ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते ।
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥
क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद्बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥
dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate |
saṅgāt saṁjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho’bhijāyate ||
krodhād bhavati saṁmohaḥ saṁmohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ |
smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.62–63)
“For a person dwelling upon objects of the senses, attachment to them is engendered. Because of attachment, desire (kāma) is generated, and because of desire, anger is produced. Because of anger, delusion occurs, and because of delusion, failure of memory occurs. Because of failure of memory, loss of the intellect occurs, and because of loss of the intellect, one becomes ruined.”
Commentary
bāhyendriya-saṁyamābhāve doṣam uktvā manaḥ-saṁyamābhāve doṣam āha—dhyāyata iti dvābhyām | guṇa-buddhyā viṣayān dhyāyataḥ puṁsaḥ teṣu saṅga āsaktir bhavati | āsaktyā ca teṣu adhikaḥ kāmo bhavati | kāmāc ca kenacit pratihatāt krodho bhavati | kiṁ ca—krodhād iti | krodhāt sammohaḥ kāryākārya-vivekābhāvaḥ | tataḥ śāstrācāryopadiṣṭa-smṛter vibhramo vicalanaṁ bhraṁśaḥ | tato buddheś cetanāyā nāśaḥ vṛkṣādiṣv ivābhibhavaḥ | tataḥ praṇaśyati mṛta-tulyo bhavati |
(Subodhinī-ṭīkā)
“Having described the defect in the absence of regulation of the external senses, he describes the defect in the absence of regulation of the mind with two [verses]: dhyāyataḥ … [i.e., he speaks this and the following verse]. For a person dwelling upon objects of the senses with the notion of merit [i.e., with the mentality that the objects of the senses are of possessed of desirable qualities], attachment (saṅga) to them occurs, and because of attachment, greater desire (kāma) for them occurs. Because of desire, furthermore, anger occurs as a result of obstruction [to the fulfillment of one’s desire] by some means. Furthermore, krodhāt … [i.e., the second verse is stated]. Because of anger, delusion, that is, the absence of discrimination (viveka) between that which is to be done and not to be done, occurs. From that, failure, that is, unsteadiness and loss, of memory of that which was instructed by the śāstra and the ācārya occurs. From that, loss, that is, stupefaction, of the intellect (buddhi) occurs as [it does] in the case of trees and so forth [i.e., as is seen in the case of lifeforms in which the function of the faculty of the intellect is thoroughly suppressed]. From that, one becomes ruined, that is, one becomes as though dead.”
sthita-prajñasya mano-vaśīkāra eva bāhyendriya-vaśīkāra-kāraṇaṁ, sarvathā mano-vaśīkārābhāve tu yat syāt tat śṛṇv ity āha—dhyāyata iti | saṅga āsaktiḥ | āsaktyā ca teṣv adhikaḥ kāmo’bhilāṣaḥ | kāmāc ca kenacit pratihatāt krodhaḥ | krodhāt sammohaḥ kāryākārya-vivekābhāvaḥ | tasmāc ca śāstropadiṣṭa-svārthasya smṛti-nāśaḥ | tasmāc ca buddheḥ sad-vyavasāyasya nāśaḥ | tataḥ praṇaśyati saṁsāra-kūpe patati |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“A sthita-prajña’s [i.e., one of steady wisdom’s] control of the mind is the cause of [their] control of the external senses. Hear what can occur, however, in the absence of control of the mind under all circumstances: dhyāyataḥ … [i.e., this verse is spoken]. [The word] Saṅga means attachment. Because of attachment, furthermore, greater desire (kāma) for them [i.e., for objects of the senses] occurs, and because of desire, anger occurs as a result of obstruction [to the fulfillment of one’s desire] by some means. Because of anger, delusion, that is, the absence of discrimination (viveka) between that which is to be done and not to be done, occurs. From that, furthermore, a loss of memory of one’s aim as instructed by the śāstra occurs. From that, furthermore, a loss of intellect, that is, of right resolve, occurs. From that, one becomes ruined, that is, one falls into the well of saṁsāra.”
vijitendriyasyāpi mayy aniveśita-manasaḥ punar anartho durvāra ity āha—dhyāyata iti dvyābhyām | viṣayān śabdādīn sukha-hetutva-buddhyā dhyāyataḥ punaḥ punaś cintayato yoginas teṣu saṅga āsaktir bhavati | saṅgād dhetos teṣu kāma-tṛṣṇā jāyate | kāmāc ca kenacit pratihatāt krodhaś citta-jvālas tat-pratighātako bhavati | krodhāt sammohaḥ kāryākārya-viveka-vijñāna-vilopaḥ | sammohāt smṛter indriya-vijayādi-prayatnānusandher vibhramo vibhraṁśaḥ | smṛti-bhraṁśād buddher ātma-jñānārthakasyādhyavasāyasya nāśaḥ | buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati punar viṣaya-bhoga-nimagno bhavati saṁsaratīty arthaḥ | mad-anāśrayaṇād durbalaṁ manas tāni sva-viṣayair yojayantīti bhāvaḥ | tathā ca mano-vijigīṣuṇā mad-upāsanaṁ vidheyam |
(Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā)
“With two [verses], dhyāyataḥ …, he states that disturbance (anartha), however, is difficult to ward off for a mind not absorbed in me, even [in the case of the mind] of someone of well-controlled senses. For a person dwelling upon objects of the senses, that is, for a yogī thinking again and again about sounds and so on with the notion of [their] being causes of happiness, attachment (saṅgaḥ) to them occurs. Because of attachment, desire for enjoyment arises, and because of [that] desire, anger occurs as a result of obstruction [to the fulfillment of that desire] by some means, that is, a burning in the heart which is a reaction to that [occurs]. Because of anger, delusion, that is, a lapse in awareness of discrimination (viveka) between that which is to be done and not to be done, occurs. Because of delusion, failure of memory occurs, that is, the loss of [one’s] focus upon [one’s] endeavor to conquer the senses and so forth. Because of failure of memory, loss of the intellect, that is, of [one’s] determination aimed at awareness (jñāna) of the self, occurs. Because of loss of the intellect, one becomes ruined, that is, one again becomes submerged in enjoyment of the objects of the senses, meaning, one transmigrates [i.e., continues to revolve in saṁsāra]. As a result of not taking shelter in me, the weak mind engages them [i.e., the senses] in their own objects. This is the purport. Thus, furthermore, worship of me is to be performed by those who wish to conquer the mind.”