Sense Control – Anuśīlana.in

aho imaṁ paśyata me vināśaṁ

aho imaṁ paśyata me vināśaṁ
tapasvinaḥ sac-carita-vratasya |
antarjale vāri-cara-prasaṅgāt
pracyāvitaṁ brahma ciraṁ dhṛtaṁ yat ||
saṅgaṁ tyajeta mithuna-vratīnāṁ mumukṣuḥ
sarvātmanā na visṛjed bahir-indriyāṇi |
ekaś caran rahasi cittam ananta īśe
yuñjīta tad-vratiṣu sādhuṣu cet prasaṅgaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.6.50–51)

“Aho! See this ruination of mine, an ascetic avowed to the conduct of the sat [situated] underwater, wherein [my] long-sustained austerity was lost because of [observance of] the intercourse of fish. A seeker of mukti should completely forsake the association of those avowed to matrimony [alt., those who engage in sexual intercourse] and should not cast forth the external senses. Dwelling alone in seclusion, one should fix the mind upon the Infinite, Īśa, and upon the sādhus devoted to him if ideal association [with such sādhus] should come about.”

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āsevitaṁ varṣa-pūgān ṣaḍ-vargaṁ viṣayeṣu saḥ

āsevitaṁ varṣa-pūgān ṣaḍ-vargaṁ viṣayeṣu saḥ |
kṣaṇena mumuce nīḍaṁ jāta-pakṣa iva dvijaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.24)

“In a moment he abandoned the ṣaḍ-varga [i.e., the six senses] that had been fully engaged in objects of the senses for many years just like a bird with [newly] grown wings [abandons] a nest.”

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mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nāviviktāsano bhavet

mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nāviviktāsano bhavet |
balavān indriya-grāmo vidvāṁsam api karṣati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.17)

“One should not have a seat that is unseparated from [even] one’s mother, sister, or daughter. The powerful multitude of senses pulls upon even a knowledgable person.”

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indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau

indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau |
tayor na vaśam āgacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.34)

“Attraction (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) to an object of each sense is firmly established [i.e., bound to occur]. One should not come under the control of these since they are one’s obstructions.”

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na yāvad etāṁ tanu-bhṛn narendra

na yāvad etāṁ tanu-bhṛn narendra
vidhūya māyāṁ vayunodayena |
vimukta-saṅgo jita-ṣaṭ-sapatno
vedātma-tattvaṁ bhramatīha tāvat ||
na yāvad etan mana ātma-liṅgaṁ
saṁsāra-tāpāvapanaṁ janasya |
yac choka-mohāmaya-rāga-lobha-
vairānubandhaṁ mamatāṁ vidhatte ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.11.15–16)

“[Rendered according to the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā:] O King, as long as the bearer of a body does not cast away this māyā, and, having become completely freed from attachment and victorious over the six co-wives [i.e., the six senses], understand the nature of the self (ātma-tattva) by means of the appearance of wisdom, so long he wanders here [i.e., in saṁsāra], and as long as one does not understand the mind, a guise of the self, to be the field of a person’s suffering in saṁsāra which bears a continuance of lamentation, delusion, disease, attraction, greed, and enmity, and produces my-ness [so long one wanders in saṁsāra].”

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athāpi nopasajjeta strīṣu straiṇeṣu cārtha-vit

athāpi nopasajjeta strīṣu straiṇeṣu cārtha-vit |
viṣayendriya-saṁyogān manaḥ kṣubhyati nānyathā ||
adṛṣṭād aśrutād bhāvān na bhāva upajāyate |
asamprayuñjataḥ prāṇān śāmyati stimitaṁ manaḥ ||
tasmāt saṅgo na kartavyaḥ strīṣu straiṇeṣu cendriyaiḥ |
viduṣāṁ cāpy avisrabdhaḥ ṣaḍ-vargaḥ kim u mādṛśām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.26.22–24)

“Even then [i.e., even though women are disgusting in so far as their bodies are made of flesh, blood, stool, urine, pus, and so forth], a sagacious person should not associate with women or those subjugated by women. The mind is disturbed by contact of the senses with [their] objects and not otherwise [i.e., the mind is not disturbed if such contact does not occur]. Feeling does not arise from unseen or unheard of objects. [Thus,] The mind of one who is non-engaged with the prāṇas [i.e., senses] is still and peaceful. Therefore, association is not to be done by means of the senses with women or those subjugated by women, since the ṣaḍ-varga [i.e., the six senses] even of the wise, much less of myself [i.e., of I who am undiscerning], are untrustworthy.”

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prabhu kahe—vairāgī kare prakṛti sambhāṣaṇa

prabhu kahe—vairāgī kare prakṛti sambhāṣaṇa |
dekhite nā pāri āmi tāhāra vadana ||
durvāra indriya kare viṣaya-grahaṇa |
dāravī prakṛti hare muner api mana ||
mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nā viviktāsano bhavet |
balavān indriya-grāmo vidvāṁsam api karṣati ||
kṣudra jīva-saba markaṭa-vairāgya kariyā |
indriya carāñā bule prakṛti sambhāṣiyā ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.2.117–120; 119 is found in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.17 and Manu Smṛti: 2.215)

[Śrīman Mahāprabhu explains why he refuses to meet with Choṭa Hari Dāsa:] “Prabhu said, ‘A vairāgī [who] converses with prakṛti [i.e., a woman]—I cannot [even] look at his face. The difficult to subdue senses seize their objects, and [even] a wooden figure of prakṛti captivates the mind of even a sage. “One should not have a seat that is unseparated from [even] one’s mother, sister, or daughter [i.e., let alone other women]. The powerful multitude of senses pulls upon even a knowledgable person.” Base living beings engage in monkey vairāgya and go about grazing the senses [i.e., letting their senses roam and partake of the sense objects without restraint] and conversing with prakṛti.‘”

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na tatra mūḍhā gacchanti puruṣā viṣayātmakāḥ

na tatra mūḍhā gacchanti puruṣā viṣayātmakāḥ |
dambha-lobha-bhaya-droha-krodha-mohair abhidrutāḥ ||
nirmamā nirahaṅkārā nirdvandvāḥ saṁyatendriyāḥ |
dhyāna-yoga-ratāś caiva tatra gacchanti sādhavaḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 2.95.16–18; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 10)

“Foolish persons absorbed in objects of the senses and overpowered by deceit [alt., arrogance], greed, fear, enmity, anger, and delusion, do not reach there [i.e., the supreme abode of Viṣṇu]. Only sādhus free from possessiveness, free from egotism, free from duality, of controlled senses, and engaged in the practice of meditation (dhyāna-yoga) reach there.”

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bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ

bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ |
prāyaḥ pragalbhayā bhaktyā viṣayair nābhibhūyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.18; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.552; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)

“Although obstructed [i.e., attracted] by objects of the senses (viṣayas), a bhakta of mine who has not [yet] conquered the senses is generally not overwhelmed by objects of the senses (viṣayas) by virtue of vigorous bhakti [i.e., by virtue of bhakti, which possesses the capability to overcome the influence of residual affinities (vāsanās) for varieties of sensory experience].”

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yadṛcchayopapannena

yadṛcchayopapannena santuṣṭo vartate sukham |
nāsantuṣṭas tribhir lokair ajitātmopasāditaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.19.24)

“[Vāmanadeva to Bali Mahārāja:] One who is satisfied with that which it attained of its own accord is happy. One who has not controlled oneself [i.e., one’s senses] is not satisfied even upon having attained the three worlds.”

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