In these two innocent looking lines we have the entire Science-of-Right-Action and the complete technique of right living. The ECONOMICS OF THOUGHT is a science unknown to the modern world while the thought economists of yore carved out a Rishi-India and guided the country to the golden era of its spiritual culture.
The mind is fed and sustained, nurtured and nourished by the five organs-of-perception, with stimuli drawn from the outer world of sense-objects. The mind in us, as it were, flows out through the sense-organs, and when it comes in contact with their respective objects, the sense-organs perceive them. If the mind is not co-operating with the sense-organs, perception is impossible, even though the objects may be within the field of the organs. That is why sometimes, when we are deeply attentive and fully interested in reading a book, we do not hear even when somebody calls us at our elbow. Examples can be multiplied.
The prescription contained in this stanza asks a seeker to control the sense-organs by the mind. This can be effectively achieved only when the mind is given a brighter and diviner field to roam about in. To control the impetuosity of the mind with sheer will is like an attempt to dam a river while it is in flood. It is destined to be a futile attempt. Later on the Geeta will explain the technique of this control.
This control of the sense-organs by the mind is only the negative aspect of the entire technique of right living. Ordinarily, we spend a lot of our life-energies in the fields of sense-objects. When the sense-organs are thus controlled, we are conserving a large quantity of energy, and unless this gathered energy is immediately given a more profitable field of activity it is sure to break the bounds and flood the inner world and, perhaps, sweep away the entire personality equilibrium. The second line of this stanza advises us what we should do with the energies thus saved from their usual fields of dissipation.
The stanza says that these energies must be spent in directing the seeker’s organs-of-action to the appropriate fields of activities. Even here, a very important precaution has been lovingly advised by Krishna. The Karma Yogin has been warned to act with perfect detachment.
When a camera is loaded with a piece of plain white paper, however long we may keep the lenses open against any well-lit object, no impression of the object concerned can dirty the paper! On the other hand, if that very same sheet of paper is sensitised, then, even a slight exposure will leave the impressions of the object upon it. Similarly, a mind plastered with attachment soon gathers on to itself impressions (vasanas) during its contacts in the external fields of activity. The Lord advises us to act without attachment, so that, instead of gathering new impressions, we may make use of our activities for the exhaustion of the existing vasana-dirt in our mental equipment.
The logical and scientific exposition of this theory is so complete that, no student of the Geeta can discover in it any loopholes for hesitation or doubt.
By withdrawing the organs-of-perception from their unprofitable fields of activity, we save on the inner energy which is spent through the organs-of-activity on a chosen field of work; because of our inner attitude of non-attachment during the activity, no new rubbish is gathered by our mind, but, on the contrary, it gets itself burnished by the removal of its existing mental dirt. The very field of activity which ordinarily becomes a snare to capture and imprison a soaring, soul, itself becomes the exact art of self-liberation, when it is rightly employed by faithfully following the ‘way-of-life’ advised in the Geeta.
WHEREFORE:
