Sense Control – Main Entrance To Yoga

Yogasya Prathama Dwaram Vangnirodhah ” 

Control of the Tongue is the main entrance to yoga, says the Gita. It has ruled that it is impossible to enter into Yoga and attain Divinity, without controlling one’s own tongue, which is a very important sense organ. A human being has got five sense organs. These sense organs have to be used with care and full knowledge. If fire is handled with care, it is useful. But, the same fire, if handled negligently, it will be dangerous. Similarly, both knife and electricity are useful to man when used with full knowledge about their positive and negative aspects. But, when they are used unknowingly, they will be harmful. Thus, it is our care or negligence that is responsible for help or harm, good or bad. That is why Vedanta, while explaining about the power of these senses, exhorted us to conduct ourselves with full knowledge and awareness.

The Tongue And Its Power 

Among the five sense organs a human being possesses, each one is endowed with one particular faculty. But, it is only the tongue that has two kinds of powers – the power of speech and the power of taste. That is why, Gitacharya advised us to make use of the tongue very carefully. “Whoever keeps his tongue under control, such a sadhaka’s heart will be pure, unwavering and selfless and he will surely attain Divinity,” says the Gitacharya. 

It is for this reason, sadhakas, from ancient times, are observing various practices like “Chaturmasya Vrata,” “Ekadasi Vrata,” “Okka Poddu,” etc. Chaturmasya vrata means, for four months in the rainy season, one takes mitahara (limited quantity of food) and observes mouna vrata (vow of silence), thereby keeping the tongue under full control with regard to both food and speech. Ekadasi Upavasa Vrata is also observed for the same purpose. This will keep the body healthy and the mind in a blissful state. Excessive intake of food is very dangerous to health. Food with a variety of tastes leads the sadhaka into tamoguna state (sloth and slumber). On one side you eat food with a variety of tastes and in excess quantity too and, on the other side, you say that you are able to attain Divinity and feel His presence. No, No! This is not possible. 

Control The Tongue; All Other Senses Will Be Under Control 

In the first instance, you must control your tongue. Once this is done, all other senses will come under your control, of their own accord. Today’s sadhakas are observing various practices; but they are unable to understand the nature of the most important sense organ i.e., tongue and bring it under their control. A Sadhaka need not control all the ten Indriyas (senses). If only one sense organ, i.e., the tongue is controlled, all others will automatically come under control. Because man today is unable to control his tongue, several emotional outbursts, agitations, doubts and instabilities are developing in his mind. There is nothing more valuable in this world, than the word. Therefore, keeping our words and tongue under control, is the most important sadhana. 

Bad Qualities Must Be Sacrified For Developing Good Qualities 

Man today is making several sacrifices to achieve petty things. Without paying money, nothing can be purchased from the shop. He is prepared to sacrifice his life even, to achieve trivial things. In fact, self-realisation is the greatest achievement. It is the most blissful state. It supports everything. To achieve such a supreme state, what if man makes a sacrifice. Strictly speaking, something has to be sacrificed to achieve something in this world. When you want to purchase vegetables from the market you will have to pay money. That means, something is sacrificed to gain something.

Similarly, if you want to develop good qualities in you, you will have to sacrifice bad qualities. When you sacrifice inequality, you get equality. When you sacrifice bad thoughts, you will get good thoughts. Without sacrificing bad intentions, bad thoughts and bad qualities, how do you get good intentions, good thoughts and good qualities? Keeping the tongue under control, if you make it satisfied with limited quantity of food and limited talk, you will get happiness easily. This is called “mouna” (a state of serenity).

