How to still the mind — what does Premanand Maharaj Ji say?

The restless, wandering mind is something every devotee struggles with, and Shri Premanand Maharaj Ji addresses it often. He says something that surprises many: don't try to stop your thoughts. You cannot silence the mind through force — the more you try to suppress thought, the louder it gets. This is like trying to hold water in your clenched fist. Instead, open the hand.

His teaching is to not fight the mind but to redirect it. Give the mind a worthy object — and Radha's name is the worthiest object there is. When you are doing naam jap and thoughts come — and they will come, endlessly — do not treat their arrival as failure. Treat the moment you notice them as success. The moment of noticing is a moment of awareness. And what do you do in that moment? You gently return to the naam. Just return. Without drama, without self-criticism. Just: I was there, now I am here again. 'Radhe.'

Over years of this practice, Maharaj Ji says, something begins to happen that is difficult to explain to those who have not experienced it. The mind does not exactly become quiet — but a space opens around the thoughts. You begin to see thoughts as passing clouds rather than identifying with each one as 'me'. This is the beginning of real inner freedom. The thoughts are still there, but you are no longer completely at their mercy. The naam has given you a place to stand.

Based on Shri Premanand Maharaj Ji's satsangs.