Mind The Senses

“The senses are like a mirror.  Turned outward, they reflect the outside; turned inward, they reflect the pure light… For example if we look at a cabinet, we can only understand it as a cabinet if our mind takes that form.”  Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Chapter 2, Sutra 54, Commentary by Swami Satchidananda

Few months ago I was on my way to teach at the Yoga school, when I ran into a friend outside of Whole Foods accompanied by her son Luca.  We were both surprised and delighted to run into each other.  I gave her a hug and told her I was on my way to teach.  I turned to Luca, who as he looked at me, was trying to place me.  He had seen me before but always in big groups.

Luca then very specifically looked at me and then turned to look up at his mother, almost with the hope that she might help him place me.  At which point his mom said to him, “Luca can you say hi to your mother’s good friend Monica?”  With that he immediately released a smile and said hello.  He even allowed me to shake his hand and give him a kiss on his cheek.

Later, that interaction between mother and child brought to the forefront for me in a very visual way
the interaction between our mind and our senses.  The senses are like the child that comes constantly in contact with people and objects of the world.  Overwhelmed at times if not always, the senses turn to the mind to get some context of what is being encountered: “Is what I am seeing good or bad? Is this person familiar or unfamiliar? Do I feel good or bad about what I am hearing, smelling, tasting?”

The state of our mind often determines the experience that follows, our interpretation of what is before us. If the mind is chaotic, agitated, disturbed, angry, or depressed, then this is what the senses will be informed by.  If the mind is turned towards all that is calm, un-agitated, serene and untainted within, then the senses will be informed by this instead.

After Thought:

"If we look at a cabinet, we can only understand it as a cabinet, if our mind takes that form"

The cabinet provides again such a visual & neutral understanding of the relationship of our senses to the mind.

So that if I look at a person, I can only understand the person as a friend, if my mind takes that form.