The Dangers of Letting the Senses Take Control

Lord Krishna describes the mechanics of what happens when the senses go out of control and demand satisfaction. They see an object such as an ice cream cone and demand to have it. They become fixated on the cone as if it were real, as though it could confer everlasting happiness. They long to have the cone, to taste the cone, to gain a lasting inner satisfaction from the cone, which will never happen, even if they taste the ice cream.

This unsatisfied longing causes impatience and irritation that turns into anger. Anger causes the mind to be fully deluded, that is, ‘I want that which I don’t really want; I want that which I already am; I want a temporary thing instead of an eternal everlasting experience’. In a state of angered delusion, one begins to lose their memory. Did you ever see an angry person so enraged they lose the ability to speak? With the memory impaired, they become deluded, imagining things that never occurred, or forgetting things that did occur. For example, blaming someone for something they never did or for something that never happened. When a person cannot destine becomes damaged, and when a person cannot determine what is real and what is fantasy, their life goes downhill. They have no peace at all, because they seek satisfaction from an irrelevant object.

We can see this from a supposedly ‘good’ event. Stories abound of people who have won the lottery and become instant millionaires.

For one, they sought the prize of ticket, imagining it would bring happiness. And after winning, they become so enamored with the money that they lose touch with their friends and their values. They soon without money again.

Only a self-satisfied person, one who is satisfied from within, can be at peace. Such persons are comfortable with who they are and so do not become overly upset when they cannot have a material good.

They are able to make decisions based on what enhances their inner or emotional life and can distinguish these things from what is feeting and what detracts from living a pleasant, peace-filled life. These people are called wise. They live their lives on the path of wisdom. [Verse 62–72]

When focused on material objects, a person becomes attached to them. This attachment causes longing for the objects, and this desire generates anger. [62]

From anger arises delusion, which bewilders the memory. With the loss of memory, mental awareness of inner joy is lost. This in turn causes a person to perish. [63]

But those who find greater inner pleasure than from sense pleasures, attains peace and dances gracefully through life free from longings or aversions. [64]

In peace, there is no internal misery, thus allowing the mind to establish itself fully in spiritual joy. [65]

For one with an unsteady mind (i.e., seeking joy from objects instead of spirit) there is no wisdom, meditation or peace. How can the peace less feel happiness? [66]

Any sense that makes one want to have that pleasure leads the mind away from finding inner pleasure, just as a wind blows a boat off its course. [67]

Therefore, O mighty-armed Arjuna, those whose awareness is tied to their inner joy, are well-protected from the objects of sense pleasure. [68]

For the person who is awake to their inner life (spiritual ecstasy), it always feels like morning, even when it is nighttime outside. What most people call being awake, is considered night for those who have an inner life. [69]

Just as an ocean remains calm while all the rivers flow into it, the self-absorbed saint remains unaffected by sensory objects as they enter them. It is only this type of saint that has no material desires who attains fully established peace (inner joy). [70]

Those who lose their taste for material desires and pleasures find bliss and lives free from false ego and ownership. [71]

O Arjuna, one who realizes this ultimate truth is never again deluded. Even at the end of life, one remains aware of their true eternal nature. [72]

Summary:

• Arjuna is confused, having anxiety attacks about life choices. Through this experience, he has learned several important things.

• He is first reminded that people are Souls, not fresh and bones.

• Next he learns people are born to realize their true nature (Soul)

• Life works out favorably when people focus on their life purpose and see life in spiritual terms rather than in material terms. Conversely, life becomes harsh and confusing when a person has a mundane or earthly view.

• Arjuna learns that the secret to life is doing your best to share your love with others, whether they need help, or just to be neighborly. This is all God asks; if you succeed, it is credited to God for He/She/It is the creator of the gunas.

• If people see themselves as the doer, the ego blocks them from feeling the love of God, since it is God who does the real work.

• Moreover, it is important to see that helping others is its own reward. Avoid seeking to receive something in return for giving.

God is ever giving to the one who sees this realty. Giving without desire for receiving is the highest, fastest way to be closer to God’s love.

• Arjuna is reminded that the gunas are defined as creation, maintenance, and resolution. All things in creation are governed by the gunas. The gunas were created by God.

• Lord Krishna talks about realized persons, that they will reveal inner, ethical integrity and have love for God and God’s chilabout others, it is best to work on one’s own spiritual path.

• Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that self-discipline of one’s senses is essential in remaining balanced and focused on one’s spiritual life.

• Arjuna learns that the quality of one’s karma (loving or harsh actions towards others), returns back to that person. So if one behaves kindly, life returns kindness to them. Unkind behavior brings unkind circumstances in one’s life. Like waves on a pond, one’s karma influences the world and those influences return to the person.

• Lord Krishna explains that reincarnation means the true person is their Soul, not the body. The purpose of life is for a person to the process of Self-Realization, it drops away and the Soul takes a new body to continue on their path of Self-Realization.

• Arjuna learns that compassion in life for others, animals, and nature is essential if one’s spiritual life is to feel fully meaningful and palpable.

• Finally, Lord Krishna explains that mere intellectual understanding of something does not make it reality. Only through direct experience can a person truly know something. Just as that food tastes like — more than just a written description. Intellectual and experiential knowledge are two wings of a bird; both

Modern-Day Discussion

Below are a few concepts discussed in this chapter that I have related to modern life. This is a starting point to inspire the reader of the Gita to consider how these ancient verses can offer guidance for modern day-to-day issues in your life. Think about these ideas, discuss them with family, friends, or in your study group.

Karma (Action)

• What happens to karma when you do not repay it in this life?

Consider karma in the context of a spiritual bank account. If owing to your actions, words, or thoughts, then you must repay your debt, either by apologizing or incarceration, or some other way. Karma adheres to three major principles: (1) the scientific principle that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”; (2) the religious principle that “as you sow so shall you reap”; and (3) the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Dharma (Life Purpose)

• Do you know your life purpose or why were you born or what are you on the earth to do? Do you know your own voice or know the message you have come to share? Do you stand up for the less fortunate or helpless? Do you speak up when you feel something is wrong, even at the possible cost of retribution?

Have you ever not spoken up when you felt you should have and thus felt remorse, embarrassed, sad, or ashamed? Remember a time when you acted in such a way that you felt your decisions were not based in group think, trends, or modern political correctness; how did you feel from that action? Do you ever act and make choices based on your intuition and not whether the decision will bring you pleasure or pain, acceptance or rejection, winning or losing?

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