Food Is The Root Cause For All Ills 

“Mouna” does not mean simply abstaining from talk. Mental agitations must also be silenced. For this purpose you must also maintain control over the food you take. You should not give to the tongue, whatever type of food it demands. You must develop a sense of discrimination as to what is Atma and what is Anatma; what is Nitya (permanent) and what is Anitya (impermanent). This is called Buddhiyoga (the power of discrimination). You must assess whether the food you take is satwic, rajasic or tamasic. You must also see whether it is hita (suitable) and mita (limited in quantity) to you. When you thus enquire and take hita and mita food with full knowledge, you will not be disturbed by any external forces. On the otherhand, without making any such enquiry, if you take food simply to satisfy your palate, you will be subjected to raga (attachment or desire) and dwesha (hatred). Because of the food we eat, we are easily falling a prey to praise and scorn and getting disturbed and depressed. These disturbances and mental depressions reduce a full-man into a one-fourth man. The whole world appears to be a vaccum for such a person. He drowns himself in deep sorrow. He feels life is not worth living. The reason for this weakness is his food. On the other hand, if somebody showers a little praise on him, he gets elated. His joy knows no bounds. To feel elated when praised and get depressed when scorned is not proper. Neither feeling elated nor getting depressed is samatatwa (a sense of equanimity). To develop such an equanimous state of mind, the Bhagavad Gita has advised ahara shuddhi (purity of food). 

The Three Types Of Purification 

We should not take any food, without subjecting it to three types of shuddhi (purification). They are Patra Shuddhi (proper cleaning of the vessels), Padartha Shuddhi (cleaning of the food material used) and Paka Shuddhi (purity of the person cooking). The Padartha Shuddhi and Paka Shuddhi require a little more elaboration. With regard to the former, it must be enquired whether this food material was purchased with ill-gotten money or by one’s sweat of the brow; whether it was obtained by stealing; whether it is obtained by penalising others or through their wholehearted contribution, etc. The food that is obtained through illegal means will not only cause ill-health, but will also develop bad qualities. To ensure Paka Shuddhi, it must be enquired with what intention and feelings he or she is preparing the food and whether they are doing it with a pure heart. Among these three types of shuddhis (purities), we can only ensure _Patra Shuddh_i (purity of the vessel used for preparing the food). But, Padardha Shuddhi and Paka Shuddhi are not in our hands. We do not know whether the material from the shop or the vegetables from the market are stolen from somewhere or brought from their garden or obtained by deceiving others. Anything is possible. Similarly, we have no idea whether the people who prepare the food are doing it with a pure heart. That is why, before partaking of the food, it must be offered to God with a prayer: 

“Brahmarpanam Brahma Havihir 
Brahmagnou Brahmanahutam 
Brahmaiva tena Gantavyam 
Brahma Karma Samadhina ” 

When we do this, all the above three shuddhis will accrue to the food. It is only for this purpose the Bhagavad Gita exhorted us to offer such a prayer before partaking of our food. It is neither a compulsion nor a rule prescribed by the Gita. Before you offer the food to God with a prayer, it is only food, but after doing this, it becomes a prasada (a gift from God). There will be no blemish or contamination whatsoever in prasada. Our prayer will remove all the three types of impurities, namely, Patradosha, Padartha dosha and Paka dosha. It is for this reason, the Gita exhorted us to take Satwic food in limited quantity, by controlling our tongue. 

The Word And Its Effect 

The second power that the tongue wields is the word that is spoken by it. A simple word can change somebody’s mind or break somebody’s heart; it can sustain life and take him to his goal or ruin him altogether. It is possible to achieve a change of heart by words. The entire process of mental transformation depends upon words. But, several scientists do not believe this statement. “How is it possible to change one’s mind with mere words? What experiments are to be carried out for this purpose? Is it not impossible to establish the power of a material without conducting experiments? Mental transformation is not visible to the naked eye. It is only one’s perception” – thus argue the physical scientists. 

Once, there was a teacher who was giving spiritual discourse to a group of students. An I.A.S. Officer, who was working as Education Secretary came there for inspection. This teacher was teaching high spiritual concepts to the students for long hours. The I.A.S. Officer was vexed with the method of teaching of this guru. Therefore, he questioned him “Sir! what is the use of teaching such an intricate subject to these young students in ever so many ways for such a long duration? Is it not better to teach them one or two important topics and ask them to memorize and later put them into practice? It is not good on your part to trouble them like this. They may not be able to withstand such great physical and mental strain. These youngsters cannot understand such intricate philosophical truths.” To this query, the teacher replied: “Sir! It is only in this young age, the minds of these students will be pure and receptive.

