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Study a Verse
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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 3.40
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिरस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते ।
एतैर्विमोहयत्येष ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम् ॥ ४० ॥
indriyāṇi mano buddhir
asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate
etair vimohayaty eṣa
jñānam āvṛtya dehinam
The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Lust sits in the senses, mind and intelligence, covering real knowledge and causing confusion.
Prabhupāda explains that lust leads the soul to identify with matter and mistake sense enjoyment for true happiness.
To overcome lust, watch for its influence in your senses, mind and intelligence.
Know the 3 sitting places of lust — Senses, Mind and Intelligence
What are the repositories of lust — Mind and the senses
Mind as center of all sense activities — Reservoir of ideas of sense gratification
Intelligence — Capital and next-door neighbor
Intelligence influences the spirit soul — How?
Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses
Spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness
False identification — Manifested in various ways (Ref. SB 10.84.13)
Identifying the body made of three elements with one’s own self
Considering the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen
Considering the land of birth worshipable
Goes to place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge
They foil one’s performance of duty, and incur sin
Regulate senses and strengthen intelligence to control lust
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: manas, indriya, yoga.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 3.40 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to mind & yoga?
Sit quietly for ten minutes and gently return the mind.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.