Gita 18.38 Contact of senses and sense objects is not just physical but also visual

Transcript

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18.38 these three verses 18.37, 38 and 39 in the Bhagavad Gita talk about happiness within three modes 18.36 is like a prelude for this verse for these three verses, for this section this verse basically talks about happiness in the mode of passion Krishna says by the contact of the sense-subjects of the sense-subjects the connection, the union, the joining together coming together that which tastes like nectar in the beginning it results in poison that is happiness in the mode of ignorance that is happiness in the mode of passion let’s look here first at the concept of Mishra Indriya Sanyoga different senses they come in contact in different ways with the sense-objects so for example, when we eat something the food item comes in contact with the sense of the tongue when we touch something, our hands physically come in contact with it when we see something actually there is visual contact that happens so our eyes are seeing the sense-objects and this visual contact is at one level we could say just as influential as effective in shaping things as is the verbal contact or the physical contact normally when we talk about physical contact we usually talk in terms of touch so for example say sometimes there is some inappropriate touching then that is considered a form of molestation and nowadays with more awareness or vigilance often action is taken against people say who sexually touch inappropriately in airports when security clearance happens usually if a man is to be checked there will be a male and if a woman is to be the body is to be scanned, usually a woman does that and of course professionals are trained to touch in almost impersonal, mechanical kind of ways so there are touches also which are functional and there are touches which are sensual so especially sensual touches they are induced by the desire for sensual pleasure which are touching inappropriately that’s what we normally consider as physical contact but Vishay Indriya Sanyoga is not limited to that alone because especially with respect to the eyes and the eyes come in contact with some object at that time they come in contact with the particular sense object associated with that particular with the eye through vision so when our vision can become predatory we can become visual predators predators are animals which prey on other animals for example, for a mouse a cat is a predator so if our vision is directed by selfish, self-centered sensual desires primarily the eyes for example just to understand how senses can be how the vision can be a form of contact sometimes somebody looks at us with anger or with hatred sometimes some people’s faces and eyes are so expressive that just by seeing the anger and the hatred in their eyes we feel concerned, we may feel alarmed we may even feel scared we may recoil back often intimidation is a strategy which is used by people especially when they want to make a show of their strength so one person glances into the other person’s eye and both of them stare at each other and then whoever blinks or looks aside they have a staring match and whoever looks aside that person is considered to have been weakened or defeated, has accepted that I am weaker I am in a lower position so in that case, the person who was intimidating it could be intimidating from a position of strength or it could be for domination or it could just be for caution, whatever it is that person, although there was no physical contact there was no physically accosting or hitting the other person or gesticizing but that meeting of glances that itself is a contact so two people peering into each other’s eyes glaring with anger or hatred at each other that is definitely a contact which affects both of them similarly when the eyes glance at something or someone and they glance with say, driven by lust then the eyes are glancing at someone at their form so that is also a form of visual consumption so just as we can have consumption of food when we eat it so in that case, the food enters into our mouth and disappears within so consumed food actually no longer exists because it has gone inside and there is visual consumption often the object externally stays over there but our eyes are going on that object and it is often the desire especially if it is drawn because of lust then that object a person who is seeing with lusty vision they are consuming the form of the other person through their eyes and the fact that this is also a contact is seen by the fact that it is gratifying the images of people in sensually titillating, sensually provoking poses are viral, there are millions and millions of such images which are available on the internet and they are actively searched, they are actively clicked and they are actively people even pose for them now of course this is not only males looking for females that is visual contact that happens when males look at females with predatory glances but sometimes females also may seek that kind of contact where they wear revealing clothes or they walk or conduct themselves in cockatish ways by which they seek the visual sexual attention of men and they consider that the more they can make their heads turn the more they are hot so Krishna compares lust to fire and he says that yes naturally when the desire burns in the heart it heats, it’s like fire it heats within us, so the point is that when we expand the vision of sense gratification to understand that contact through vision is also contact then we see that in our society there is so much sensual contact that happens almost constantly through the predatory glances of generally men and through the actions of women that invite such glances certainly not all men glance this way not all women invite such glances but the fact is by recognizing that Vishendri Sanyogad is not limited to physical contact, it is also visual contact we can recognize that this is also a form of sense gratification and this form of sense gratification that we need to carefully learn to deal with appropriately, we need to learn to avoid as much as is possible so there is always going to be functional contact when we want to talk with each other, we look at each other when we are walking on the streets, we need to see who is coming on the opposite side, we need to recognize each other if we know each other that sort of functional contact is essential for functioning in this world but beyond that when there is this kind of craving and yatha da grey amritopamam initially just looking at these titillating forms for men, it seems like very attractive but then afterwards one becomes hooked, one becomes addicted and one starts seeing women simply as attractively shaped and colored inflatable balloons whose forms are to be exploited for male consumption and then such male cannot have proper functional relationships with women they can’t treat them as persons conversely, women who derive their sense of their sense of pride from how much masculine attention they can attract by their dressing, by their conducting by their walking, by their talking then they may well find two ways, the vishya miva the vishya can come because they may attract some unwanted male attention or they may attract that male attention to an unwanted degree women may want to be the center of attention for men but they don’t want men to make some unwanted advances but it’s a matter of degree again so conversely or otherwise alternatively the women may grow old and then the body’s beauty starts fading with age and if one has sought one’s sense of pleasure, even self-worth from how much one can make heads turn then when heads stop turning, when one no longer has the beauty to make heads turn, then one starts feeling what is my value, what is my worth what am I living for, does anyone even care for me so bhakti is about heart to heart contact, it is not just sense and sense objects contact and ultimately when we contact Krishna this contact of the soul with Krishna that is what brings real satisfaction and when that real satisfaction comes then we can move forward and we can do other things also in a way that helps us to move closer to Krishna to attain Krishna, to be happy in our relationship with Krishna that brings supreme happiness and we will find that to the extent our contact with Krishna decreases whether it be chanting, by hearing by beholding the deities, by serving in various ways to the extent our contact with Krishna decreases to that extent we will find that our contact with, our craving for contact with sense objects, whether it be through physical touch or through visual consumption, that will that craving will increase so we all need pleasure we need to get pleasure some way or the other if we don’t get that pleasure through Krishna, we will seek it through maya and bhakti by giving us a higher fulfillment, a higher satisfaction by connection with Krishna, it also enables us to become more cultured in our interactions with others so men who become devotees, they don’t try to visually consume the women whom they contact with and women who become devotees they don’t try to visually seduce the men whom they come in contact with and in that way both men and women can by focusing on Krishna connecting with Krishna, being satisfied primarily in their connection with Krishna, can then interact with each other in more respectful, cultured and ultimately