2.68: Hold Your Senses Well

So in the 67th Krishna has made it clear if we let ourselves be ruled by our senses, then we're basically sentencing ourselves to perhaps being lost on the waters, blown hither and nither by the changing winds of fortune and time. So he says, therefore, what do we need to do? And so he continues, therefore he says, tasma adyasyamaha bahu niggrihi tah nisara vashah, indriya nindriya tebya, tasya prajya britishthita. So he's continuing again, you might notice it, tasya prajya britishthita, that person's prajya, that person's wisdom, wise deep seeing, his prajshthita is well established. So who's, tasma, therefore, one maha bahu, Arjuna, you who are a great hero, you who are truly strong, encouraging Arjuna for the effort he's going to exhort him to, he says, therefore sadhava shaha, the last word of the first line, in every way, wholly, completely, niggrihi tani, this niggrihi tani means basically well held, let's say, indriyaani, indriya tebya, so holding the senses well in relation to their sense objects. So he says, such a one becomes the sataprajya yogin. So therefore, Arjuna, when you are navigating the realm of the senses of life, take care that you work with your senses in a niggrihi tani, niggrihi tas state. So gra is from the root to grab or to grasp. So niggrihi tani means kind of well held, this nipri fix means holding well the senses. Now, sometimes you can come across translations which render this verse or something like, therefore Arjuna, with your senses thoroughly checked or very well restrained, but you can probably guess from the tone of my voice, I don't really like that way of rendering it. I think well held or holding the senses well is much more in the spirit of what Krishna has really been suggesting. So if you hold the senses well, this is like the horses, you hold them well, you support them to be the beautiful horse they are. They're great, powerful, athletic creatures, you let them run. Your senses have tremendous powers. If you don't exercise those powers, it's altogether likely the senses will rebel. They will not be happy members of a team. But if you work with your senses holding them well, when you pay attention to the way they can serve you, when you give them respect, it's much more likely that they will then serve you in ways that are conducive to the well-being of the whole. So I think of nigrihita as holding the senses well. In other words, working with them mindfully, steadily with steady presence and awareness. And so the idea, all the time always, Arjuna, your senses as is already mentioned, they can be disturbing. So can you work with them well held, holding them in the light of your center discerning awareness. And then they can deepen your connection to your prajya, your deep innate wisdom, rather than distancing you from it.