Chapter 2 Verse 61
तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्पर: |
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता || 61||
tāni sarvāṇi sanyamya yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ
vaśhe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣhṭhitā
Translation – They are established in perfect knowledge, who subdue their senses and keep their minds ever absorbed in me.
Link to the page – https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/61
My interpretation –
“Drive” is an amazing book written by Daniel Pink which talks of what really engages the employees of today. After research across the world, he concludes that three things are required to engage an employee – offer him/her the opportunity to master some skill, give him/her the freedom to try new things and connect him/her to a higher purpose. Dan Pink has accidentally corroborated verse 61 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita !!!
In the last few verses before verse 61, Lord Krishna talks of desires, of how our sensory pleasures overwhelm us and why we need to rein them in. In this verse, he seems to suggest one more way of channelising our energy away from the sensory pleasures. He suggests that we keep our minds absorbed in “Him”, by that I feel he means, absorbed in a higher purpose.
A soldier goes through tremendous physical hardship because he responds to the higher purpose of keeping his country safe. A Stephen R Covey responded to the higher purpose of making a difference in people’s lives through his books … One of the recent Padma Shri winners left his cushy government job to setup a school for the “Moosahars” (rat eating tribals) in Bihar. Why? A higher purpose. Everyone who has been successful has had a higher purpose and that drives them – all their sensory pleasures are subservient to that higher purpose. The bigger goal drives us all and makes us forget about how uncomfortable the seat is or how inexpensive our shirt is. A Gandhi didn’t even wear a shirt ! He fasted, he put himself through physical torture but it didn’t matter to him, because the higher purpose of delivering independence to India was driving him.
What drives you? What makes you forget about the puddle on the street and the dog poop in the corner ? Find your higher purpose and then see the zing back in your day !