Gita 02.67 – Be swept by the wind of spiritual desire, not material desire
indriyāṇāṁ hi caratāṁ
yan mano ’nuvidhīyate
tad asya harati prajñāṁ
vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi (Bg 2.67)
Word-for-word:
indriyāṇām — of the senses; hi — certainly; caratām — while roaming; yat — with which; manaḥ — the mind; anuvidhīyate — becomes constantly engaged; tat — that; asya — his; harati — takes away; prajñām — intelligence; vāyuḥ — wind; nāvam — a boat; iva — like; ambhasi — on the water.
Translation:
As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.
Explanation:
In this verse, Kṛṣṇa gives an example to illustrate how, while living, acting, and moving in this world, if one is not careful, the senses can drag them away. This verse is part of the answer to the question vrajeta kim—how does such a person walk about, how does the person move about in this world using the senses?
indriyāṇāṁ hi caratāṁ: While the senses are moving around,
yan mano ’nuvidhīyate: When the mind fixes on something—whatever the mind concentrates on among the various objects perceived by the roaming senses—
tad asya harati prajñām: The intelligence is stolen away. The word ‘harati’ means to carry away. Earlier, the word ‘haranti’ was used in 2.60: haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ. Prior to that, in 2.44, we find apahṛta-cetasām—there too the root ‘hṛ’ appears. Hence, ‘hṛ’ means to steal or carry away.
‘tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā’ is a recurring chorus throughout this section of the chapter. It was first introduced in verse 54 when Arjuna posed the question.
vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi: An example is given—just as a boat on the water is swept away by the wind.
This is the second metaphor from nature that Kṛṣṇa gives in this section. There have been several metaphors so far. First, there was the metaphor of a well, which comes from a rural setting. Then there was the metaphor of the tortoise.
The well-and-river metaphor appears in 2.46: yāvān artha uda-pāne, where the limited utility of a well is compared to the vastness of a river. Following that, in 2.58, we see the metaphor of the tortoise: yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ kūrmo ’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ—just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs, one must withdraw the senses. This metaphor illustrates how to control the senses by pulling them back from their objects.
The metaphor in this verse (2.67) illustrates how sense control may be lost. Here, Kṛṣṇa states that sense control is lost in a manner similar to how the wind sweeps away a boat on water. Arjuna later uses a similar metaphor involving vāyu to describe the restlessness of the mind in verse 6.34, when he says vāyor iva su-duṣkaram—as difficult to control as the wind.
Here, Kṛṣṇa is speaking about how external sense objects can create a wind of passion that drags us away. A boat is designed to move smoothly on the ocean or on any body of water, but that same boat can be tossed about—utterly and devastatingly—by a stormy wind. In such a situation, the boat becomes practically helpless. After all, what can anyone do if they are simply being swept away?
Similarly, it is almost impossible to deal with situations where the force of passion enters through the senses into the mind and sweeps us away—sweeping away our intelligence and, in turn, sweeping us off course.
In the case of a boat, however, there are many things that can be done. First, a skilled boatsman tries to get some sort of weather forecast—either through personal experience by observing the sky and wind patterns, or by using modern tools to track weather systems. The first strategy is always to avoid storms as far as possible.
Secondly, when storms do come, how does one deal with them? If one is expert, then one can weather the storm. That means trying to move out of the storm’s path or navigating into the area of minimal force within the storm. By positioning the boat at particular angles, an experienced boatsman knows how not to be blown away.
But the best strategy, of course, is avoidance. If avoidance is not possible, then there must be endurance. And if endurance is not possible, then destruction is inevitable.
Similarly, the best course is to not allow the storm of passion to arise in the first place. This means we avoid entering areas where the storm of passion is active.
How is such a storm generated? The sense objects are outside, and we possess senses. When the senses come into contact with the sense objects, perception enters the mind. If the mind then begins to contemplate that perception, it gives rise to a gust of desire—wild and unrestrained. That wild desire sweeps away our intelligence, just as a storm carries away a boat.
Therefore, if we know that certain places contain tempting sense objects, we should try to avoid going there. If avoidance is not possible, then we must be prepared for endurance. This means that while the senses may come in contact with sense objects—we cannot walk through the world with our eyes closed—we can still avoid contemplating them.
It is the contemplation that strengthens desire. The more we dwell on a sense object, the stronger the desire becomes—until it may eventually become irresistible. The key to endurance, then, lies in minimizing contemplation.
When one focuses on whatever the senses are perceiving—yan mano ’nuvidhīyate—it means that if the mind starts following any of the wandering senses without discrimination, one can easily be misled. Therefore, we must be careful not to let ourselves be carried away by the senses.
The way to avoid this is by not dwelling indiscriminately on sensory experiences. As soon as we recognize a tempting sense object—something likely to agitate the mind—we should minimize contact. By doing so, we prevent the “wind” of passion from being generated, or at the very least, from entering deeply into our consciousness.
Once such a wind enters and begins to gain momentum, it becomes increasingly difficult to resist. But if it is checked early—before it gathers strength—it becomes much easier to stop and counter. Thus, the key is to not allow desire to gain momentum. And the way to ensure that it doesn’t is by minimizing contemplation.
It’s also important to recognize that even if the storm does blow the boat off course, we don’t truly sink—the soul is eternal. We can always get back up, return to the boat, and continue our journey. However, the process is extremely troublesome. We don’t know how long it will take or how much pain and difficulty will be involved. So, the wisest approach is to avoid the storm altogether.
There is also a positive principle here. In the Bhāgavatam, there is a beautiful verse:
nṛ-deham ādyaṁ su-labhaṁ su-durlabhaṁ
plavaṁ su-kalpaṁ guru-karṇadhāram
mayānukūlena nabhasvateritaṁ
pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātma-hā (SB 11.20.17)
This verse presents an elaborate metaphor—the human body is like a well-constructed boat (plavaṁ su-kalpam), the spiritual master is the expert captain (guru-karṇadhāra), and the favorable winds (nabhasvat) are the Vedic scriptures. Our focus here will be on the explanation of the favorable winds.
Just as material sense objects can generate the wind of material desires, similarly, spiritual sense objects—such as scriptures—can generate the wind of spiritual desires. When we study scripture, we begin to understand the glories of Kṛṣṇa and the superior nature of spiritual happiness. This inspires us to pursue spiritual life with enthusiasm.
In this way, the wind of spiritual desire is generated, which pushes us toward Kṛṣṇa—just as material desires push us away from Him. Similarly, hearing classes, singing kīrtans, taking darśana of the Deities, and engaging in various devotional activities can also generate the wind of spiritual desires. And in these situations, we should indeed do ‘mano ’nuvidhīyate’—we should allow the mind to follow the senses.
When the senses are engaged in spiritual activities and are directed toward spiritual objects, then letting the mind follow them becomes beneficial. By doing ‘mano ’nuvidhīyate’ in this positive context, spiritual desires are cultivated in our consciousness, and we become propelled onwards—towards Kṛṣṇa.
Thank you.
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