श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानं तत्पर: संयतेन्द्रिय: | ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति || 39 || |
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“The devotee who has faith and who controls senses, eventually gains transcendental wisdom. Having attained such divine wisdom, he quickly establishes himself in permanent peace.”
Commentary:
The first steps in the journey to wisdom begin when the devotee starts maintaining a distance from the chatter of the mind and desires of the body. Within the darkness of the closed eyes, every thought that is unconsciously generated or consciously projected, affects the heart rate and in some cases specific organs too. Just a small thought of a very tasty food item increases heart rate, oozes saliva in the tongue and affects the nerves in the gastrointestinal tracts.
If one can stop following the continuous thoughts in the mind and take care of the body just enough so that it is comfortable, then the nature of mind and body can be understood. Ignoring the mind and body once in a while is a healthy habit. Mind is not at all an efficient tool to dissect or infer the Truth of your existence. Until you have complete control over your mind, you cannot trust it to decipher your existential puzzle. To the man of self-control, the mind is a friend and to the person who tries to satisfy the mind with whatever it wants, it will turn out to be his biggest enemy.
One of the strongest lions I have ever seen was at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It is tamed with exercise and food. The owner gives him the right amount of food, only when it is required and makes him fast for one day every week. The Lion listens and acts according to his owner. Similarly, if the mind is fed with information continuously, it will turn against you making you restless without any peace. Maintain a distance from your mind, feed it daily with good thoughts and once a month do not do anything that it wants. Eventually it will become your strongest ally in good and bad times, but most importantly during the last stages of earthly life.
Wisdom can be gained through experiences, reading books or watching various spiritual discourses. The fastest way as Lord Krishna asserts in the previous verse is through yoga. It leads directly to wisdom and permanent peace.