purifying his heart.
With the body, neck and head straight, the gaze fixed on the tip of the nose, the mind at peace, mastered, free from fear, firm in the vow of continence, he must then meditate on Me in his heart, making Me the ultimate goal of his life.
Thus, by mastery of the body, by mastery of the mind and of the act, the spiritualist, removed from material existence, reaches My abode [the spiritual Kingdom].
No one can become a spiritualist if he eats too much, but also too little, if he sleeps too much, but also too little.
When, through practice, the spiritualist succeeds in regulating the activities of his mind, when, freed from all material desires, he attains the Absolute, he is said to be established in yoga. Master of the mind, the spiritualist remains firm in his meditation on the Supreme Being, like a flame which, sheltered from the wind, does not waver. The perfection of yoga, meditation, is attained when, through practice, the mind is withdrawn from all material activity. Then, once the mind is purified, he realises his true identity and tastes inner joy. In this happy state, he enjoys, through his purified senses, infinite spiritual happiness.