March 24 – Bhagavadgita Chapter 3; Verses 3.42-3.43 (Day 84) Karma Yoga

 March 24 – Day 84

Verse 3.42-3.43

इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः ।

मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ॥ ३-४२॥ 

indriyāṇi parāṇyāhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ
manasas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ (42) 

இந்த்³ரியாணி ப¹ராண்யாஹுரின்த்³ரியேப்4ய: ப¹ரம் மன: |
மனஸஸ்து¹ ப¹ரா பு³த்³தி⁴ர்யோ பு³த்³தே⁴: ப¹ரத¹ஸ்து¹ ஸ: ||42|| 

42. They say that the senses are superior (to the body); superior to the senses is the mind; superior to the mind is the intellect; and one who is superior even to the intellect is He—the Self. 

COMMENTARY: When compared with the physical body which is gross, external and limited, the senses are certainly superior as they are more subtle, internal and have a wider range of activity.  The mind is superior to the senses, as the senses cannot do anything independently without the help of the mind.  The mind can perform the functions of the five senses.  The intellect is superior to the mind because it is endowed with the faculty of discrimination.  When the mind is in a state of doubt, the intellect comes to its rescue.  The Self, the Witness, is superior even to the intellect, as the intellect borrows its light from the Self. 

एवं बुद्धेः परं बुद्ध्वा संस्तभ्यात्मानमात्मना ।

जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम् ॥ ३-४३॥ 

evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhwā sanstabhyātmānam ātmanā
jahi śhatruṁ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam (43) 

ஏவம் புத்³தே⁴: ப¹ரம் புத்³த்⁴வா ஸன்ஸ்த¹ப்⁴யாத்¹மானமாத்¹மனா |
ஜஹி ஶத்¹ரும் மஹாபா³ஹோ கா¹மரூபம் து³ராஸத³ம் ||43|| 

43. Thus, knowing Him who is superior to the intellect and restraining the self by the Self, slay thou, O mighty-armed Arjuna, the enemy in the form of desire, hard to conquer! 

COMMENTARY: Restrain the lower self by the higher Self. Subdue the lower mind by the higher mind. It is difficult to conquer desire because it is of a highly complex and incomprehensible nature. But a man of discrimination and dispassion, who does constant and intense Sadhana, can conquer it quite easily.  Desire is the quality of Rajas.  If you increase the Sattvic quality in you, you can conquer desire.  Rajas cannot stand before Sattva.

Even though desire is hard to conquer, it is not impossible.  The simple and direct method is to appeal to the Indwelling Presence (God) through prayer and Japa. 

Commentary by Swami Venkatesananda [verses 42-43] 

The subtle has greater power over the gross which cannot limit the former, even as the prison-wall cannot limit one’s thoughts. The senses, the mind and the intellect are like the brick, mortar and plaster of a house in which the master (the self) dwells. They have no freedom to act and they depend on one another and ultimately on the self or pure awareness.

We are not really slaves of the external world. All the beauty in the world is nothing to a blind man. The most delightful orchestra is silent pantomime for the deaf. The senses are superior to the objects.

What can the senses do if the mind switches off the inner controls? When you are intently listening to a soft whisper of your beloved, you do not see the person standing in front of you. The mind is superior to the senses.

Husband, wife and child walk past a department store. The man remembers only an amazing new piece of electronic equipment – he is an engineer. The wife remembers only a new dress, and the child saw nothing but a toy! The intellect provided the scale of values; the mind, acting on this, directed the senses to ‘work on’ the scene in front. The intellect is the governor!

Behind even this ‘light’ that illumines our inner world, there is the light of lights. the self or spark of God, in whose borrowed light the intellect shines. If we learn to appeal to him in meditation, he will so illumine the intellect that it will present the divine scale of values for the mind and senses to act upon. The self restrains the self on account of its indivisibility.

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ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु

ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे

कर्मयोगो नाम तृतीयोऽध्यायः 

Hari Om Tat Sat

Iti Srimad Bhagavadgītāsūpanishatsu

Brahmavidyāyām Yogashāstre Sri Krishnājunasamvāde
Karmayogo Nāma Tritiyo’dhyāyah. 

Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the third discourse entitled: 

“The Yoga of Action” 

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