THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER TWO
SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNWLEDGE
VERSE NUMBER 64
Text in Transliteration:
raaga dvesha viyuktais tu visayaan indriyais charan
aatmavasyair vidheyaatmaa prasaadam adhigacchati
Text in English:
But the disciplined yogi, moving among objects with the senses
under control, and free from attraction and aversion, gains in tranquillity.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
The senses are extrovert by nature. They ramble in fields
external. Those objects that are pleasing to them are hugged while those others
that are displeasing, shunned. A closer study reveals that these senses are
themselves instruments in the hands of the mind. As goaded on by the mind they
indulge in attraction and aversion.
He is a yogi who has conquered his mind. He makes it revel
in Atman. If it ever goes outward, it does so being untainted by attraction and
aversion. There is purity as well as innocence in its contracting the external
objects, with the result that tranquillity of the mind is not disturbed. On the
other hand calmness and clarity increase. It is a form of ‘samadhi’ for the
mind to be fixed in purity and calmness, while making benign use of the senses.
Sri Ramakrishna’s life exemplifies this fact. The sight of
an extensive verdure below and dense black clouds above with a group of snow
white cranes in flight in between, took him into the Beyond. While the make-up
of Siva was going on on his person, the sense of touch with holy ash all over
the body transported him into the infinite. Hearing of the divine name of the
Lord was a sure means to put him in ‘samadhi.’ The aroma of the incense used in
worship roused the divine consciousness in him. The taste of the sacramental
food invoked his devotion to God. Thus all the five senses served him as
gateways to the Noumenon. Instead of their being impediments they became
instruments for the transcendental flights of the perfected mind of this
disciplined yogi.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
See V,8. The sthitaprajna has no selfish aims or personal
hopes. He is not disturbed by the touches of outward things. He accepts what
happens without attachment or repulsion. He covets nothing, is jealous of none.
He has no desires and makes no demands.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:
The mind and the
senses are naturally endowed with the two currents of attraction and repulsion.
Therefore, the mind and the senses like certain objects and dislike certain
other objects. But the disciplined man moves among sense-objects with the mind
and the senses free from attraction and repulsion and mastered by the Self,
attains to the peace of the Eternal. The senses and the mind obey his will, as
the disciplined self has a very strong will. The disciplined self takes only
those objects which are quite necessary for the maintenance of the body without
any love or hatred. He never takes those objects which are forbidden by the
scriptures.
In this verse Lord Krishna gives the answer to Arjuna’s
fourth question, “How does a sage of steady wisdom move about?”
Comments by the blogger:
Self-control is the sine qua non for today’s life. Without self-control
one cannot move about, because of the dress culture of the people generally. Could
Mahatma Gandhi’s way of dressing could give rise to any desire in the opposite
sex. And the way women and small girls dress is not to be spoken of! What happened
to the ancient Indian way of dressing? But, why go out, you cannot live within
the four walls of your home for the presence of that idiot box. In Tamil Nadu,
during MGR’s regime in the 1980s the art of Record Dance, that had nearly replaced
the traditional “karagattam”, a dance form popular during village temple
festivals, was banned for the dance played out live on stage to the cine songs,
was banned for its over exposure and obscenity. Today’s cine songs are the
transmutation of the obscenity of both the dance forms, karagattam and the
Record Dance! And more! Female flesh is almost completely exposed in all
movies, whether in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam or Hindi! And the TV channels live
off these song sequences. Programmes are planned in one way or the other so
that the obscene cine song sequences could be played out on the tele out of
context and the children are exposed to. But what about the adults and elderly
people? They too are over exposed to such cine songs endlessly.
How can we talk of self-discipline? And then there are
commercials. In commercials, consumer culture, rank consumerism, and obscene
sequences are mixed.
Small school boys and girls are exposed through cinema
posters. And so far as the upper middle class and wealthy people are concerned,
small children, in many cases, have uncontrolled access to the porno sites of
the internet. A recent study reported in the Indian Express showed teenagers ‘behave’
when the parents are around and ‘misbehave’ when left alone.
Self-control is the panacea for good contented life, which
is possible only if we turn our mind Godward without expectations.
But Man has to move among the objects of the senses in life.
There is no other way out. But should do so with the senses in controle. And the
trick is the rendering of the Ishta Moorthy’s name always. This will cure us
greatly in a way unforeseen by us. There would be a sense of self satisfaction
and sense of completion and contentment. The neighbours’ wealth will not affect
us. The wealthy people will be looked upon by us as folks hauling an iron ball
in chain. We can go through in life with the sweet thought about the Lord. And glorification
of the Lord’s Greatness will rid us of all sorts of craving. We may lead a
comparably better life. The spiritual culture is the need of the hour. If we
cannot rise to the level of being satisfied with our Atman, we can go through
life by glorifying the Creator. Here the Puranas and Itihasas and the Two
Epics, Ramayana and Mahabhrata will help us in a great way. Religious life is the need of the hour. Otherwise,
the tossing of the senses among the sense objects will render tired out before
we attain middle age, and when we cross that age we will be filled with a
haunting sense of lack of fulfilment.
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