Even when one renounces the sense objects outside
The taste remains, which too dissolves seeing the Truth inside 2.59
Senses are dangerous, Arjuna, and carry by force
Even the mind of a wise one who seeks the Source 2.60
Control your senses, be steady and focus on me
Only by controlling the mind you shall see me 2.61
Thinking about objects creates attachment that fetter
Attachment breeds desire and desire when thwarted anger 2.62
Anger creates delusion and delusion to loss of memory
This leads to loss of intelligence and then to ruin truly 2.63
The wise one controls his senses and stays in peace
Looking at the world without love or hatred, in ease 2.64
When in peace, all miseries do end
Steady your mind and is wisdom ascend 2.65
Anyone familiar with meditation knows that sitting down with eyes closed trying to bring all senses inwards does not really lead to much.
If one is honest. one will admit that internal audio and videos start playing at their loudest in these moments of enforced silence. There would seem to be an endless supply of the pre-recorded material, many that one has not even been aware of earlier, suddenly put on play mode. Quite often, we would be unwilling to remember and acknowledge much of this material in our fully conscious state.
Krishna refers to this as taste, also called fragrance or vasana in Sanskrit. These are residual memories stored in our unconscious gratuitously played back to us. they lead us into action. Whether actively involved through our philandering senses or inactively entertained by recorded memories, these sensory perceptions create emotions and feelings within us. The two basic emotions that we experience are greed and fear.
Krishna eloquently counsels, ‘greed when thwarted leads to anger and anger to loss of memory and intelligence’. How true!
If we reflect on moments of our anger, we realize it arises from two causes. Firstly, when we cannot get what we want. Secondly, when we cannot get away from what we do not want. In either case, our helplessness and frustration express themselves as anger. As anger build, we lose control.
Modern neuroscience says that anger starts as a trickle, builds to a flow and finally expresses as tsunami. More anger we experience, more uncontrollable it becomes. This is because our neural pathways for anger get deeper and bigger with each episode. Anger, as we all have experienced leads to a complete loss of common intelligence. It leads to disaster if uncontrolled. You can read Bruce Lipton‘s Biology of Belief to understand more on this.
What Krishna coaches Arjuna here is in anger and emotion management. Look at the world around you with neither like or dislike, he tells Arjuna, and you will find that your emotions stay in control. Remove your filters of greed and fear, and you’ll see another world. A world that you like and one that likes you.
How impractical, I hear you say!
Not really. Practice one step at a time. Next time you are angry or afraid, look within instead of out. Try to locate where the anger is coming from. You’ll be surprised. The anger is directed at you, not someone or something outside. As you peel the layers of emotions, you will see the truth.
The truth is often nothing you can see. Some call it the Source. Buddha calls it sunya. Shankara called it purna.
Call it what you want, but experience it. It will change your life. It will help you shift from anger to joy.
I acknowledge this joyful Buddha from the Internet.
zentocoach 
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