Part VI — Transformation and perfection of the body

Question: How can we use the senses properly?

Sri Chinmoy: The proper fulfilment of the senses will come only from God. The body has the senses, but the body is not the owner; the real owner is God. If we can consciously go to the owner, then the owner will tell us how to utilise His possessions properly.

The senses are instruments, God’s instruments. God originally entrusted us with these instruments, but we consciously chose not to ask God how to utilise these senses. Instead of asking God how to use the senses that He had given us, we asked the wrong teacher, ignorance. Or rather, before we actually asked ignorance to teach us, he came running to us to offer his wisdom. Since we gladly listened to him, we are now paying the penalty.

We could use our eyes, for example, to see the divine beauty in humanity and in all of God’s creation. We could see the divine Light everywhere. But instead, what do we do with our eyes? We use our eyes either to possess the world or to reject it. When we see something that pleases us, immediately we try to possess it. And when we see something that displeases us, we try to reject it. The universe is all Light, but we do not see it. If we had taken the lesson from God on how to use the eyes, nose, ears and other sense organs, He would have given us proper instruction.

There is always time to receive instruction from God: better late than never. Each aspirant can consciously and devotedly pray to God to instruct him from within on how to use the senses. God will be most happy and proud to teach us. But we do not have to ask God about each sense individually. We need only approach God with sincere aspiration, and inside our aspiration He will see what we are crying for.