An able monarch will have his ministers under control; he will direct them along proper lines and maintain the peace and security of the kingdom. On the other hand, a monarch who allows himself to be controlled by the ministers does not deserve the throne; he is spurned and disgraced. His kingdom has no peace and security. The mind is the monarch in man; the senses are the ministers. The mind has become the slave of its servants and so, the realm has no peace. Every spiritual aspirant who aspires to achieve the expression and expansion of the Divine in him has therefore to earn mastery over the senses. That is the first step. The next one is the conquest of the mind, its elimination. The third is uprooting the vasanas (innate tendencies), and the fourth, the attainment of Jnana (spiritual wisdom). The branches are the senses, the trunk is the mind and the roots are the innate tendencies. All three have to be overcome and destroyed so that the awareness of the Atmic Reality can be gained. (Divine Discourse, May 06, 1983)