How one passing thought becomes a fall

Where we are

In the previous reading Krishna warned that the senses can drag off even a wise person who is trying. Now he says what to do about it: rein them in and make him the aim. Then he traces, step by step, how a mind falls apart, and closes with the other path, which leads to a clear calm.

The verses

1. 2.61

   Rein in all the senses, sit steady and collected, and make me your highest aim. When someone's senses answer to them, that person's wisdom stands firm.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.61

   तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्परः ।
   वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ ६१ ॥

   Hear it

   tāni sarvāṇi saṃyamya yukta āsīta matparaḥ
   vaśe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā

   Say it

   taa-ni sur-vaa-ni sum-yum-yuh yook-tuh aa-see-tuh mut-puh-ruh-hu
   vuh-shay hi yuh-syen-dri-yaa-ni tuh-syuh pruj-nyaa pruh-tish-thi-taa

   Word by word

   tāni sarvāṇi saṃyamya

   having restrained all of them (the senses)

   yuktaḥ āsīta

   one should sit, disciplined and focused

   mat-paraḥ

   with me as the highest aim

   vaśe hi yasya indriyāṇi

   for one whose senses are under control

   tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā

   their wisdom stands firm

2. 2.62

   Keep turning something over in your mind and you start to cling to it. Clinging grows into wanting, and wanting, once blocked, turns into anger.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.62

   ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते ।
   सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥ ६२ ॥

   Hear it

   dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
   saṅgāt saṃjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate

   Say it

   dhyaa-yuh-to vi-shuh-yaan poom-suh-hu sung-gus tay-shoo-puh-jaa-yuh-tay
   sung-gaat sun-jaa-yuh-tay kaa-muh-hu kaa-maat kro-dho bhi-jaa-yuh-tay

   Word by word

   dhyāyataḥ viṣayān puṃsaḥ

   for a person who keeps dwelling on sense-objects

   saṅgaḥ teṣu upajāyate

   attachment to them springs up

   saṅgāt saṃjāyate kāmaḥ

   from attachment, desire is born

   kāmāt krodhaḥ abhijāyate

   from desire, anger arises

3. 2.63

   Anger clouds the mind, and a clouded mind forgets what it knows matters. When that memory slips, judgement is wrecked, and with judgement gone, the person goes down too.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.63

   क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
   स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥ ६३ ॥

   Hear it

   krodhād bhavati saṃmohaḥ saṃmohāt smṛtivibhramaḥ
   smṛtibhraṃśād buddhināśo buddhināśāt praṇaśyati

   Say it

   kro-dhaad bhuh-vuh-ti sum-mo-huh-hu sum-mo-haat smri-ti-vib-hruh-muh-hu
   smri-ti-bhrum-shaad bood-dhi-naa-sho bood-dhi-naa-shaat pruh-nuh-shyuh-ti

   Word by word

   krodhāt bhavati saṃmohaḥ

   from anger comes confusion / delusion

   saṃmohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ

   from confusion, memory wavers

   smṛti-bhraṃśāt buddhi-nāśaḥ

   from the loss of memory, the ruin of discernment

   buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati

   with discernment ruined, one is lost

4. 2.64

   But a self-governed person can move among the very same things, with senses free of craving and aversion and under their own control. That person reaches prasāda: a clear, settled calm.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.64

   रागद्वेषविमुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् ।
   आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति ॥ ६४ ॥

   Hear it

   rāgadveṣavimuktais tu viṣayān indriyaiś caran
   ātmavaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati

   Say it

   raa-guh-dvay-shuh-vi-mook-tais too vi-shuh-yaan in-dri-yaish chuh-run
   aat-muh-vuh-shyair vi-dhay-yaat-maa pruh-saa-dum uh-dhi-guch-chuh-ti

   Word by word

   rāga-dveṣa-vimuktaiḥ tu

   but with (senses) freed from craving and aversion

   viṣayān indriyaiḥ caran

   moving among sense-objects with the senses

   ātma-vaśyaiḥ

   (senses) under one's own control

   vidheya-ātmā

   one whose mind is well governed

   prasādam adhigacchati

   attains clarity and serenity

Context and commentary

Verses 2.62–63 are among the most quoted in the Gita: a chain from dwelling on something (dhyāyataḥ, the root of meditation, here pointed the wrong way) to attachment, desire, anger, delusion, failing memory, ruined discernment and ruin. Smṛti is usually read as remembering what you know is right, not facts. In 2.61, mat-paraḥ ("with me as the highest") is the first time Krishna names himself as the focus of practice. Rāmānuja and Madhva read it as devotion to Krishna as the personal Lord; Śaṅkara reads "me" as the inmost Self. Interpretation: 2.64 does not recommend escape. The steady person still moves among things (caran), with senses that answer to them.