Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 4: Knowledge and the Renouncing of Action

Bhagavad Gita 4.26

śrotrādīnīndriyāṇyanye saṃyamāgniṣu juhvati | śabdādīnviṣayānanya indriyāgniṣu juhvati ||

Some offer hearing and the other senses into the fires of restraint. Others offer sound and the other sense objects into the fires of the senses.

Modern context

Two opposite disciplines are both honoured. Some people withdraw: they restrain hearing, sight and the other senses and turn away from stimulation. Others remain in the world and treat each experience as an offering, taking in sound, sight and taste with awareness and without greed. The first is the way of the retreat. The second is the way of mindful living. Most people need some of each: periods of deliberate quiet, and a way of using the senses that does not leave them scattered.