तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्पर: |
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता || 61||
tāni sarvāṇi sanyamya yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ
vaśhe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣhṭhitā
tāni—them; sarvāṇi—all; sanyamya—subduing; yuktaḥ—united; āsīta—seated; mat-paraḥ—toward me (Shree Krishna); vaśhe—control; hi—certainly; yasya—whose; indriyāṇi—senses; tasya—their; prajñā—perfect knowledge; pratiṣhṭhitā—is fixed;
Translation:
Having restrained all the senses the harmonized should sit intent on me. His wisdom is steady whose senses are under control.
Commentary:
All the senses should be controlled not merely one or two. A pot with a single small hole cannot retain water. So sense-pleasures of any kind will lead to a downright fall from the spiritual aim. This is emphasized again and again by the Lord. That is why the word Sarvani (all) is used frequently verse after verse. In this verse, two practices are mentioned : (1) Control of the senses from running out and attaching themselves to sense objects, and (2) directing the mind towards the Supreme Lord (merging in Atma). It means rejection of the objective world (Drisya) and identification with the subject (Drik). Both practices are necessary. The first practice alone is not enough. In sleep, the senses do not function, and the objective world is not there. And yet there is no knowledge. So identification with the subject (Drik) is essential while rejecting the objective world (Drishya). It is not enough to clear debts; one should acquire some property. Then he is satisfied. Similarly let a man ceaselessly reject the sense-world as it appears and at the same time, let him think of himself as the pure and perfect Atma. Again, the second practice meditating on Atma is no doubt good, but without the first, the seeker is sure to fall off from the high aim. So the two practices should be undertaken simultaneously.
Harmonized: With what ? not with the sense-world, but with the Self. It means one who is in a super-conscious state (Samadhi).
With mind absorbed in Me: Lord Krishna is God Himself. So, when He speaks of Me, the Supreme Self is suggested. The Dualists contemplate the sublime and beautiful form of Lord Krishna and are entranced by it. They sing His name in a thousand ways, they find delight in his glory and the wonderful attributes of divinity in Him. Blessed are those devotees who have renounced the world and live in the Lord in an ecstasy of joy.
Srimad Bhagavatam 9.4.18–20
18. He trained his mind to be ever engrossed in the thought of Krishna’s feet; his words in recounting the excellences of Krishna; his hands in cleaning His places of worship; and his ears in listening to the sacred accounts dealing with Krishna’s actions.
19. He devoted his eyes to looking at the holy images of Mukunda; his sense of touch to contacting His great devotees; his sense of smell to imbibing the fragrance of Tulasi leaves enhanced by the contact of the Lord’s lotus feet; and his sense of taste in the consumption of food left after offering to Him.
20. With his feet he ever circumambulated the holy temples of the Lord; and with his head, he constantly bowed down to Him present everywhere. He partook of the delicious offerings made to the Lord, not for satisfying the cravings of his desire-nature, but as a part of his devotional service, calculated to enhance his attachment to the Lord.
The Advaitin makes no difference between the Lord and the Supreme Self. They are one and the same. This is the finest fruit of Vedanta, that there is only one indivisible existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. In that state, God and the devotee become one. The Gita is the scripture both for the devotees-Bhaktas and the Jnanis. So the reader should interpret, these expressions correctly, and not fall into the error of accepting only one aspect of truth and rejecting the other. In this verse, the first line points out the practice, and the second line the result of the practice. The first line says that the seeker should control the senses and establish himself in Atma. The second line declares that such a man acquires firm knowledge of the Supreme.
Without sense-control, the mind cannot be fixed in Atma. Even if one tries to do so, it is immediately drawn out by the distracting power of the senses. The energy acquired through meditation is frittered away by indulgence in sense-pleasures. The peasant may work hard all the day to water the field, but if there are rat-holes, all the water goes into them, and nothing remains to water the field. So, these rat-holes should be plugged first, and then the work of the peasant bears fruit. Even so, the rat-holes of sense-desires and sense-pleasures should be stopped first, so that whatever divine contemplation one may practice might gather strength gradually and lead to final illumination. Let the seekers understand the importance of sense-control for Self-realisation, and follow the practice with courage and determination.
Question: What are the means of Self-realisation?
Answer: Restraining the senses and fixing the mind in Atma is the way of Self-realisation.
Question: What knowledge is firm?
Answer: The knowledge of the man who has controlled all the senses remains firm.
