Everything depends on controlling the mind. Srila Prabhupada writes, “The mind contains hundreds and thousands of impressions, not only of this life but also of many, many lives in the past. These impressions sometimes come in contact with one another and produce contradictory pictures. In this way the mind’s function can become dangerous for a conditioned soul.” (Nectar of Instruction, text 8, purport)
Srila Prabhupada goes on to say that if at the time of death we think of something not very congenial, we will have to take a corresponding birth in the next life. “On the other hand, if one can think of Krishna at the time of death, he can be transferred to the spiritual world.” In other purports, Srila Prabhupada has stated that the tongue’s utterance of the Hare Krishna mantra can forcibly capture the mind. As powerful as the mind is, the tongue and ear can capture it and fix it on Krishna—provided the mind is disposed in a friendly way. And why not? It’s for the mind’s own good. It’s nectar.
(_Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name_)