Therefore, it is most imperative to bring a mental transformation in them by such teachings, only in this age.” The officer, however, had his own doubts in the matter. Therefore he said “I don’t believe in what you say. How can the mind change with mere words? Impossible.” The teacher tried to explain and convince the officer, quoting several examples. But, he could not understand. Too much of education harms the intellect of a person to a certain extent. It creates more doubts. It enhances the intelligence, but brings down the humility in a person. This teacher tried to convince the officer for a long time, but to no avail. Therefore, he decided to give a proper reply through action. He called a student and asked him to “neck-out the officer from the class-room.” On hearing these words, the officer could not control his anger. He retorted “Hey! Who do you think I am ? I am a high official. Are you trying to neck me out of this room, with the help of a small boy? How arrogant you are? How egoistic?” Thus, he went on shouting at the teacher. The teacher responded to this angry outburst very calmly and said “Sir! I did not scold you or beat you. It is only one word that hurt your mind to such an extent. For a mere word you are getting so angry. Are you able to realise now that one spoken word can bring about any amount of change in others? Do you agree that the word is so powerful?” Now that the officer had direct experience of the potency of the word, he walked out silently. Thus, a word is very powerful. It can even burn the whole world. 

Dhritarashtra was saying so many words to Vidura, which caused great pain to him. Even a tree felled with the edge of a sharp weapon will sprout again. But, a mind broken by harsh words can not be put together again. 

“Even an iron bar can be welded together 
by the blacksmith once, twice or thrice.
If the mind is broken by harsh words 
can anything put it together again?” 

It is the word that is responsible for breaking a heart or putting it together again. Therefore, we must ensure that the words we speak do not hurt anybody. ‘If your leg slips, there is no harm; but if your tongue slips, it is real hell’. The injury sustained on account of the slip of the leg is visible and can be cured by a Doctor; but, the injury sustained by the mind due to harsh and hurting words is not visible. No Doctor on earth can repair this injury. Therefore, we should never use words that hurt others. Sometime or the other, these harsh words rebound on us, like a Brahmastra (a very powerful weapon used in wars in ancient times). Hence, always speak soft and sweet words, lovingly. 

The Lessons That The Tongue Teaches 

It is said : 
“Jihve Rasajne Madhura Priye Twam 
Satyam Hitam Twam Paramam vadami
Avarnayedha Madhuraksharani 
Govinda Damodara Madhaveti ” 

It means “Oh Tongue! Oh Tongue! that knows the taste! Oh sacred tongue! Oh tongue that protects the honour and prestige! you always chant the name of Govinda, Damodara and Madhava. If you observe one fact in our daily life, you will be able to understand the nature of the tongue, very clearly. When you place a sweet on the tongue, it does not enjoy by itself, but it sends the sweet to the stomach. On the other hand if it is not sweet or its taste is different or its taste is unpalatable, then it spits out. Good or bad, tasty or otherwise, the tongue does not enjoy the item at all. The tongue always keeps up its honourable position. It moves within the mouth and never transgresses its limits. Whatever actions it performs, whatever words it speaks, it is confined to its place. It has enormous patience. There are 32 sharp teeth around the tongue. They are capable of cutting the tongue in a fraction of a second. In spite of its precarious position, the tongue keeps itself safe and does not involve itself in any danger. That is why it teaches us “Oh Son! you may be in the midst of several evil and dangerous people, but don’t expose yourself to their machinations. Conduct yourself tactfully and in a dignified manner.” But, what about our situation today? When we are in the midst of evil people, we are also becoming evil-doers. We are losing our good qualities, good thoughts and good behaviour in a trice. In order not to expose ourselves to such a situation, the Gita taught us to control our tongue. 

