Bhagavatgita a detailed study-chapter2

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58. yadha asamharathe cha ayam koormaangaaneeva sarvasaH

in dhriyaaNi indhriyaaRThebhyaH thasya prajnaa prathishTithaa

 

When one withdraws his senses from sense objects on all sides like the tortoise withdraws its limbs, his wisdom is firm.

 

A tortoise withdraws his limbs inside his shell when he suspects any danger. Likewise the sThithprajna withdraws his senses from the sense objects . This means as said earlier, the senses are in contact with sense objects as one cannot even if he is a sThithprajna, prevent the sense from functioning, as the eye will see and the ear will hear even for him. But as the mind is not in contact he is not affected by them This is what is meant by withdrawing senses as the word sense organs is not used here. The senses mean the subtle indhriyas which function through the mind which is also included as the sixth indhriya by the upanishats.

 

Thus the four states of jnaannishta, firmness of intellect that makes one a sThithaprajna are described in the four slokas from 55 to 56 in the reverse order.The state of withdrawal of senses is the lowest state when a man acquiring the knowledge of the supreme reality and about the transitory nature of all experience of the world withdraws his senses form the sense objects. This is what is outlined in the above sloka.

 

Secondly he becomes develops detachment towards people and things when pleasant or unpleasant occurrences do not bring him joy or aversion. This is the essence of sloka 57.

 

Thirdly, he is no more affected by pleasure or pain, because he is free from desire, fear and anger. This is the stage mentioned in sloka 56.

 

Lastly and finally, the final state of sThithprjna is achieved when he becomes athamani eva aathmanaa thoushtah, revels in the experience of the self when all desires have been thrown out from his mind which has becomes pure and experiences the athmasaakshaathkara.

 

samharathe - the verb hr with the prefix sam means to collect or draw together. It is usually used in the other sense of the verb meaning `to destroy ` as in samhaara. Here it means to draw the senses from the sense objects and collect them in one place within the mind and direct them towards the meditation of the supreme self.

 

The one sure way of redirecting the sesne4s towards the divine is through devotion as Kulasekhara says in Mukundamala.

 

.. jihve kirthaya kesavam muraripum chetho bhaja SreeDharam

pANidhvandhva tham archaya achutha kaThAh Srothradhvaya thvam Srunu

krshNam lokaya lochanadhvaya hareh gacchAnghriyugma Alayam

jighra ghrANa mukundha pAdhathulaseem moorDhan nam aDhokshajam

 

Azvar gives injunction to his senses to become engaged in the worship of the Lord.

 

Oh tongue, sing about Kesava., the slayer of Mura. Oh mind, think of SreeDhara. Two hands, you worship Him , Two ears, you hear the stories about Achyutha. Oh eyes, look at Krishna. Pair of feet, you go to the temple of Hari. Oh nose, you smell the tulsi leaves from the feet of Mukundha. Oh head, bow down to ADhokshaja.

 

When all the senses are thus engaged in the service of the Lord they will cease to be attracted by the worldly sensual pleasures. This reminds one, of the KuraL of the famous Tamil sage Thiruvalluvar, who has given to the world maxims with deep meaning in short sentences.

Pattruga pattrattrAn pattrinai appattrai

pattruga pattru vidarku.

 

It means that in order to relinquish the attachment of the world one has to develop attachment towards the Lord. If we want to give up something it is easier to do so by shifting our attachment to something else which is more desirable.

 

This calls to the mind an episode in the life of Sri Ramanuja. There was a man in Srirangam who had a beautiful wife and he was much enamoured with her and use to spread an umbrella on her head to shield her from the Sun much to the ridicule of others. Ramanuja saw him and took pity on him and asked him what is that he found so attractive in his wife. He replied that she had beautiful eyes. Ramanuja told him that if he finds a pair of eyes more attractive will he switch his devotion to that. When the man asked who has more beautiful eyes, Ramanuja took him inside the temple of Ranganatha and showed him the Lord and asked him has he ever seen a pair of more beautiful eyes. Due to past merit, and due to the grace of the acharya, the man along with his wife became a great devotee of the Lord and a great disciple of Ramanuja, renouncing all that he had. This illustrates well the KuraL quoted above .