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“When the mind runs after the wandering senses, then it carries away one’s understanding, as the wind carries away a ship on the waters. Therefore the wisdom of him whose senses are withdrawn from the objects of the senses stands firm.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:67,68)

The theme of peace is being continued in these two verses of the Gita, and its imagery brings to mind the following: “When the even was come, he [Jesus] saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.…And they said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41)

Rather than being some special, unique person that we can only admire, Jesus was exactly what each one of must become. We, too, must bring peace into our stormy minds.

The storm

It is the wind and rain of the senses that “carries away one’s understanding, as the wind carries away a ship on the waters.” However much the “captain” of the buddhi grasps the wheel and tries to hold the ship steady on its course, the struggle is hopeless. This is because, as the verse literally says, the mind wanders after the senses and becomes guided by them, losing its intelligent awareness (prajnam). Caught then in the heaving waters of samsara, of constant birth and death, with their attendant anguish, each of us is carried away by the waves, lost and disoriented completely.

Swami Prabhavananda renders this verse: “The wind turns a ship from its course upon the waters: the wandering winds of the senses cast man’s mind adrift and turn his better judgment from its course.” “Better judgment” is the translation Swami Prabhavananda uses for prajnam. Prajnam means both consciousness and awareness, and includes the knowledge gained by the evolving atman. Just as Krishna has described before that we lose “memory,” the lesson of experience. It is prajnam that we lose.

The statement that we are turned from our course points out a basic truth: by nature we are all “on course,” and our drifting is unnatural. Therefore when we set our wills to recover our course, there is no doubt that we will succeed. It is inevitable. In the sixth chapter of the Gita, Arjuna will say that the wind is no harder to subdue than the mind, and Krishna will agree. But the mind must be subdued, nevertheless. That is easy to say, but how? “The wisdom of him whose senses are withdrawn from the objects of the senses stands firm.” And how do we effectively say, “Peace, be still” to the senses?

The mind

We must understand that the senses are simply instruments (indriyas) of the mind, that although they “cast man’s mind adrift” this is the reversal of the natural order, that it is the mind that is meant to “drive” the senses, the way a charioteer drives the horses that pull the chariot. Krishna surely had in mind these two passages from the upanishads:

“Know that the Self is the rider, and the body the chariot; that the intellect is the charioteer, and the mind the reins. The senses, say the wise, are the horses; the roads they travel are the mazes of desire. The wise call the Self the enjoyer when he is united with the body, the senses, and the mind. When a man lacks discrimination and his mind is uncontrolled, his senses are unmanageable, like the restive horses of a charioteer. But when a man has discrimination and his mind is controlled, his senses, like the well-broken horses of a charioteer, lightly obey the rein. He who lacks discrimination, whose mind is unsteady and whose heart is impure, never reaches the goal, but is born again and again. But he who has discrimination, whose mind is steady and whose heart is pure, reaches the goal, and having reached it is born no more. The man who has a sound understanding for charioteer, a controlled mind for reins–he it is that reaches the end of the journey, the supreme abode of Vishnu, the all pervading.” (Katha Upanishad 1:3:3-9)

The Way

“Sit upright, holding the chest, throat, and head erect. Turn the senses and the mind inward to the lotus of the heart. Meditate on Brahman with the help of the syllable OM. Cross the fearful currents of the ocean of worldliness by means of the raft of Brahman–the sacred syllable OM. With earnest effort hold the senses in check. Controlling the breath, regulate the vital activities. As a charioteer holds back his restive horses, so does a persevering aspirant hold back his mind.” (Svetashvatara Upanishad 2:8, 9)

Read more about meditation:

• Meditation: Training for Living
• Three Useful Meditation Tips
• Your Place for Meditation
• Tip for Meditation: Relaxation

For more in depth reading on meditation, we suggest the following:

• Introduction to Om Yoga
• Om Yoga: Its Theory and Practice

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