Too Much Talk Is Harmful To Our Intellect

I try to convince our students several times about the necessity of limited talk thus : “My dear children! Don’t talk too much. For, the Atmic and Divine Power in us will be wasted in ever so many ways by such excessive talk. Your memorising power gets reduced. You will suffer from nervous weakness. You will become old early. Not only this, you will get a bad name.” One small example. There is a Radio receiver set. We have tuned it to a particular station broadcasting some devotional songs. We allowed it to run for several hours like that. Will it not consume a number of units of current in this process, which is a sheer waste? Similarly, our body is like a radio. Our intellect is the switch. Our mind is like a healthy song. These songs played excessively, will drain out our Atmic energy. Man today indulges himself in unlimited talk right from the time he gets up from the bed till he goes to bed. If there is nobody no talk to, he talks to himself. As a result, his vital energy is wasted. In fact, this is the reason for premature oldage. Man should develop divinity in him, by observing silence, but never waste his energy by excessive talk. By excessive talk, his hunger will increase. Because he feels more hungry, he eats more quantity of food. The more food he takes, the more number of thoughts he has. As a result, he will not be able to control his senses. It is not enough if one takes more quantity of food and pampers his ego. He should also resort to more exercise. Then only the body will be healthy and the ego will be humbled. If the youth simply eat and spend their time idling, their ego and pride will increase. That is why, they have been asked to engage themselves in Social Service and spiritual sadhana, to provide a direction and meaning to their life. Youth must cultivate the quality of steadfastness. They should not be like a lamp, tossing this way and that way, with the blowing wind. They must develop selfconfidence. A small example. There is a small bird perching on a tender branch of a tree. The tender branch swings this side and that side, as the wind blows. The bird perched on that branch will, however, not be afraid of this swinging. It sits on the branch non-chalantly, unconcerned of what is going on around. The reason being, it depends upon its own inherent strength of its wings. It is not dependent on the strength or stability of the branch, for its survival. But, today man is perched on a small branch of the tree of samsara. A small difficulty, pain or sorrow comes and the branch bends; and he drowns himself in sorrow. Man is not having that much of self-confidence which even the bird has. What is the reason for this miserable situation? Excess intake of food — tamasic food and demonic thoughts. Nowhere you will find human qualities.

Man And Freedom 

“The birds move about freely; The animals move about freely; then why not man?” thus, question some youth today. Certainly! you can also move about freely and do whatever you like. But, what type of freedom? Birds are enjoying freedom associated with the birds. Animals are enjoying animal-freedom. Similarly, you can also enjoy human-freedom; not demonic freedom. You profess to be a man, but you want to enjoy demonic freedom. This is not proper. In fact, it negates the very nature of Man. Being a man, you behave like a man. Cultivate human qualities like sacrifice, morality, sincerity, mercy, compassion, love, nonviolence, etc. Because you are cultivating inhuman qualities like anger, envy, jealousy, etc., you are becoming animalistic. Man today is afflicted with three evil qualities, namely, ego, selfishness and jealousy. To keep these evil qualities under control, one has to control the food and speech. The main entrance to the mansion of yoga is the tongue. Therefore, the Bhakti Yoga teaches that, employing the tongue to undertake sacred activities by proper food and speech is the greatest sadhana. 

The Tongue Should Be Sanctified By Namasmarana 

In this Kaliyuga, the purity of the tongue will be enhanced by doing Namasmarana (chanting God’s name). To sanctify the tongue, one has to continuously perform Harinama Sankeertan (singing the name and glory of Hari). It is said “Harernama Harernama Harernamaiva Kevalam, Kalow Nastyeva Nastyeva Nastyeva Gatiranyatha.” It means, there is no greater path or sadhana than Namasmarana. Therefore, the Gita exhorts to sanctify your life by singing God’s glory than wasting it in unnecessary and useless talk.