विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् ।
परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥ १८.३८ ॥

viṣayendriya-samyogād-yat-tad-agre’mṛtopamam |
pariṇāme viṣam-iva tat-sukham rājasam smṛtam || 18.38 ||

Rājasika delight

The delight born of contact with the sense-objects, that seems nectar-like to begin with, but turns to be poisonous in the end, is held to be rājasika.

Rājasika sukha, Krishna says, is verily corroding and degenerative, but it may seem to be like nectar in the beginning. Any kind of sensory indulgence, which acts powerfully on the senses, falls under this category. Looking unduly at the cinema or television screen, listening to loud music or even magnified sound display, chewing tobacco or such other narcotics – all have damaging effects on the senses. So too intoxicants have a powerful hold on many. Yet, people have a craze and allurement for these.

But what is their abiding effect on the body and inner organs? The intoxication they provide deludes the mind so much, that it becomes hard to avoid or win over them. All rājasika practices are deleterious like this, destructive and degenerative.

Krishna has already emphasized this point earlier. His words were: Pleasures born of contact with senses are verily the womb of affliction. They have a beginning and an end. The wise one does not take to them at all (5.22). What more is needed to illustrate their rājasika nature?

Kaṭhopaniṣad’s words are even more poignant. Yama tempts young Nachiketas, with a selection of damsels, song, dance, horses, chariots, land, unrivalled kingship and the like, prevailing upon him to accept them all and forsake his quest for Immortality.

But knowing well that spiritual wisdom is far more delightful than sensory gains, Nachiketas stood his ground. His response was unambiguous: “All these enjoyments will only corrode the senses, making them weak and weaker. I have no taste for these pleasantries. Let the damsels, song, dance, land and kingship remain safely with you. I want something eternal, not the transitory pleasures. Will you rip open that supreme treasure for me?” (Kaṭhopaniṣad I. i. 26-29)

Bhagavad Gita’s tone is similar. Throughout, the emphasis on sensory restraint is quite distinct. In every chapter, the exhortation is to strive to cultivate discretion, discrimination and prudence in the reader or the listener.

True, we have a body, hosting five senses, each of which has a variety of objects to interact with and derive resultant pleasures. But none of these has a healthy effect on the mind and intelligence. Nor do the mind and intelligence need them for generating lasting contentment. None can afford to miss this great lesson of transitoriness.