Chapter 2, Verse 67
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते । तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥
indriyāṇāṃ hi caratāṃ yan mano 'nuvidhīyate tad asya harati prajñāṃ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi
Meaning
Just as the wind carries away a boat on the water, so one among the wandering senses, whichever the mind follows, carries away the wisdom of a person.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
The simile offered here — of a boat blown off course by wind on water — beautifully captures the dynamics of how wisdom is lost. A ship properly navigating the waters has a course, a destination, a helmsman. But when a powerful gust seizes it, all of that purposeful direction is immediately overridden by the force of nature. The ship goes where the wind wills, not where the navigator intended.
In the same way, when the mind 'anuvidhīyate' — slavishly follows after — any one of the senses that is roaming among sense objects, the person's entire accumulated wisdom is swept away in an instant. This is why spiritual progress can seem so fragile: years of practice and clarity can apparently be undone by a single moment of giving in to a compelling sensory pull. The word 'harati' (carries away, steals) suggests violence and suddenness — this is not a gradual erosion but an abrupt hijacking.
The verse also implies the remedy through its metaphor: a well-anchored boat, or one with a strong helmsman at the wheel, is not easily overturned by gusts. The anchor is the practice of buddhi yoga; the helmsman is the discriminating intelligence that has been trained to recognize the difference between awareness and its objects. The Gita's emphasis on constant practice and detachment is precisely the training that builds this capacity for one's wisdom to remain stable even when the senses are active.
💡 Key Takeaway
As wind blows a boat off course, the mind following any single roaming sense carries away a person's wisdom instantly.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे | गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥११॥
śrī bhagavān uvāca | aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṃ prajñāvādāṃś ca bhāṣase | gatāsūn agatāsūṃś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ ||11||
The Blessed Lord said: You are grieving for those who should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः । वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥
yām imāṃ puṣpitāṃ vācaṃ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ | veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ ||
The undiscerning, O Arjuna, who are attached to the flowery language of the Vedas and who declare that there is nothing higher than the rituals they prescribe — they speak ornately but without wisdom. Their language is beautiful like flowers, but flowers that produce no fruit of genuine spiritual understanding.
दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय । बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः ॥
dūreṇa hy avaraṃ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ
O Dhananjaya, keep all inferior works far away from the yoga of intelligence. Seek refuge in divine intelligence. Those who are motivated by the fruits of their action are misers.