Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 - Samkhya Yoga - Sloka 64

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of The Bhagavad Gita, published by Ramakrishna Mission.

The Enlightened Defined -54-72

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 2 - Samkhya Yoga - Sloka 64

Lord Badrinath

Raga dvesha viyuktaistu  vishayaan indriyaih charan I
Atma vashahaih  vidheyatma prasadam adhigachati II sloka 64

राग द्वेष  वियुक्तैस्तु विषयान् इन्द्रियैः चरन ।

आत्म वशहैः विधेयात्मा प्रसादं अधिगछति ।। श्लोक ६४ 

But the disciplined yogi moving among objects with self under control, and free from attraction and aversion, gains in tranquility

The senses are extrovert by nature. They ramble in fields external. Those objects that are pleasing to them are hugged while those others that are displeasing, shunned. A closer study reveals that these senses are themselves instruments in the hands of the mind. As goaded on by the mind they indulge in attraction and aversion. 

He is a yogi who has conquered his mind. He makes it revel in the Atman. If it ever goes outward, it does so being untainted by attraction and aversion. There is purity as well as innocence in its contacting the external objects, with the result that the tranquility of the mind is not disturbed. On the other hand calmness and clarity increase. It is a form of samadhi  for the mind to be fixed in purity and calmness, while making benign use of the senses.  

Sri Ramakrishna's life exemplifies this fact. The sight of an extensive verdure below and dense black clouds above with a group of snow white cranes in flight in between, took him into the Beyond. While the make up of Siva was going on on his person, the sense of touch with the holy ash all over the body transported him into the Infinite.Hearing of the divine name of the Lord was a sure means to put him in samadhi. The aroma of the incense used in the worship roused the divine consciousness in him. The taste of the sacramental food invoked his devotion to God. Thus all the 5 senses served him as gateways to the Noumenon. Instead of their being impediments they became instruments for who transcendental flights of the perfected mind of this disciplined yogi.