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One Should Restrain Mind Through Discrimination Based on Knowledge

शक्नोतीहैव य: सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् |
कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्त: स सुखी नर: || 5.23||

śhaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ prāk śharīra-vimokṣhaṇāt
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ|| 5.23||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 5- Ver. 23:

He who is capable of withstanding the impulse generated of desire and fury, even before this body goes, is a yogi, and he is joyous.

Explanation

Shri Krishna clarifies why the intellect seeks solace in the world. He claims that there are two major obstacles to realisation in a person working to purify his mind: desire and anger. Both of them provide impulses that direct the mind’s attention to the physical world. Even if the seeker cannot eliminate desire and wrath, but can control the impulses that are triggered by them, the seeker will find satisfaction from inside rather than from without.

When one encounters sense pleasures or recalls a memory of a sense pleasure, desire is the desire to re-experience that sense pleasure. When one is confronted with a painful situation or recalls a painful memory, the aversion that is aroused is referred to as anger. Both of these emotions cause you to want to chase after or flee from an object, person, or situation. It is necessary for the mind to be on an even center line in order to realise the eternal essence.
We will feel compelled to pursue happiness. it’ll continually rush outward unless we tend to divert it inward.

However, if we tend to focus it inward and it doesn’t notice joy, it’ll flip outward over again. As a result, channelling this need within should be through with care. If all we tend to do is cut ourselves removed from the objects that provide pleasure, it’ll not work. Instead, we should tend to work diligently towards purification of our mind and performance of svaadhyaava As our mind finds exponentially finds additional joy in svaadhyaaya, it’ll mechanically flip inwards and drop its fascination with external objects.

Verse & what we can learn

The human body offers the soul a unique opportunity to achieve its ultimate objective of God-realization. We have the ability to discriminate in this body, and Shree Krishna emphasises that this ability should be used to resist the impulses of desire and anger.

The firm intellect should be employed to keep the mind in check. As soon as the thought of savouring a material pleasure enters one’s mind, the intellect should be informed that these are sources of misery. To purify one’s heart and enjoy God’s infinite delight, one should perform austerities. This opportunity to practise discrimination is only available while the human body is alive, and a yogi is someone who can control the forces of desire and anger while alive. Such a person is joyful since he or she is the only one who can experience the exquisite bliss within.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the Next verse, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna more about Yogis.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…