इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः।।3.42।।
।।3.42।। (शरीर से) परे (श्रेष्ठ) इन्द्रियाँ कही जाती हैं इन्द्रियों से परे मन है और मन से परे बुद्धि है और जो बुद्धि से भी परे है वह है आत्मा।।
The five senses are the main impediments to spiritual development and are arranged in a hostile formation against it. As long as the senses are primarily occupied in the pursuit of pleasure and delight in sense objects the realisation of the atma or soul will never manifest. Yet the mind although fickle is capable of controlling the senses but if the mind is also inclined to enjoy the senses and is filled with thoughts of the same then realisation of the atma will also never manifest. But the intellect is superior even to the mind as it possesses the discriminative faculty. This means that the mind may be tranquil but if the intellect is inclined towards the channels of sense activities then there will be a perversion in one’s intelligence and no possibility again for realisation of the atma. To show the order of gradation is Lord Krishna’s intention. A question may be posed what if all three being the senses, the mind and the intellect were tranquil and passive? The unvarying answer is that kama or lust which arises from desires, covertly resides deep within the heart and is always craving for sense gratification. This kama is so powerful that it will assert its mastery over them all and domineering them will have them fully pursuing the objects of the senses for sense gratification in the phenomenal world obscuring the light of knowledge and the realisation of the atma. That which is the most powerful with its domain in the spiritual phenomena is the atma and is designated by the pronoun sah.
