Lake of the mind. Lake created by Brahma; source of the Sarayu river in the northern Himalayas, now in Tibet. (Glossary for the Vahinis)

Master! Why is it that all of a sudden the angry flood has filled the basin and how could they surge so fast and so high? The sage (Vishwamitra) replied, ‘Rama! The full and furious Sarayu falls into the calm quiet Ganga at this place; hence this reverberation and the rumbling!’ The sage uttered these words coolly and casually. It was familiar scene for him. He continued, ‘Rama! In ages gone by, on one occasion, Brahma willed and a great lake was immediately formed near Mount Kailasa, This is known as Manasarovar; the word means the Sarovar of Manasa (the mind). The gods named it so. When the snows melt and the rains fall, the lake gets overfull and the flow from out of the sarovar becomes the Sarayu river, running by the side of Ayodhya towards Ganga. The Sarayu is a sacred river, because the waters rise from the lake willed by Brahma Himself.’ (RKRV Part I, p. 101)

I do not accept from you flowers that fade, fruits that rot, coins that have no value beyond the national boundary. Give Me the lotus that bloom in Manasa Sarovara, the the clear pellucid waters of the lake of your inner consciousness; give Me the fruits of holiness and steady discipline. I am above all this worldly etiquette, which enjoins you to see elders with some fruit or flowers in your hand. My world is the world of spirit; there, values are different. If you are happy, with faith in God and fear of sin, that is enough ‘service’, enough Kainkaryam for Me. It pleases Me so much. (NNSG Vol.3, p. 12)

In the Manasa sarovara (the deep placid mind-lake) of everyman, there lurks a poisonous cobra, with the six hoods –lust, anger, greed,attachment, pride and hate – infesting the air and destroying all who near it. The name of the Lord when it dives into depths forces it to come up to the surface, so that it may be destroyed. So, allow the Divine in you, the Krishna, to lord over your mind; let Him trample on the hissing hoods, and tame the vicious viper; let it vomit the venom, become sattvika and sweet. This is the Sadhana the episode teaches, the duty it enjoins. (SSS Vol. 6, pp. 54-55)