How to control senses?

Controlling senses is great challenge for everyone. While talking with students, most of them complains that they can’t concentrate or focus on any subject matter for long time. Uncontrolled mind and senses is also hindrance in one’s spiritual life too.  As per my observation almost everyone of us is struggling with our senses.

Why our senses are uncontrolled?

Vedic Upanishads give a very good analogy of the ‘Chariot with Five Horses’.

The  chariot  stands  for  the  human body.

Five Horses represent our Five senses.

Mind represent Ropes or the reins.

Intelligence represents Charioteer (driver).

Person on Chariot represents the Spirit Soul or Jiva.

If the charioteer falls asleep  or  is  not  alert , then  the  reins  which  are  to  be  controlled  by  the  charioteer  will become  loose  and  then  the  horses   will go  out  of  control. . This then ends up in the destruction of the  chariot  and  the  rider.

           It is clear from  this  that  if  the    intellect   (  the  charioteer) loses  its  grip  over  its  mind  ( the  reins ),  the  mind  runs   wherever  it wants   and  allows  the  five  sense  organs(  the  five  horses )   to go wherever they  want  to and  indulge.  Then this brings a destruction   to man’s personality.

So, our senses are uncontrolled because our intelligence unable to receive proper instructions from Soul.

Now, question arises that: Can we forcibly Control our senses?

 If we will forcibly try to control our senses, it would be two cases:

  1. If ‘YES’: It will boost our EGO, we will have superiority complex. We will throw pity on others that they are still struggling with their senses.
  2. If ‘NO’: It will develop guilt within us. We will see pity in our self.

 

Both are extreme conditions developed due to subduing our senses at material platform.  

  

How can we control senses without subduing our mind?

 

Krsna says in Bhagavad Gita 6.6:

 

bandhur ātmātmanas tasya
yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ
anātmanas tu śatrutve
vartetātmaiva śatru-vat

 

For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.

 

I will explain this question with a story.

 

“Long time ago, there was a king Kaushika, who wanted to attain the same spiritual power as Vashista. He underwent severe penance. Meanwhile Indra became insecure of his position. Menaka, an apsara to seduce him. Kaushik got bewildered by her beauty and lived with Menaka for 10 years. They had a baby girl Shakuntala. But later Kaushik realized that it was trick of Indra and became angry as Menaka had destroyed his years of meditation and thus he cursed her that she won't possess her beauty, of which she was proud, in next birth. Kaushika now goes to the banks of the river Kaushiki, which is the spirit of his own sister. After many thousands of years of penance, Brahma names him maharishi, but also tells him that he hasn't become a jitendriya yet, lacking control over his passions. This is brought to light to Kaushika when he angrily curses Rambha, an apsara sent by Indra to seduce Kaushika again, to become a stone for 1000 years.

 

After cursing Rambha, Kaushika goes to the highest mountain of Himalayas to perform an even more severe tapasya for over 1000 years. He ceases to eat, and reduces his breathing to a bare minimum.

 

He is tested again by Indra, who comes as a poor Brahmin begging for food just as Kaushika is ready to break a fast of many years by eating some rice. Kaushika instantly gives his food away to Indra and resumes his meditation. Kaushika also finally masters his passions, refusing to be provoked by any of Indra's testing and seductive interferences.

 

At the penultimate culmination of a multi-thousand-year journey, Kaushika's yogic power is at a peak. At this point, Brahma, as the head of Devas led by Indra, names Kaushika a brahmarishi and names him Vishvamitra or Friend of All for his unlimited compassion. Later he took association of Lord Ramchandra and became his devotee”.

 

I think this is the story of each of us. Sometimes we get allured by lust, sometimes by anger and sometimes by greed. Let’s find out the root cause of the uncontrolled mind and senses. The root cause is Lust.

 

Lust is any form of material desire; Greed and Anger are it’s byproducts. If lust is fulfilled it raises Greed and when unfulfilled it raises Anger.

 

Lust arises by observing Sense Object. In my Childhood when my friends get some new Vedio game cassettes, I also had desire to get that. In adulthood the sense object may get changed but the lust or desires remains as it is. So, first way to control senses it to cut sense object, which seems to be practically impossible now-a-days as there are vivid material things to engage our Mind.

 

Generally, in Modern days, senses control Mind, Mind control intelligence and intelligence control soul. But we need to reverse this order: Soul should control Intelligence, Intelligence should control Mind and Mind should control senses. This can be achieved when our intelligence will hear the voice of inner spirit soul as it is covered by the material contamination. Like iron gets covered by the rust. So, we need to erode the covering (rust) by spiritual practices.

 

There are different Yoga systems given in Bhagavad Gita for the spiritual practices . Easiest of all is Bhakti Yoga, in which one need to devotee his mind and thoughts in remembering the name, form, qualities, pastime and glories of the lord. Also, we need to engage our senses in the service of the Lord. When ours senses will get engaged in the service of Lord, it will eventually purify our Mind. Hence, the material covering from our intelligence will be eroded; which will make it receptive to receive the wisdom from Eternal soul (Who is guided by Parmatama).

 

Note: Best way to erode material covering is to chant Holy names.

So Chant,

 

     Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

     Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

 

And feel the difference. Focus your mind and ears on the each and every syllabi of the holy names.

 

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Hare Krsna!

 

Your servant,

 

Chaitanya Rishabh 

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