It is said that the pull of the indriyas is so strong that it is like the wind that rocks the boat in the middle of the sea – making it almost impossible to control the boat.

They can sap the strength of the mind, as illustrated by the example of the chariot (representing the body) and the horses (representing the senses). Once control is given over to the horses, the passenger will be taken on a crazy ride, as the horses will stray wherever they please.

In the Gita, Bhagawan Krishna describes the ‘eight steps to destruction’ – a detailed sequence of eight stages through which a seemingly harmless thought of an object that pleases the senses can lead to one’s buddhi losing control completely. Thus it is important for one to understand why the body, the senses and the mind have been gifted to us by God. Not to enjoy pleasures and make merry (as most of the world may think), but rather, only to realise God.