Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 14

  Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 14

मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदु: खदा: |

आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत || 14||

matra-sparshas tu kaunteya shitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah

agamapayino ’nityas tans-titikshasva bharata

Translation in English

mātrā-sparśhāḥ—contact of the senses with the sense objects

tu—indeed 

kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti 

śhīta—winter 

uṣhṇa—summer

sukha—happiness 

duḥkha—distress

dāḥ—give

āgama—come 

apāyinaḥ—go 

anityāḥ—non-permanent 

tān—them 

titikṣhasva—tolerate 

bhārata—descendant of the Bharat

O son of Kunti, the contact between the senses and the sense objects gives rise to fleeting perceptions of happiness and distress. These are non-permanent, and come and go like the winter and summer seasons. O descendent of Bharat, one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.

Translation in Hindi

मात्रास्पर्शास्तु (मात्रा-स्पर्शाः + तु) -

मात्रा-स्पर्शाः - इन्द्रिय और विषयोंके संयोग

तु - तो

कौन्तेय - कुन्तीपुत्रा 

शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः (शीत + उष्ण + सुख + दुःख + दाः) -

शीत - सर्दी

उष्ण - गर्मी

सुख - सुख

दुःख - दुःख

दाः - देनेवाले

आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व (आगम + अपायिनः + अनित्याः + तान् + तितिक्षस्व) -

आगम - उत्पत्ति

अपायिनः - विनाशशील

अनित्याः - अनित्य

तान् - उनको तू 

तितिक्षस्व - सहन कर

भारत - भारत

हे कुंतीपुत्र! सर्दी-गर्मी और सुख-दुःख को देने वाले इन्द्रिय और विषयों के संयोग तो उत्पत्ति-विनाशशील और अनित्य हैं, इसलिए हे भारत! उनको तू सहन कर।

Commentary

The human body houses five senses—the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing—and these, in contact with their objects of perception, give rise to sensations of happiness and distress. None of these sensations is permanent. They come and go like the changing seasons. Although cool water provides pleasure in the summer, the same water gives distress in the winter. Thus, both the perceptions of happiness and distress experienced through the senses are transitory. If we permit ourselves to be affected by them, we will sway like a pendulum from side to side. A person of discrimination should practice to tolerate both the feelings of happiness and distress without being disturbed by them.

The technique of Vipassanā, which is the primary technique of self-realization in Buddhism, is based on this principle of tolerance of sense perceptions. Its practice helps eliminate desire, which, as stated in the four noble truths (the truth of suffering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the truth of the cessation of suffering, and the truth of the path leading to the cessation), is the cause of all suffering. This is not surprising considering that Buddhist philosophy is a subset of the vast Vedic philosophy.