इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते |
एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् || 40||
indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣhṭhānam uchyate
etair vimohayatyeṣha jñānam āvṛitya dehinam
indriyāṇi—the senses; manaḥ—the mind; buddhiḥ—the intellect; asya—of this; adhiṣhṭhānam—dwelling place; uchyate—are said to be; etaiḥ—by these; vimohayati—deludes; eṣhaḥ—this; jñānam—knowledge; āvṛitya—clouds; dehinam—the embodied soul
Translation:
The senses, the mind, and the intellect are the seat of kama. Functioning through them this kama deluded the embodied by veiling the wisdom.
Commentary:
When a person wants to destroy an enemy he must, first of all, know what his stronghold is, and from which place he is attacking him. The stronghold of kama is the senses, the mind, and the intellect. With these under its power, kama veils the knowledge of Self and deludes mankind by attachment to the body and the material world. So the first step for the seeker is to bring the senses under his own control, by driving out kama from its stronghold. Then the mind becomes pure, and the discriminative intellect clear. When kama is thus driven out of its hiding place and feeding ground, it becomes weak and gradually dies for want of sustenance.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
Beware, Arjuna, lust and anger are the great enemies. These are to be controlled. These cover the knowledge even of those [who are wise]. This fire of lust is unquenchable. Its location is in the sense-organs and in the mind. The Self desires nothing.[Source]
Question: What is the seat of kama?
Answer: The senses, the mind, and intellect together form the abode of Kama. With their aid, kama deludes man by veiling the wisdom of the embodied.
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