WHAT IS THE HARM IF ATTACHMENT DOES NOT DISAPPEAR?
yatato hyapi kaunteya purushasya vipashchitah
indriyaani pramaatheeni haranti prasabham manah // 2.60 //
The turbulent senses, O son of Kunti, do violently carry away the mind even of a wise man though he may be striving to control them.
Sri Krishna has so far emphasized that a perfect master is the one who has a complete control over his sense-cravings. Sense cravings are like turbulent horses. If these horses are kept under control destination can be reached with safety; otherwise the rider gets thrown out.
Even a man of discrimination falls prey to the temptations of the world. Therefore, the aspirant must not relax his effort for self-control. He should bring all the senses under his control; otherwise his mind will be dragged into the field of sense objects leading to a sorrowful experience. This is more likely to happen even to a highly evolved seeker whereby he will not be able to reach his spiritual destination of final liberation. This is an advice of caution to the seeker.
SENSE CONTROL IS A MEANS OF GOD-REALIZATION FOR A PERSON OF STABLE MIND
taani sarvaani samyamya yukta aaseeta matparah
vashe hi yasyendriyaani tasya prajnaa pratishthitaa // 2.61 //
Having restrained all the senses he should sit steadfast, intent on Me; his wisdom is steady whose senses are under control.
Sri Krishna warns Arjuna here that as a seeker of Self-perfection he should control his mind by withdrawing all his sense organs from their wanderings and should concentrate his entire attention on `me' i.e. The Lord, The Supreme. The idea is that the mind should be made completely calm to meditate on Him, the Supreme Lord.
Such a Yogi, having brought under control all his senses, is called a person of steady wisdom and established in the Self. Self-discipline is not a matter of intelligence. It is a matter of will of the mind and vision of the Highest. This is a technique of Self-Development.
THE VERY THOUGHT OF SENSE-OBJECTS CAUSES FUTURE MISFORTUNE
dhyaayato vishayaan pumsah sangas teshoopajaayate
sangaat sanjaayate kaamah kaamaat krodho'bhijaayate// 2.62 //
When a man thinks of objects, attachment for them arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire arises anger.
krodhaad bhavati sammohah sammohaat smriti vibhramah
smritibhramshaad buddhinaasho buddhinaashaat pranashyati // 2.63 //
From anger comes delusion, from delusion the loss of memory, from the loss of memory the destruction of intelligence; from the destruction of intelligence he perishes.
From here onwards Sri Krishna explains the theory of fall of man from God-hood to sense-entanglements. The source of all evils is wrong thinking and false perceptions. When a man constantly thinks upon the alluring features of the sense objects the consistency of such thought creates an attachment in him for the objects of his thought. When similar thoughts come to play on his mind continuously they become strong desire for possessing and enjoying the objects of attachment.
He tries his level best to obtain them. When this motive energy encounters with forces creating obstacles in the way of fulfillment of his desires it is called anger. He starts hating the people who come in the way of satisfying his wants, fights with them and develops hostility towards them. When a person is afflicted with anger, his mind gets confused casting a shadow on the lessons of wisdom learnt by him through past experience. Thus deprived of the moral strength, he loses his power of discrimination between right and wrong which is called destruction of intelligence.
Failing in discrimination, he acts irrationally on the impulse of passions and emotions and thereby he is unable to attain the spiritual goal paving the way for self-destruction. Here Krishna traces moral degradation to those first breaths of thought that come softly and almost unconsciously to the mind.
Desires may prove to be as rebellious and challenging as the most powerful external forces. They may lift us into glory or hurl us into disgrace. Kalidasa in Kumarasambhavam says that they are really brave whose minds are not disturbed when the sources of disturbance are face to face with them
What is called for is not a forced isolation from the world or destruction of sense life but an inward withdrawal. To hate the senses is as wrong as to love them. The horses of the senses are not to be unyoked from the chariot but controlled by the reins of the mind.
The movement from desire to destruction can be illustrated as under:
Brooding on the objects of senses ►attachment ►desire ►anger ►delusion ►loss of memory ►loss of reason ►utter ruin.
HOW A PERSON OF STABLE MIND MOVES AMONG SENSE OBJECTS AND WHAT IS HIS REWARD?
raagadwesha viyuktaistu vishayaanindriyaishcharan
aatmavashyair vidheyaatmaa prasaadamadhigacchati // 2.64 //
But the self-controlled man, moving among objects with his senses under restraint and free from both attraction and repulsion, attains peace.
The mind and the senses are endowed with the two natural currents of attraction and repulsion - liking some objects and disliking certain others. But a man with mental discipline approaches these sense objects with a mind free from attraction or repulsion thereby attaining the peace of the Eternal. The senses and the mind are his servants but not the masters; he is the Master of wisdom. Running away from the sense objects cannot ensure mental tranquility because mind’s agitations for getting the desired objects or to get rid of the undesired ones will continue.
When the mind is trained in these two aspects viz., (a) to live in self-control and (b) to move among the sense objects with neither attachment nor hatred towards them, its agitations caused by the charm of such objects are brought under control. This condition of the mind, which has the least sense disturbances because of the ineffectiveness of the sense objects upon it, is called tranquility or peace or `Prasada'.
This verse answers Arjuna's question as to how does the man of steady wisdom move about?