Topic

Sense objects

2 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on sense objects. Explore teachings across 2 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 4 • Verse 26 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Shrotradinin driyany anye samyamagni shu juhvati, shabdadin vishayan anya indriyagni shu juhvati

Some offer the senses such as hearing into the fires of restraint; others offer the sense objects such as sound into the fires of the senses. Sacrifice takes the form of both sense restraint and sense engagement offered with awareness.

  • •Sense restraint is itself a form of sacred offering
  • •Conscious engagement with the senses can also be sacrificial
  • •Yajna encompasses both ascetic and engaged forms of practice
sensesrestraintsacrificeyajna
Chapter 15 • Verse 9 →The Yoga of the Supreme Person
Shrotram cakshuh sparshanam ca rasanam ghranam eva ca, adhisthaya manash cayam vishayan upasevate

The living entity, taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose, and sense of touch, which are grouped around the mind. In this way the soul enjoys a particular set of sense objects. This verse explains how the conditioned soul engages with the material world through a specific set of sensory instruments shaped by its karmic conditioning.

  • •The living entity experiences the world through senses grouped around the mind
  • •Each embodiment provides a specific set of sensory instruments for experience
  • •Sensory enjoyment is the mode of conditioned existence in the material world
sensesmindconditioned soulembodiment