How to control the senses? || Acharya Prashant, on Bhagvad Gita (2020)

Acharya Prashant

‍♂️ Want to meet Acharya Prashant? Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...  ⚡ Want Acharya Prashant’s regular updates? Join WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va6Z...   Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books? Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...   Want to accelerate Acharya Prashant’s work? Contribute: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/contri...   Want to work with Acharya Prashant? Apply to the Foundation here: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/hiring...  ➖➖➖➖➖➖  Video Information: 25.01.2020 , Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh  Context:  तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः । वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥  Controlling all of them, one should remain concentrated on me as the supreme. For, the wisdom of one whose organs are under control becomes steadfast. Shreemad Bhagvad Gita (Chapter 2, Verse 61)   ~ What is meant by controlling the senses? ~ Is control related to Patanjali Yoga Sutras? ~ How to remain concentrated on the Truth? ~ What is the worthy object for our senses? ~ How to keep the mind relaxed?   Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 Verse 61 of chapter 2, "Controlling all of them,"

00:22 referring to the senses.

00:24 "Controlling all of them, one should remain concentrated

00:29 on me as the supreme, for the wisdom of the one whose organs

00:39 are under control becomes steadfast."

00:42 Question, "Ajaraji, what is meant

00:50 by controlling the senses?

00:52 Is it related to yama-niyam of the Patanjali yoga sutra,

00:57 or is there any other way?

01:01 Please guide."

01:04 The answer is contained very directly, very obviously,

01:08 in the verse itself.

01:10 The verse says, "Controlling the senses,

01:13 one should remain concentrated on me as the supreme."

01:18 The two parts of this sentence are just a reiteration

01:30 of the same thing.

01:31 Controlling the senses and remaining concentrated on me,

01:40 meaning the truth or Krishna, are one and the same thing.

01:46 Now, the Indic scriptures use the method of repetition

01:58 greatly, and with great effect too.

02:03 The same thing is repeated 1,000 times in sometimes

02:12 slightly different ways, in sometimes highly different ways.

02:16 But they rely a lot on repetition, a lot on repetition.

02:23 Same thing is happening here as well.

02:25 "Controlling the senses, one should remain concentrated

02:32 on me as the supreme."

02:35 Please understand the inner dynamics of it.

02:41 The senses want something as the object.

02:44 The senses want something as the object.

02:52 So the trick, the method here is to keep telling the senses

02:57 that the only worthy object is Krishna.

02:59 The moment the senses feel attracted towards a site,

03:09 what do you remind the senses?

03:12 What do you tell the eyes?

03:14 The only site worth beholding is the image of Krishna.

03:19 So forget that which you are currently

03:25 getting attracted to.

03:27 Forget it.

03:27 The ears feel attracted to a particular sound or voice.

03:37 What do you remind the ears?

03:39 The only sound worth remembering is

03:46 that of the flute of Krishna.

03:49 So don't pay too much attention to what you are currently

03:52 hearing.

03:53 Ignore it.

03:55 The mind, the sixth sense, is busy

04:02 thinking about something.

04:05 What do you tell the mind?

04:08 The only worthy object of thought is Krishna himself.

04:14 So drop all the non-Krishna nonsense

04:22 that you are obsessed with.

04:24 That's the method.

04:27 But how does the method proceed?

04:30 Does the method stop at telling the eyes

04:34 that whatsoever you are looking at

04:35 is not important enough because only the image of Krishna

04:38 is important?

04:39 No, it doesn't stop there.

04:40 Now, Krishna by definition is someone who can have no image.

04:47 Or Krishna by definition is someone

04:55 who has an infinite number of images.

04:57 No particular image applies to Krishna.

05:01 If you reduce Krishna to one particular image,

05:04 howsoever beautifully or imaginatively

05:08 you have crafted it, then you are dragging Krishna down

05:13 to your own level.

05:15 And that's gross injustice and a grand demonstration

05:18 of your own ego.

05:19 So the eyes will say, all right, I will not

05:28 look at that only on the condition

05:31 that you will show me the image of Krishna.

05:35 Because you have dragged the eyes back

05:46 from what they were looking at, the eyes now

05:49 demand the image of Krishna.

05:51 The eyes will say, see, you promised me

05:54 that that which I was looking at was not important enough.

05:59 The image of Krishna is important.

06:01 So I listened to your counsel.

06:04 I have stopped looking at the house

06:07 or whatsoever I was looking at.

06:08 Now you give me the image of Krishna.

06:11 The moment the eyes say this, the mind

06:13 will supply the eyes with some image.

06:16 The moment the mind does this, your job

06:18 is to again tell the mind that Krishna

06:24 can have no particular image.

