Gita 03.40 – Lust has taken over our knowledge-acquiring mechanism

Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-03-40-lust-has-taken-over-our-knowledge-acquiring-mechanism/

indriyāṇi mano buddhir
asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate
etair vimohayaty eṣa
jñānam āvṛtya dehinam (Bg 3.40)

Word-for-word:
indriyāṇi — the senses; manaḥ — the mind; buddhiḥ — the intelligence; asya — of this lust; adhiṣṭhānam — sitting place; ucyate — is called; etaiḥ — by all these; vimohayati — bewilders; eṣaḥ — this lust; jñānam — knowledge; āvṛtya — covering; dehinam — of the embodied.

Translation:
The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.

Explanation:
indriyāṇi mano buddhir: The senses, the mind, and the intelligence
asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate: are said to be its (lust’s) sitting places or strongholds.
etair vimohayaty eṣa: Through these, it (lust) deludes
jñānam āvṛtya dehinam: the embodied soul, by covering knowledge.

The previous verse began with “āvṛtam jñānam”—knowledge is covered—and this verse ends with the same point: “jñānam āvṛtya dehinam”—covering the knowledge of the embodied. This repetition highlights the central emphasis: how lust is the enemy, how it operates, how it wounds us, and ultimately how it ruins us. All of this happens through one key mechanism—āvṛtam jñānam, the covering of knowledge.

A natural question may arise—how can knowledge itself be covered? One might say that the capacity to acquire knowledge can be obstructed—for instance, if someone puts a blindfold over my eyes, I can no longer see where I am. In that case, my power of perception is blocked, but the knowledge I had previously still remains. So how, then, can “knowledge” itself be covered?

Kṛṣṇa explains that lust doesn’t merely block the acquisition of knowledge—it hijacks the entire system: both the instruments of acquiring knowledge and those involved in processing it. We acquire knowledge through our senses, and Kṛṣṇa states that lust resides in the senses (indriyāṇi). But beyond that, once knowledge is acquired, it must be processed, which happens in the subtle body, specifically in the mind and intelligence. Kṛṣṇa indicates that lust infiltrates these faculties as well. It corrupts not only what we perceive but also how we interpret and respond to that perception.

When it is said asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate—that lust is situated in the senses, mind, and intelligence—does it mean that lust is ruling over them? Yes, in the conditioned stage, lust often takes over not just our senses but even our intelligence. That is why our senses spontaneously gravitate toward sense objects rather than toward higher or nobler stimuli.

To counter this, we need to protect our senses from sabotage. Sabotage here means that we become unable to see things as they truly are. When lust hijacks the senses, our perception becomes distorted. For example, if we enter a room, our senses are capable of noticing many things—the color of the walls, the design of the furniture, the layout of the space. But if there is an alluring sense object present, our senses will immediately zero in on that, ignoring everything else.

Suppose a police station has guns meant to protect citizens and counter criminals. But imagine if the enemy infiltrates the station, seizes those very guns, and turns them against the police themselves. Similarly, our senses are meant to help us perceive and interact with the world constructively, but when lust takes over, it hijacks the senses and redirects them toward objects that lead to our self-destruction.

This is why, in the conditioned state, the senses often zero in on sense objects with little or no discretion. Once the senses are captivated, lust doesn’t stop there—it proceeds to capture the mind. The mind, now under lust’s influence, begins to imagine: How can I enjoy this? It embarks on wild imaginations and indulgent thoughts, scheming in all directions.

Nowadays, technology enables the wild imaginations of individuals to be publicly expressed and made accessible to all. For example, consider obscene videos—these often begin with one person’s mind, overtaken by lust, wandering into indecent fantasies. That person visualizes a particular scenario, and then a director brings that vision to life by filming it. What began as a private, impure imagination is transformed into a publicly distributed video.

As a result, we’re not only battling our own mind’s unruly tendencies, but we’re also bombarded with the degenerate imaginations of others. These external influences feed and further inflame our own thoughts, making the mind even more restless and difficult to control. In this way, the imagination becomes more empowered in its uncontrolled wanderings, and we become more deeply entangled in the grip of lust.

Often, we find that the mind races with imagination—especially when indulging in desires or distractions. But when it comes to engaging in something constructive or spiritually uplifting, the same mind turns super lethargic. It seems to freeze, refusing to cooperate or generate any inspiration.

The way ahead—or the solution to such a situation—will be discussed in later verses, but for now, let’s focus on the role of intelligence. Generally, we consider intelligence to be the instrument for dealing with lust, the faculty through which we counter it. However, here Kṛṣṇa states that lust can take over the intelligence as well.

This means that when the senses are overtaken by lust, they begin to zero in on sense objects; when the mind is overtaken, it begins imagining how to enjoy those objects; and when the intelligence is overtaken, it starts planning how to gain maximum pleasure from the sense object while avoiding—or minimizing—any potential consequences.

For example, a person may decide to go online and surf, but while browsing obscene sites, there’s a risk of getting caught. To avoid this, one might use private mode, browse invisibly, or use a proxy server. Those who are tech-savvy may employ various methods to cover their digital tracks.

Often, they believe they are clever and won’t get caught—and even if they’re not caught by anyone else, they are being ensnared more deeply by their own desires. The grip of these desires becomes stronger and stronger.

That trap is actually such a deadly trap that it may take a long, long time to come out of it. Kṛṣṇa will say later in Bhagavad-gītā 16.12: āśā-pāśa-śatair baddhāḥ, where He speaks about material desires in general and says there are hundreds of desires which are like nooses—ropes that bind tightly. In this way, lust entraps all of us by taking over the senses, mind, and intelligence.

In general, we acquire knowledge through three instruments. First, we perceive through our various senses. These perceptions are then integrated and processed in the mind, which holds our desires and memories. Finally, they are further analyzed, deliberated upon, and used for decision-making at the level of intelligence. However, when all three—senses, mind, and intelligence—are captured by lust, our situation becomes extremely dangerous.

It’s like a person fighting a war—imagine an aircraft flying in the battlefield, engaging the enemy. The pilot relies on guidance from his own superiors, his comrades stationed at the air control tower or elsewhere. But suppose the signal to the pilot gets intercepted. For instance, an Indian pilot is fighting against a Pakistani opponent in an air battle. He is supposed to receive instructions from Indian command. But what if the communication is hacked and a Pakistani impersonates an Indian officer, giving false signals? The Pakistani would mislead the Indian pilot straight into enemy fire, resulting in the pilot’s death.

Not only is there external danger due to the presence of threatening sense objects, but now the internal knowledge-acquiring mechanism itself has been sabotaged.

That’s why it is essential to conscientiously acquire knowledge from a pure source—scripture and guru, sādhu, and śāstra. When we receive knowledge from such authentic channels, our perspective remains clear. This clarity helps us avoid the sabotage of our knowledge-acquiring mechanism. Equipped with this pure knowledge, we can then combat and ultimately conquer lust.

Thank you.