BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:58

August 28, 2003

BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:58

yada samharate cayam

kurmo 'nganiva sarvasah

indriyanindriyarthebhyas

tasya prajna pratisthita

WORD FOR WORD

yada--when; samharate--winds up; ca--also; ayam--he; kurmah--tortoise;

angani--limbs; iva--like; sarvasah--altogether; indriyani--senses;

indriya-arthebhyah--from the sense objects; tasya--his;

prajna--consciousness; pratisthita--fixed.

TRANSLATION

One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the

tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect

consciousness.

PURPORT

The test of a yogi, devotee, or self-realized soul is that he is able

to control the senses according to his plan. Most people, however, are

servants of the senses and are thus directed by the dictation of the

senses. That is the answer to the question as to how the yogi is

situated. The senses are compared to venomous serpents. They want to

act very loosely and without restriction. The yogi, or the devotee,

must be very strong to control the serpents--like a snake charmer. He

never allows them to act independently. There are many injunctions in

the revealed scriptures; some of them are do-not's, and some of them

are do's. Unless one is able to follow the do's and the do-not's,

restricting oneself from sense enjoyment, it is not possible to be

firmly fixed in Krsna consciousness. The best example, set herein, is

the tortoise. The tortoise can at any moment wind up his senses and

exhibit them again at any time for particular purposes. Similarly, the

senses of the Krsna conscious persons are used only for some

particular purpose in the service of the Lord and are withdrawn

otherwise. Arjuna is being taught here to use his senses for the

service of the Lord, instead of for his own satisfaction. Keeping the

senses always in the service of the Lord is the example set by the

analogy of the tortoise, who keeps the senses within.

permission.

Recommended Posts