If we are
lying on a couch in our room and we suddenly see a snake in the corner, what
would be our immediate reaction? Will we continue lying there peacefully
anymore? Definitely not. Within no time we will run out of the room and will
frantically cry for help. Unless and until we drive the snake out from there
and make sure that it never enters again we would not rest. In fact we can go
to the extent of killing the snake for our safety and security. Any sane man
will do the same.
But the
scriptures are not much enthusiastic about our sanity. Why? Because it says
that in spite of repeated reminders we prefer the company of the venomous
snakes. These snakes are our senses
which continue to dominate our life and dictate terms to us. They make us crazy
and wild and most importantly do not allow us to flourish in Krishna
consciousness. True we cannot kill our senses and no one asks us to even do it.
We are just asked to detoxify our senses by removing all the poisonous
substances from it. What are these lethal elements? It’s pretty simple to
identify. Things which are favourable in practicing our devotional life should
be preserved and which are not should be purged. We have to ensure that each
and every sense gets sanctified because as one snake in the room can make us
miserable similarly any one of the uncontrolled senses will make us insane.In
Gita 2.67 Krishna says, “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.”
Once our
senses become pure then instead of becoming an impediment they will start
enthusiastically cooperating with us in our devotional life. In fact each of
the senses can be astutely utilized in serving the Lord. Chaste and controlled
senses will help us flourish in our devotional life.