The indriyas, or senses, are the third major component of life described by Ayurveda. They arise out of the fundamental properties inherent in the five elements, a process which will be explained in detail in the next chapter. The indriyas act as a bridge between the non-physical parts of life: atma or soul and the mind on one side, and the physical body and environment on the other. Without the senses, our internal reality would be completely disconnected from our external reality.
The indriyas gather information from the outer world. Incoming perceptions get relayed to the mind in the form of sound; touch and temperature; light, color and form; taste and flavor; and smell. If the perceptual information gathered by the senses is of proper quality and quantity, it will have an uplifting and supporting influence on the mind. If it is not, it will create imbalance in the mind and, eventually, imbalance in the body.
After loss of knowingness, which Ayurveda calls pragya aparadha, it states that the primary cause of disease is the improper use of the senses with their objects. The Sanskrit term for this is asatmya-indriyartha-samyog. Misuse of the senses can occur in three ways. First, we can take in excessive sensory stimuli. This can occur by listening to music that is too loud, living in noisy environs, watching too much TV or working long hours at the computer. Talking excessively or reading too much can also overload the senses.
Insufficient sensory input constitutes the second way to misuse the senses and includes all situations where there is a deficit of sensory perception. Seasonal Affect Disorder offers a clear example. This syndrome occurs in extreme northern climates during the winter months when there is very little sunlight available, and causes affective disorders such as depression. Another example is the isolation of solitary confinement, such as would occur in prisons or prisoner-of-war camps. It is well known that such situations can cause great agitation and mental imbalance in prisoners.
Sensory intake which is morally or emotionally repugnant represents the third misuse of the senses. Seeing or hearing things which are distressing can disrupt the balance between mind and body. Movies and television, for instance, with their constant emphasis on physical and emotional violence, fill the airwaves with strong sensory impressions that impact the nervous system adversely. Misuse not only impairs the senses themselves, weakening the coordination between the mind and body which they serve, but directly harms the mind and damages the body.
The Differences Between Senses and Organs of Sense
At this point, it is useful to make a distinction between the senses and the organs of perception through which these senses function. Unlike the physical sense organs, the senses themselves have no material reality, but rather are subtle, subjective processes. The process of perception involves a movement from the external, material objects of perception, through the physical organs of sense, to the senses themselves. This constitutes a movement from the gross to subtle, from concrete to abstract.
The organ of sight (the eye) is able to perceive because there is the sense of sight present and functioning through it. The sense of sight, on the other hand, doesn’t require a physical organ in order to function. When a sense organ is no longer present or properly functioning, what is lost is not the sense itself, but the sense’s usual vehicle for connecting with the outside world. This is true for all five senses and their respective organs.
To clarify this distinction, let’s examine the physical organ of sight. The eye sees when the sense of sight functions through it. However, when the sense of sight is absent, as in deep sleep or a coma, even a physically perfect eye is unable to see. On the other hand, the sense of sight is lively and active even when the organ of sight is not functioning, as in the case of an inner vision or a dream, where we are “seeing” something in our “mind’s eye.” This inner perception can happen with our eyes closed, or in the dark with no light whatsoever striking the eye. The sense of sight is still functioning but on a much subtler level than we normally associate with it.
Each sense and its corresponding organ of perception are highly specialized. They perform a function that no other sense or sense organ nor any other part of the body can do. Only the eye can see; only the ear can hear, etc.
The Protective Nature of the Senses
The senses carry information from the outside to the inside and back again with remarkable ease and speed. When we eat incorrectly and get indigestion, the senses bring information about the body’s digestive distress to the mind’s attention. The mind can then decide not to eat again until the stomach settles down.
A child playing in the back yard hears a sound. Based on the information which the senses bring to her attention, she can distinguish between the threatening bark of a dog and the comforting sound of her mother’s voice. Even animals, which do not have the developed intellect of human beings, can discriminate between the environment’s life-supporting and nourishing influences and its toxic and harmful ones.
Proper functioning of the indriyas is crucial to the maintenance of good health. Fortunately, there is an inherent intelligence within each sense that tries to protect the mind and body from too much, too little or the improper kind of sensory impressions. For example, if the lights are too bright, we will automatically shield our eyes; if the music is too loud or too soft, we will get up and adjust the volume. As little children, before we became “desensitized,” if we saw a scary scene in a movie, we would close or cover our eyes.
The senses, when alert, connected and used correctly, are essential to the process of making choices which create and maintain health. To determine the quality of sensory functioning, we must look at the effects of both body and mind on the senses. Physical disease can impact sensory perception by compromising the operation of the sense organs. When we have a cold, both our nose and ears get congested, inhibiting our ability to hear, taste and smell things in our environment.
The Adverse Impact of the Mind on the Senses
A rajasic mind may constantly choose sensory input which damages the organs of perception, such as loud music which stresses the hearing mechanism. In addition to the impact on our sensory apparatus, the quality of mind also determines the caliber of perception. A tamasic mind actually dulls the receptive capacity of the senses, which then transmit distorted or incomplete information about the body and environment. Alcohol, for instance, deadens the senses. Consequently, we have laws against driving while intoxicated.
With a sattvic mind, the senses are finely tuned receptors and highly accurate transmitters of information to and from the body and environment. Guided by the soul, the sattvic mind selects things which protect, nourish and strengthen the parts of life and their connections. Ayurveda sees this vital, integrated mode of functioning as the basis of health and happiness.
Since the indriyas are the link between ourselves and the outside world, it is important to understand from where these non-material sensory capacities originate.