Commonsense About The Senses ( Some Practical Hints )

Sri Ramakrishna

-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, June 26, 2008, 16:22

The Vedanta Kesari, p. 166-170, May 2006
Senses are turbulent and have a powerful sway over whatever we think is right or wrong. Under the influence of senses and the memory of their experiences, we cannot distinguish between what is good for us, and what is bad (though it may be pleasant at the moment). 'Most of our time," says Swami Vivekananda, 'is spent in thinking about sense objects, things which we have seen, or we have heard, which we shall see or hear, things which we have eaten, or are eating, or shall eat, places where we have lived, and so on. We think of them, or talk of them most of our time."

The Kathopanishad likens the senses to the horses yoked to a chariot. The horses can pull a carriage and reach the destination only if they are well trained and properly guided. For this, one should train one"s thinking. When our intellect becomes a slave to our senses, instead of we making the choice about good and bad, senses assume the charge of our life. A trained intellect free from the stain of restlessness alone can be a good guide in life.

Training the intellect begins by making right choices about whatever we see or hear. Senses are in fact the doorways to the inner chamber of the mind which receives and processes the sensory data. Mind becomes strong when the food it consumes through the senses is pure and nourishing says Chandogya Upanishad: 'From purity of food follows the purity of internal organ (antahkarana, the mind). From the purification of the internal organ comes unfailing memory. After the achievement of memory comes falling asunder of all the knots of the heart."

The first step in controlling the senses is to starve them of all bad food, and instead feed them with good food. Whenever we permit our senses to enjoy an object which arouses lower propensities or weakens our mind, we are infact, misusing them. Senses develop a liking for whatever is pleasant and if we deny them those experiences, they revolt. But one must not get frightened. Whenever we check our animal tendencies, we strengthen ourselves. To nourish the mind (antahkarana) means to consume good thoughts—the thoughts that remind us of our divine nature. A mind thus purified develops an abiding sense of divine presence (steady memory), which, in turn, liberates us from the shackles of limitations.

When senses are thus disciplined, it brings a transformation in our lives. We are then no longer slave to passing impulses emanating from our sense organs, and instead learn to follow higher wisdom. Human life is not designed to be spent in sense pleasures, though our senses are capable of it within certain limitations. Most animals have one particular sense organ stronger than others. (For example, moth is attracted to light, deer to sound, and elephant to touch, and so on.) But in human beings, all the five senses are equally strong. This makes the task of restraining the senses quite challenging and formidable.

But unlike animals, human beings have also an inherent mechanism to rise above attractions of senses. Animals have no choice but to enjoy the sense organs. Human beings, however, have a choice. The secret lies in awakening the internal mechanism which controls and sublimates the craving for sensory pleasures. The more one exercises this, the more pure becomes the mind. A pure mind alone can discover the higher purpose of human existence and finally attain it.

This does not mean neglecting one"s health or killing one"s senses, but learning to train our senses in such a way that they become our friends instead of becoming enemies. How to do it?