CH 3, Verse 34

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Chapter 3

Verse 34

 

Indriyasy'endriyasy'aarthe raagadveshhau vyavasthitau

/

tayor na vasham aagachchhet tau hy asya paripanthinau

//

 

Senses have attachment and aversion to their

respective objects; let none come under their sway.

They are his robbers.

 

LESSONS FROM BHAGAVAD GITA – 26

As taught by Parama Pujya Sri Swamiji

Compiled by: Swami Dattananda

Bhakti Mala, January 1995

 

Even a wise man cannot change his natural bent of

mind. Then it need hardly be stated that one who is

not wise can do anything contrary to his nature.

Therefore he must strive to do his work in keeping

with his nature and find out the way which will help

him bring about his upliftment. Any insistence on his

part to run counter to his natural bent will lead him

to his downfall. It does not mean that one should not

practice sense-control, which is an imperative need

for one’s spiritual progress. What is censured here

is an artificial resolve which makes a man take to a

cause contrary to his nature, which he will not be

able to carry out well to its finish.

 

So the question in the verse, ’what can restraint

(nigraha) do?’ is not meant to deny the possibility of

overcoming natural tendencies. It only means that a

tendency or desire cannot be eliminated by forcefully

suppressing it. So the question is asked, ’can

repression succeed in overcoming nature?’

Meaning ’no.’

 

We cannot free ourselves from our desires by

suppressing them, but by gaining greater knowledge and

nobler standard of life. If we possess self-control,

we will not be molested by grief, anger, pain and

sufferings.

 

The next verse gives the correct way of controlling

nature. Man should be always aware that there is a

natural attraction between the senses and their

objects and, therefore, he should avoid exposure to

their influence. He should make use of his

discrimination and protect himself by performing his

duty, unattached to its results, and not by forced

withdrawal from it in the name of renunciation, as

Arjuna wished to do.

 

”Senses have attachment and aversion to their

respective objects; let none come under their sway.

They are his robbers” (Chapter 3, Verse 34).

 

The eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin are the five

senses of knowledge. Form, sound, smell, taste and

touch are their objects respectively. Every sense has

its own likes and dislikes. For instance, the eye

relishes the beautiful objects and hates the ugly

ones. A melodious sound is sure to be liked by the

ear and it would hate a harsh one. A pleasant smell

is liked by the nose and a foul disliked. Sweet

eatables delight a man and the bitter ones disgust

him. By nature, some people prefer items that are

saltish, bitter, or hot. However, the favorite taste

gives them pleasure and the opposite gives them

displeasure. With the skin, a man feels the touch. A

soft touch pleases him and a hard one displeases him.

Thus, every sense has objects it likes and objects it

hates. For what the sense likes, there is affection,

and for what the sense hates, there is hatred.

 

These two, affection and hatred, are man’s enemies.

The pleasures of the senses can be compared to a

robber who pretends to be friendly and when an

opportune moment comes, he shows his cruelty and takes

all the wealth. Objects of one’s liking are sweet in

the beginning, but painful in the end. What a joy

when a child is born and what a pain when it dies or

when the parents die leaving the child alone. This is

the case with all objects in the world.

 

This attachment and hatred, (Raga and Dvesha,) are the

enemies of mankind. Let no one fall under their sway,

says the Lord. Here is the Lord’s command to all to

conquer their nature, that is the deep-rooted

attachment and hatred for the objects of the senses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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