The Tormentor of the Tormentors of the Mind ()

The mystical power of the holy name of Krishna to pacify the agitated mind is expressed poignantly in the Mukunda Mala Stotra (32) as “the capacity to torment the tormentors of the mind.” When we strive to live virtuously, we often find our minds tormented by various ungodly forces that instigate us toward vice.  Resisting and rejecting these tormenting forces often seems to be an uphill task, if not a losing battle. However, if we fervently chant, attentively hear and prayerfully remember the holy name, then we can turn the tables on those mental tormentors, for the holy name will unleash its irresistible power to torment and drive them away. Therefore, whenever our minds start getting tormented by unholy desires, let us see those desires not as burdens that signal another upcoming internal struggle, but as opportunities that herald new experiences of the magical power of the holy name.