Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 2.60

yatato hy api kaunteya

purushasya vipaścitah

indriyāni pramāthīni

haranti prasabham manah

SYNONYMS

yatatah — while endeavoring; hi — certainly; api — in spite of; kaunteya — O son of Kuntī; purushasya — of a man; vipaścitah — full of discriminating knowledge; indriyāni — the senses; pramāthīni — agitating; haranti — throw; prasabham — by force; manah — the mind.

TRANSLATION

The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them.

PURPORT

There are many learned sages, philosophers and transcendentalists who try to conquer the senses, but in spite of their endeavors, even the greatest of them sometimes fall victim to material sense enjoyment due to the agitated mind. Even Viśvāmitra, a great sage and perfect yogī, was misled by Menakā into sex enjoyment, although the yogī was endeavoring for sense control with severe types of penance and yoga practice. And, of course, there are so many similar instances in the history of the world. Therefore, it is very difficult to control the mind and senses without being fully Krishna conscious. Without engaging the mind in Krishna, one cannot cease such material engagements. A practical example is given by Śrī Yāmunācārya, a great saint and devotee, who says:

yad-avadhi mama cetah krishna-pādāravinde

nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyatam rantum āsīt

tad-avadhi bata nārī-sańgame smaryamāne

bhavati mukha-vikārah sushthu nishthīvanam ca

"Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, and I have been enjoying an ever new transcendental humor, whenever I think of sex life with a woman, my face at once turns from it, and I spit at the thought."

Krishna consciousness is such a transcendentally nice thing that automatically material enjoyment becomes distasteful. It is as if a hungry man had satisfied his hunger by a sufficient quantity of nutritious eatables. Mahārāja Ambarīsha also conquered a great yogī, Durvāsā Muni, simply because his mind was engaged in Krishna consciousness (sa vai manah krishna-pādāravindayor vacāmsi vaikuntha-gunānuvarnane).

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness