Lord Krishna our ‘Hero’ or Master preceptor of this Holy Gita – takes responsibility as our charioteer to guide us , console us , motivate us , guard us , control us , so that we may win the battle of life using our own will , emotion , cognition by his intellectual yet compassionate words.
To have a clear illustration about our body mind intellect and soul, let us understand the following allegorical figure. This explains about the mystical yet practical , intellectual yet lively, difficult yet possible life journey with our body, mind , heart and soul.
The chariot , in the above figure , is our body which is the battle field in which we have to tame our senses and mind. It is called ‘‘Temple’ as it possesses the seat of consciousness. The chariot or body is prone to damage, degradation, and death after a period of time.
2. Arjuna the warrior who sits on the chariot seat is our ‘Atma’ or human consciousness otherwise called the soul or the Jivathma or shiva.
Arjuna the king or the Atma sits on the chariot in a luxurious manner.
This is the state of our Atma or consciousness which has no origin or end and it is nothing but an element of truth, the imperishable. So its always special – this makes every human being supreme – since he is the only evolved form who can understand he is precious ; He is gifted with the sixth sense of reasoning and is different from animals by being able to stand erect on his own, able to smile, show concern to others, and vocalize his thoughts and emotions. This sixth sense helps him to understand ‘ God’ or ‘Truth’ which is the closest particle and the farthest particle at the same time, like the scientific ‘ God particle’ yet to be understood.
3.The 5 horses (in the figure ) are our five senses. The body moves in the life journey, only till the senses are moving towards their goal.
They are the organs of wisdom; the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin.
SENSE ORGANS
- Eyes attracted to form
- Ears attracted to sound
- Nose attracted to smell
- Skin attracted to sensation
- Mouth attracted to taste.
There horses have the nature or running amok if the driver is not controlling them. So that’s why, Some of us – keep smoking ,drinking, eat lots of food etc. without one horse (mouth) control .
- Keep seeing bad movies feel jealous on seeing others prosper,– eyes not in control .
- Keep listening to wicked plans, addicted to praise , or gossip – ears not in control.
- Keep searching for new experiences – nose not in control .
- Keep craving for physical company – sensation not in control .
4. Now what is controlling these senses ?
Its nothing but the reins . The reins depict our mind or the untamed heart . If its not held by the intellect that is Lord Krishna’s hands, the mind runs amok or gets stuck .
Mind on manas has 3 functions .
1.Attraction or desire
2.Detachment or hatred ,
3.Deliberation.
one principle works excluding the other .
ullam perunkoil oon udambeh aalayam ; thella thrintharkku
jeevaneh shivam.- thirumoolar.
Eg – either the reins are left loose by desire (addicts) on they are held tight by detachment (sanyasis).Which the reins are in control , the horses move towards the goal– which means our mind is in good control by our intellect – which is the station for the work of our
Hero ‘the charioteer’ the Lord who does not take path in battle but helps us in our endeavour .
4.So who is Lord Krishna ?
( contd.)
Dr. Vijayalakshmi Kumaran