02.63 – Let the road from the eyes to the heart not bypass or bulldoze the head

We all rely constantly on our eyes to show us our way. While the eyes are quite reliable in showing the way physically, they are not at all reliable in showing the way emotionally.

What the eyes show us often distorts our emotions irrationally and even irresistibly. Something looks good, our heart falls for it and even before we notice it consciously we are off into a fantasy land, imagining how we can enjoy that thing. And sometimes just as quickly we try to realize that fantasy. When we try to get that thing, we get into a hell lot of trouble instead. And when the resulting shock jolts us out of the stupor of the fantasy, we often wonder: what happened? Why did I do something so dumb?

Because, as Gita wisdom explains, the road from the eyes to the heart sometimes entirely bypasses the head. We get so captivated visually that we are pulled into something without even thinking about it.

At some other times, the road from the eyes to the heart bulldozes through the head. The Bhagavad-gita (02.63) indicates that even when our intelligence puts up a fight, the marauding desire knocks it out and propels us into degradation.

To protect ourselves we need to work at all three levels: the eyes, the head and the heart.

Eyes: We can avoid letting the eyes dwell lackadaisically or lusciously on tempting objects foreseeing the deadly disaster that may result.

Head: We can make our intelligence sharper and stronger so that desires don’t pass through it undetected or unchecked.

Heart: We can fill our heart with Krishna by chanting his holy names and cultivating his loving remembrance so that nothing else finds any place in our heart.

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From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.