According to the Bhagavad Gita, controlling the indriyas (senses) is achieved not through forced suppression, but through consistent practice (abhyasa), detachment (vairagya), and redirecting the mind toward a higher spiritual purpose. Lord Krishna explains that the mind must be conquered for the senses to be truly subdued.
The path of controlling the senses
1. Understand the danger of unchecked senses
The Gita explains the powerful, destructive cycle that begins with uncontrolled senses:
- Contemplation of objects: When a person dwells on sensory objects, they develop attachment (sanga).
- Attachment to desire: This attachment gives rise to desire (kama), which can morph into lust and intense craving.
- Desire to anger: When desire is frustrated, it turns into anger (krodha).
- Anger to delusion: Anger causes delusion, which in turn bewitches the memory.
- Delusion to lost intelligence: A bewildered memory leads to the destruction of intelligence (buddhi).
- Destruction to ruination: When intelligence is lost, the person falls from the spiritual path.
2. Practice withdrawal and moderation
Krishna offers practical steps to begin mastering the senses:
- Withdrawal like a tortoise: A person with steady wisdom can withdraw their senses from sense objects, just as a tortoise retracts its limbs into its shell. This is an act of conscious, strategic retreat, not forceful suppression.
- Experience a higher taste: Simply restraining the senses without a higher purpose leaves the “taste” for sense objects intact. However, experiencing a higher, spiritual reality makes those worldly desires fade naturally.
- Live moderately: The Gita advocates for a middle path, advising against extreme asceticism. Yoga, or union with the divine, is not possible for those who eat or sleep too much or too little. Regulation in habits is key.
3. Conquer the mind through higher intellect
The ultimate control of the senses depends on mastering the mind and using one’s higher intelligence (buddhi):
- The mind as a battlefield: The mind can be a person’s greatest friend or worst enemy, depending on whether it is controlled.
- Harnessing determination (dhruti): Use willpower rooted in the mode of goodness to control the mind, the life-airs, and the senses.
- Reign in the wandering mind: Krishna acknowledges that the mind is restless and difficult to control. The key is to consistently and patiently bring the mind back to the self, every time it wanders away.
4. Surrender to a higher purpose
The highest form of sense control comes from directing one’s consciousness toward the Divine:
- Fix the mind on God: When the senses are restrained, one should fix their consciousness on the Supreme (Krishna). For someone who is absorbed in a higher reality, the senses naturally come under control.
- Act without attachment: Perform all actions as an offering, without attachment to the results. This transforms the karma-creating actions into purifying ones, freeing the senses from the cycle of desire and entanglement.
- Use the senses in service: Instead of suppressing the senses, one can engage them in divine service. By redirecting the senses toward a spiritual purpose, the pull of lower desires is naturally overcome.
- Develop true renunciation: True renunciation (sannyasa) is not about giving up action, but about giving up the desire for the results of one’s actions. A person who acts this way is considered a true mystic and renouncer.