ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंस: सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते |
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते काम: कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते || 62||
क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोह: सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रम: |
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति || 63||
dhyāyato viṣhayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣhūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate
krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ
smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati
dhyāyataḥ—contemplating; viṣhayān—sense objects; puṁsaḥ—of a person; saṅgaḥ—attachment; teṣhu—to them (sense objects); upajāyate—arises; saṅgāt—from attachment; sañjāyate—develops; kāmaḥ—desire; kāmāt—from desire; krodhaḥ—anger; abhijāyate—arises
krodhāt—from anger; bhavati—comes; sammohaḥ—clouding of judgement; sammohāt—from clouding of judgement; smṛiti—memory; vibhramaḥ—bewilderment; smṛiti-bhranśhāt—from bewilderment of memory; buddhi-nāśhaḥ—destruction of intellect; buddhi-nāśhāt—from destruction of intellect; praṇaśhyati—one is ruined
Translation:
As a man contemplates sense-objects, attachment for them arises, from attachment, desire for them will be born, from desire arises anger, from anger comes delusion, from delusion, comes loss of memory, from loss of memory, comes destruction of discrimination, and from destruction of discrimination he perishes.
Commentary:
These two verses are of great importance for the spiritual aspirant. The gradual process of Self-destruction is traced here with psychological accuracy. The contemplation of sense objects is the first step in the downward process. The enemy enters the house in the guise of a friend, and gradually occupies the whole house, and pushes the owner out. There is an English Proverb – “Give me room to sit down, and I can make room to lie down.” Such is the power of Maya that from very small imperceptible beginnings, it grows almost to infinity.
At first, the man may not have any particular attachment to anything, but gradually the senses prompted by past samskaras settle on a particular object and the mind begins to contemplate it. So a kind of contact is established between the mind and that object, the senses being the connecting link. The object may be anything from the fashionable piece of dress to the glamour and glory of an Emperor. That contact becomes stronger and stronger, and a deeply felt desire arises to possess and enjoy that object. This is Kama. It is the worst enemy of man. Mahapapam (all sinful) – such is the Lord’s description of Kama. When Kama enters the mind, it is like a reptile moving about in the house. The occupants of that house live in horrible dread and there is every danger of their being stung and killed. Such indeed is the destructive power of Kama when it enters the human heart. It is indeed better to stop it before it enters the mind. But if it enters stealthily, the moment one discovers it, he should throw it out with all the power at his command. Otherwise, the Kama in its wake will bring his associates, friends, and other destructive forces like Krodha and throw down the unfortunate man into destruction. All this is vividly described by the teacher of the Gita. Let the seeker know who his enemies are, how they work, how they tempt, how they subdue, and how they, finally destroy man.
When Kama enters the mind, just behind him comes Krodha. These two are eternal associates of evil. One cannot be without the other. Such is the closeness of their intimacy. The frustration of desire causes anger and hatred. Krodha is like powerful alcohol. Passion like poison fills the whole personality. He trembles and shivers all over the body, the eyes become bloodshot, ‘speech, becomes incoherent, abuse and violence are indulged in, and the human being is transformed into a wild animal that is deprived of a piece of flesh when it is hungry. He behaves like a man possessed by an evil spirit. So it is said here that delusion (sammoha) over-powers him by anger (Krodha). Delusion causes loss of memory.
The deluded man, fired with anger, forgets the people with whom he is dealing. Be he a father or Guru, or friend; the angry man abuses him and strikes him down. For the time being, he forgets the status of the person, honor for the father, reverence for the Guru, affection for the friend. This is loss of memory (smritivibramah) of one’s Self. So long as a man holds on to the Self, anger cannot overpower him. But the moment that memory of his true Self is lost, man becomes a beast.
From the loss of memory, discrimination of right and wrong is lost. By the destruction of the grinding intellect, man perishes. Therefore the Lord warns the aspirant to keep himself away from sense objects, and practice self-control.
Contemplating the objects of the senses: It is important to note that the word contemplation is used in this context. Contemplation is not a new faculty to be acquired. Every man is constantly in a state of contemplation. Some contemplate wealth, others the pleasure of wine, others the pleasures of sex, others the dignity of position, name, and fame. So the world moves on, each one attached to a particular desire, meditation on it, and trying to realise it as much as possible. So contemplation is the natural faculty of the mind. The wise man who has understood the worthlessness of worldly pleasures turns his mind to God and contemplates the purity and glory of God. He attains pure joy and endless peace.
What is required is that the same power of contemplation that runs after worldly objects should be given a new direction towards a spiritual aim. We come across stories of men immersed in sensuality, suddenly turning out to be pure devotees of God. What happens in such cases is that the man, by some cause or other, discovers the filthy nature of sensual pleasures and turns away from them, and the mind naturally runs for the pure and perfect, with the same force and momentum as it formerly had for sense-pleasures. The point is contemplation should be directed towards Atma, and not towards sense objects. Prahlada asked the Lord for the same boon, that his mind may always be fixed in the Lord and not in the ephemeral world.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
The proud and covetous can never rest. The poor and humble in spirit live together in all peace.
The man that is not yet perfectly dead to himself, is quickly tempted and overcome in small and trifling things.[Source]
These blows must come upon us all. They are in the nature of things, yet they are so hard to bear. The force of association makes out of this unreal world a reality; and the longer the company, the more real seems the shadow. But the day comes when the unreal goes to the unreal, and ah, how sad to bear. Yet, that which is real, the Soul, is ever with us, omnipresent. Blessed is the person who has seen the real in this world of vanishing shadows.[Source]
Question: What is the cause of man’s destruction?
Answer: Contemplation of the sense-world is the first in the chain of causes leading to destruction.
Question: How does it lead to man’s destruction?
Answer: By the contemplation of the sense-objects desire for them arises. Desire leads to anger, when it is frustrating, anger causes delusion, delusion causes loss of memory, loss of memory causes destruction of discrimination, and by the loss of discrimination, man perishes.
Related Articles:
- Ayam Atma Brahma – Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.6
- Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, Verse 51-53
