Controlling the Sense Organs
Everything in this world can be categorised into three main qualities—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Dharma Vyadha, the butcher-sage, explains to his student Kaushika about the qualities of a person with these three qualities. A Rajasic person has clarity of speech. He can be one who offers counsel and convinces others with his suggestions and advice. He may be a leader among men and not have any jealousy. To rise to high positions among people, one has to transcend emotions such as jealousy. They have endless desires and plans to execute them. Before learned persons he may be adamant and also have an exaggerated opinion about himself.
The Vyadha Gita ends with the last verse describing the person of Sattvic disposition. His personality is radiant. This brightness may be even a physical expression many a time, but it refers to a bright disposition of intellect. Such a person is very aware to what is happening around him, within himself and even within others that he comes in touch with. He is bold and brave. There is no hidden agenda in his mind. He hence has no secret desires or plans to execute. There is no trace of jealousy in him.
The Rajasic person too has no jealousy but it is a cultivated habit to avoid jealousy that helps to keep him on the top of people and situations. For the Sattvic person, whose mind is naturally quiet, the lack of jealousy arises out of a feeling of oneness. There is no other person around for him to feel jealous. Duality and a discriminating perception between I and mine and them and theirs alone is the cause for jealousy to arise in the heart. These differences are not there in his mind. There is hence no one to feel jealous about.
He is free of anger too. When the desire arises and there is an impediment that arises preventing it from being fulfilled, there is anger. He is endowed with a wise and stable intellect which does not get swayed by the dualities of heat and cold, joy and sorrow, praise and censure. He is a person with all the 10 sense organs perfectly under his control. The five organs of perception—ears, eyes, nose, tongue and skin —are conduits for the mind to go behind their objects of sound, form, smell, taste and touch respectively. The five organs of action—mouth, hands, legs, evacuation and reproduction—constantly express through speech, grasping, covering ground, pushing out wastes and bringing forth human life. A self-controlled person is very centred within and has hence no need to either take in inputs through the sense organs or express through the organs of action.
The essence of the Vyadha Gita is about bringing all the sense organs under control and living a life of discipline and service. This purifies the mind and makes it available to realise the higher truth of existence that lies within.
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