06:27 So the eyes, on being disappointed at not finding

06:30 the Krishna image, will go and start seeking pleasure

06:34 in some other visual object.

06:38 What is your job?

06:39 Again tell the eyes you come back.

06:41 Eyes will come back, but the tendency of the eyes

06:44 is to always seek some image.

06:45 So they will again try to create some image of Krishna.

06:49 What is your job again?

06:52 To tell the eyes and the mind that Krishna

06:54 can have no particular image.

06:57 It's a battle of attrition.

07:01 It's a battle in which the winner

07:03 is going to be the one who keeps standing till the last.

07:11 It is a battle in which the loser

07:13 is going to be the one who gets defeated because he gets tired.

07:22 Because it is an endless loop.

07:26 The eyes, the ears, the mind, the entire set of senses

07:32 are hell-bent on seeking images.

07:36 And you are determined that first of all,

07:41 you will not let the senses wander in the world.

07:44 Neither would you allow the senses

07:47 to create some kind of image of Krishna.

07:55 There is great determination from both the sides.

07:57 The senses are determined they will wander away.

07:59 You are determined you will not let them wander away.

08:02 The senses say, fine, we will not wander here and there.

08:07 But you give us a substitute image.

08:11 Even that expectation you are not ready to fulfill.

08:16 You are saying, neither will I allow you to wander there,

08:21 nor will I allow you to wander here.

08:25 When you wander there, then you wander in the world.

08:30 When you wander here, then you are just

08:34 floating in your own imagination.

08:39 Both are equally bad.

08:40 Again and again, the senses will get disappointed.

08:47 They will run away.

08:48 Again and again, you have to pull them back.

08:51 It's, as I said, a battle of attrition.

08:55 The one who will keep standing till the last

09:03 will prove to be the winner.

09:04 Are you getting it?

09:12 This is the way.

09:15 Ultimately, the senses and the mind

09:19 get tired if you are resolute enough.

09:23 If you do not yield, if you do not get defeated,

09:30 then they get tired.

09:32 And when the mind gets tired, what does the mind do?

09:37 It relaxes.

09:39 It has to fall asleep.

09:42 Moment the mind gets tired, it falls asleep.

09:44 The ego has retreated.

09:52 The ego has gone closer to the natural state.

09:56 The mind has discovered that it has

10:01 been given an impossible mission.

10:05 The mind has discovered that it has been given the mission

10:10 to create an image of the unimaginable.

10:16 It's mission impossible.

10:17 It cannot happen.

10:19 The mind, after a while, realizes that.

10:22 And having realized that, the mind says, fine.

10:26 I give up.

10:27 I surrender.

10:28 And that is the final aim of all spiritual practice,

10:31 the surrender of the mind.

10:32 This is the thing that the sadhak has to remember and practice.

10:40 I will not allow the external world

10:43 to become too meaningful for me.

10:46 And the second thing is more important,

10:48 and the second thing is more tricky.

10:50 A lot of people survive the first stage,

10:54 but fail the second one.

10:56 What is the second condition?

10:57 What is the second stage?

10:58 The second stage is, I will not find the external world

11:02 so meaningful.

11:03 Neither would I find the internal world

11:08 very meaningful.

11:11 It is a great disappointment.

11:12 It is a very unfortunate thing that there

11:14 are a lot of people who strictly abhor the world of images

11:28 and sounds and perceptions and experiences.

11:30 To that extent, they do all right.

11:40 But then, they start living and frolicking in an internal world.

11:49 They create magnificent images within.

11:54 They say all these images that are outside are of no use.

11:57 The world is an illusion.

12:00 I will not give the world too much respect.

12:03 But what is the trap that they fall into?

12:09 They start giving too much respect to their own imaginations.

12:15 They start creating very lucrative images.

12:19 They say, "Oh, this is the image of Krishna.

12:20 My Krishna is dancing."

12:22 This is as bad as falling prey to the world.

12:29 They will start saying, "Oh, my Krishna is a great personality.

12:35 My Krishna is so beautiful.

12:37 And here is this story.

12:38 Here is that story."

12:39 That is as bad as falling prey to the world.

12:46 Because the world is not merely outside.

12:50 The world is that which is outside as well as inside.

12:55 That which you see with your eyes is the world.

13:00 And that which circulates in your mind is equally the world.

13:07 This distinction of outside versus inside is in itself quite a flimsy distinction.

13:15 You getting it?

13:22 So, the trick is to not let the ego find a support, whether outside or inside.

13:39 Neither without nor within.

13:42 I will not let you get attached to anything there.

13:48 And I will not get you attached to anything here.

13:52 If the tangible material world is illusory, then the so-called intangible world of ideas and images and thoughts is equally illusory.

14:10 Clear?

14:16 Good.

14:17 [Music]

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