into the traps of karma. He puts his words and his body, his mind and his intelligence at the service of the Lord, in the consciousness of God, is perfectly liberated in this world, even if his acts seem material.
The Lord says: “Serenity, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purity of thought, such are the austerities of the mind”.
To make the mind austere is to detach it from the pleasures of the senses. We must train him so that he always thinks of the good of others. The best way to do this is to impose serious thought on it, that is, never let it deviate from Krishna consciousness or inhabit the pleasures of the senses. As for purity, let us know that to purify oneself in the depths of oneself is to become aware of Krishna, God. Serenity, or the satisfaction of the mind, will be obtained only if one puts aside all thought of material enjoyment. The more we think about these material pleasures, the more the mind lacks its own satisfaction. In the age in which we live, men vainly absorb their thoughts in the exploitation of the different ways to enjoy the senses; therefore it is impossible for them to know this peace of mind. The best will be to orient the mind towards the original holy scriptures, “the true gospel”. One can absorb the beneficial knowledge they contain and thus purify oneself. The mind must still be free from duplicity, engaged in thoughts for the good of all, and such is the simplicity of the mind. We call gravity of the mind, or silence, the constant absorption of his thoughts into spiritual realization, and the Krishna conscious man, who strictly observes this practice, is therefore in this sense perfectly silent. Mastery of the mind, hence self-mastery, consists in detaching it from material enjoyment. As for the purity of the mind, as of all existence, it proceeds from righteousness, from frank and direct behavior. And all these practices constitute the austerity of the mind.
The Lord adds: “Practiced with faith by men whose aim is not to obtain for themselves some material benefit, but to satisfy the Supreme (God), the triple union of these austerities proceeds from Virtue”.
The Lord further specifies: “The charity dictated by duty, done without expecting anything in return, in righteous conditions of time and place, and to those who are worthy of it, this charity, it is said to be accomplished under the sign of virtue”.
The original holy scriptures recommend charity which is addressed to committed men in spiritual activities. Nowhere do they support indiscriminate charity. The goal of charity must be spiritual perfection. It is therefore advisable to do charity in a place of pilgrimage and during a solar or lunar eclipse, or at the end of the month, or to a qualified priest and spiritual master, to a hermit spiritual guide, or to a temple, church, etc. In addition, we should not expect anything in return. Charity is sometimes given to the poor, out of compassion, but if the poor to whom one gives are not worthy of it, then one receives no spiritual benefit. In other words, charity given without discernment is not in accordance with the spiritual texts.