Bg. 2.60

BG 2.60
Srila Prabhupada

Devanagari

यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥ ६० ॥

Verse text

yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ

Synonyms

yatataḥ while endeavoring ; hi certainly ; api in spite of ; kaunteya O son of Kuntī ; puruṣasya of a man ; vipaścitaḥ full of discriminating knowledge ; indriyāṇi the senses ; pramāthīni agitating ; haranti throw ; prasabham by force ; manaḥ 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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

60. Even for the wise man who endeavors, O son of Kuntī, the agitating senses take away the mind by force.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

60. Even for the wise man who endeavors to control the senses, O son of Kuntī, the strong senses take away the mind by force.

Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)

The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination (the jnani) 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 Kṛṣṇa conscious. Without engaging the mind in Kṛṣṇa, one cannot cease such material engagements. A practical example is given by Śrī Yāmunācārya, a great saint and devotee, who says: yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca “Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, 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.” Kṛṣṇa 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 Ambarīṣa also conquered a great yogī, Durvāsā Muni, simply because his mind was engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness ( sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane ).

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The effort at the stage of sādhana is very great, without power to turn back the senses completely at all times. Pramāthīni means “causing agitation.”

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

This verse speaks of the rarity of being such a sthita prajṣa, established in that knowledge of ātmā. For a man who is intent on conquering the senses, who can distinguish his real nature as ātmā from sense objects (vipaścitaḥ), the senses such as the ear, which act as agents or doers, take away the mind as if by force (prasabham). “Taking away” here means that the senses make the mind indulge in sense objects. “How do the senses make the mind indulge in sense objects if the person is situated with discriminating knowledge which opposes indulging in those sense objects?” “Because the senses are very strong (pramāthīni) they can suppress that knowledge. Therefore, the sthita prajṣa carefully protects his steadiness in jṣāna from the senses, just as a person protects a great treasure from thieves. That is his sitting (sense control).”

Surrender Unto Me

Krsna is telling Arjuna: "Don't give up your work! Don't become a Jnani, but perform your work in Buddhi‑yoga!