Bhagavad Gita 15.9

śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca

rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca

adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ

viṣayān upasevate

 

Through ears and eyes the soul takes in,

Through touch and taste and scent within;

Joined with the mind in subtle sway,

It tastes the objects on display.

 

My dear Lord, as a spiritual being in a physical body, I need senses to interact with the world around me—both for gaining information through my knowledge senses and for executing my intentions through my action senses. You have provided me with senses that are both potent and competent.

O merciful Lord, you have given me free will—essentially the freedom to turn toward you or turn away from you, and by extension to choose what I perceive with my knowledge senses and what I pursue with my action senses. If I let myself be captivated by whatever objects charm my senses, I may get some immediate pleasure. But that very pleasure, both in its pursuit and in its enjoyment, starts stripping my life of meaning.
Not only does the pleasure itself inevitably diminish, but it binds my life to a pursuit of diminishing returns. Thus, I end up following the path of my senses and living a life of little sense or no sense—ultimately a life of nonsense.

O Supreme Guide, bless me so that I can carefully cultivate in my senses an attraction toward what is sensible instead of what is sensuous—toward what brings enduring meaning to my life rather than fleeting titillation. In you—who are both the Lord of my senses and the Lord of all things that make sense—may my sensory faculties find shelter, satisfaction and sanctity.

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15.09 The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.