kathopanishad-1-3-7-yastvavijñānavā

Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

Yas tv avijñānavān bhavaty amanaskas sadā’śuciḥ, na sa tat padam āpnoti saṁsāraṁ cādhigacchati (1.3.7): If the driver of the chariot is bereft of understanding, the goal is never reached and the chariot is hurled down. This is samsara.

When the senses move among objects as their road, they do not know which course to pursue. If a charioteer without intelligence comes to a crossroad, he does not know which way to choose. Or if the horses go amuck, we can imagine the fate of the chariot and its rider. The objects are many, though the elements which constitute them are only five. There is a tremendous excitement of the senses when they behold the colourful world of objects, because our intellect fails. We begin to see through the senses rather than through the intellect, and since the senses are diversified, we are presented a diversified world from which we do not know what to choose. Thus, without intelligence, there is restless activity. A person without self-control enters the womb of samsara.