3.6 — Outward restraint, inner dwelling

Sanskrit · Teaching film · Everyday practice

Speaker: Krishna, addressing Arjuna.

The shloka

कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् ।
इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते ॥ ६ ॥

Brief meaning

One who holds back the organs of action while the mind keeps dwelling on sense objects deceives themselves, and is called a pretender.

In the conversation

Krishna contrasts two people. One holds the body still while the mind keeps dwelling on what it has given up. The other governs the senses through the mind and acts without attachment. Krishna then tells Arjuna to perform his work, because even the life of the body depends on action. Renunciation that is only outward is called pretence.

Word by word

कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य

Restraining the organs of action,

यः आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् इन्द्रियार्थान्

one who sits recalling sense objects in the mind

विमूढात्मा

is deluded,

मिथ्याचारः सः उच्यते

and is called a pretender.

Going deeper

Krishna calls the outwardly still but inwardly dwelling person mithyācāra, one whose conduct is false. He distinguishes the karmendriyas, the organs of action, from the mind that governs them. The praised person acts with the hands and feet, yet the mind is steady and unattached. Niyata karma, allotted work, means the duty that is rightly ours. The teaching values honest inner discipline over a show of renunciation.

Everyday reflection

You give up sweets for a month, and spend the whole time thinking about them. The outward rule is kept, but the mind is not at peace. Compare that with simply eating well, attending to your work, and letting the craving lose its hold as other things fill your day. Restraint can help, but its purpose is a changed relationship, not an impressive display. Where are you keeping a rule while the mind keeps feeding the longing?

Consider today: Check whether a habit you have stopped still occupies your mind.