Senses and Need for their Control - P Govindarajan

Spiritual life begins with exercise of control over the five senses of perception. In Srimad Bhagavadgita the Lord declares that the aspirant’s understanding becomes steady only when his senses are all completely restrained from the objects of senses and adds that the turbulent senses can wean away the mind of even the wise who strive for self-control. The leg of Gajendra, the elephant, was caught only by a single crocodile but the mind of aspirants can be pulled in different directions by the five crocodiles in the form of senses that wander among the various alluring objects of the world. The ephemeral and transient pleasures of mundane world wear out the vigour of the senses making the mind emaciated and weak for the higher pursuits of life. Those who want to realize the reality of Self, which is eternal, imperishable and beyond all changes, should keep the senses away from the transitory and finite pleasures of earthly life.

© "Kalyana-Kalpataru" (August 2003) published by Jagdish Prasad Jalan for Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya, Gita Press, Gorakhpur. Reprinted with permission.

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