On morals and the steading of the mind

[Nanda Kumar]

I quite agree with Allan about the moral aspect. Sometime back
somebody remarked on  the Ramakrishna mission monks insistence on
mental purification before undertaking jnana yoga. It made immense
sense to me, because it's been my experience that reading the
Upanishads and Vivekachoodamani and trying to apply them to my day to
day life has been quite a strain for me. The reason I believe is that I'm still
under the control of my senses and ego and clearly not pure enough. I
understand that it cannot be done overnight but gradually with practice.
It's my opinion that undertaking jnana yoga without purification is a
fruitless task, as there's no point in studying the scriptures if one's heart
is not wholly in it and one's not able to apply them to one's life.