The Chariot of the Mind - By the medieval poet, Govinda Das
By drinking the nectarean honey of the lotus feet of Sri Gaura, by singing the glories of Sri Gaura’s deity, by listening to the instructions of Sri Gaura, and by associating with devotees who follow his instructions, so many fortunate individuals experienced the joyous waves of prema.
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O mind! Why do you keep burning repeatedly in the fire of worldliness? Simply keep chanting the mantra of your dear Lord.
Think carefully about the ultimate aim of your life and then climb on the chariot of the [purified] mind. Make the feet of Lord Gaura your charioteer.
Engage your five life-airs (prāṇa, apāna, udāna, vayāna and samāna) as the five horses driving this chariot. Let āśā, the hope of attaining the Lord, be the strong rope controlling these horses so that the chariot may never break down.
Using this chariot, go quickly towards the shore of the unlimited ocean of the Lord’s loving pastimes. Having reached there, bathe thoroughly in the waves of this ocean of prema.
In this ocean, you will swim along with other servants of Hari who are delighting in the waves of bhakti-rasa. These servants of Hari will fetch you the rare jewel of prema from the depths of this ocean and will thus fulfill your most cherished desire.
In the middle of that ocean of bhakti-rasa is a house decorated with precious jewels in which brilliant complexioned Radha and dark complexioned Shyam reside.
The charioteer, Lord Gaura’s lotus feet, will help you meet these two, Radha and Shyam. It is for this reason that Govinda Das sings the glories of Gaura.