For Eternal Beginners
इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुः इन्द्रियेभ्यः परम् मनः ।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिः यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ॥ ४२ ॥
indriyANi parANyAhuH indriyebhyaH param manaH |
manasastu parA buddhiH yo buddheH paratastu saH || 42 ||
इन्द्रियाणि [indriyANi] The organs of the body आहुः [AhuH] are said to be पराणि [parANi] powerful obstacles in the quest for the Self. इन्द्रियेभ्यः परम् [indriyebhyaH param] More powerful than these organs मनः [manaH] is the mind. मनसस्तु परा [manasastu parA] A more powerful obstacle than the mind बुद्धिः [buddhiH] is the intellect, which is capable of totally wrong decisions. यः [yaH] Who is बुद्धेः परतः [buddheH parataH] a more powerful obstacle than the intellect? सः [saH] It is this thing called desire, mentioned before.
It is said that our external organs are prominent obstacles to realizing the Self. Indeed, when your sense organs indulge themselves in the stimuli of this world, knowledge of the Self cannot grow.
The mind is even more powerful than these organs. Even when you restrain your external organs, if your mind is preoccupied with worldly objects, knowledge of the Self remains hidden.
Even when the mind is restrained from all such preoccupations, if the intellect decides against it, there is no way you can realize the Self.
Even when the intellect is in the right direction, ‘desire’, which is born out of the quality of rajas , will bring the organs and the mind under its control. It will force them to indulge in worldly things.
Thus, it will stop the person from realizing the Self. In this way, desire is a more powerful obstacle than the intellect.