Bhagavad-gītā 2.62

Explain simply

Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते ।
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ॥६२॥

dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ
saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ
kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate

Word for word (synonyms)

dhyayataḥ
while contemplating
viṣayān
sense objects
puṁsaḥ
of the person
saṅgaḥ
attachment
teṣu
in the sense objects
upajāyate
develops
saṅgāt
attachment
sañjāyate
develops
kāmaḥ
desire
kāmāt
from desire
krodhaḥ
anger
abhijāyate
becomes manifest

Translation

While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

Purport

One who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious is subjected to material desires while contemplating the objects of senses. The senses require real engagements, and if they are not engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they will certainly seek engagement in the service of materialism. In the material world everyone, including Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā—to say nothing of other demigods in the heavenly planets—is subjected to the influence of sense objects, and the only method to get out of this puzzle of material existence is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Lord Śiva was deep in meditation, but when Pārvatī agitated him for sense pleasure, he agreed to the proposal, and as a result Kārtikeya was born. When Haridāsa Ṭhākur was a young devotee of the Lord, he was similarly allured by the incarnation of Māyā Devī, but Haridāsa easily passed the test because of his unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa. As illustrated in the above-mentioned verse of Śrī Yāmunācārya, a sincere devotee of the Lord shuns all material sense enjoyment due to his higher taste for spiritual enjoyment in the association of the Lord. That is the secret of success. One who is not, therefore, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however powerful he may be in controlling the senses by artificial repression, is sure ultimately to fail, for the slightest thought of sense pleasure will agitate him to gratify his desires.

What this verse teaches

[A3] Sthita-prajña’s sense control (sitting) – He withdraws senses like a tortoise. Sense control is difficult even for the wise, and is possible only by kṛṣṇa-bhakti. One falls down in eight stages due to uncontrolled mind.

This verse in a ladder 1
The ladder of fall Bhagavad-gītā 2.62–63
  1. contemplating the objects of the senses 2.62
  2. attachment 2.62
  3. lust 2.62
  4. anger 2.62
  5. delusion 2.63
  6. bewilderment of memory 2.63
  7. intelligence is lost 2.63
  8. one falls down again into the material pool 2.63

All ladders of the Gītā

In thematic compilations 1

Self-control

  • Contemplating on sense objects within the mind can begin the process of fall down (2.62 dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ...)
  • Uncontrolled senses cause fall down (2.62-63 dhyāyato viṣayān pumsaḥ...). Even in regulated sense enjoyment there is a chance of fall down (3.34 P)
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 3
Articles on this verse 1

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.