Four problems are related to the material universe.
It is essential to feed, shelter, reproduce and confront fear. It is the latter that harasses us most. The whole material existence is a series of obstacles, which is why the problem of fear constantly arises. It originates from our contact with the illusory energy of the Lord, an aspect of external energy or material energy, also called maya.
Verily, these are the sins of men, arising from their sinful thoughts, words, and deeds, compounded with their refusal to obey God, to respect and enforce His laws, precepts, and commandments, and to serve Him with devotion, but also the slaughter of millions of terrestrial and aquatic animals in slaughterhouses, at sea by trawlers, and in fish and aquaculture ponds, the consumption of meat, fish and eggs, abortions, and the extraction of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, which are at the origin of various wars, viruses, epidemics, global warming, natural disasters such as fires, droughts, abundant rains, floods, landslides, hurricanes, earthquakes, high winds, intense cold, extreme heat, etc., frequent clashes here and there, reduced milk, agricultural products, and suffering.
The mind is the original cause of enslavement to matter. It is at the origin of lust, anger, pride, greed, distress, sorrow, illusion and fear. All these tendencies combine to enslave the incarnate soul that each of us really is, to the interested action.
Since the evil tendencies that accompany the mind chain us to matter, we must be careful not to trust it, for it is both our best friend and our worst enemy. The mind is useful to us because it is through it that we can «think, feel, and want», which are its three activities.
In truth, the best way to always remain in control of our mind and therefore to constantly master it is to absorb it into Krishna consciousness or God consciousness, and hum the wonderful chant of the Holy Names of God, “Hare Krishna”.
The mind is the focus of the practice of union and communion with God. The purpose of the practice of union and communion with God [also called yoga] is to dominate the mind and prevent it from attaching to the objects of the senses. Moreover, the effect of yoga should be to educate the mind so that it can take the conditioned soul out of the ignorance where it is maintained.
In material existence, everyone is a slave to the mind and the senses. In fact, it is the mind that gives us a false conception of ourselves, that causes within us the desire to dominate the material nature, and that is at the origin of the imprisonment of the soul in the material universe.
If the mind is directed so as not to be fascinated by the shimmer of matter, the soul will escape its conditioning. In no case should we allow ourselves to go to the objects of the senses, because according to a process of degradation they increasingly bog us down in material existence. We will then be drawn into an endless cycle of rebirth and death, called reincarnation. Therefore, the best way to free ourselves from this stagnation will be to never offer our thoughts only one object: God.
The mind is the cause of the imprisonment of the spiritual being incarnated in matter, but also of its liberation. Absorbed in the objects of the senses, it imprisons the being. Detached from the objects of the senses, it frees it. Focusing the mind on Kṛṣṇa, God, the Supreme Person, therefore brings supreme liberation.