श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च | अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ||
śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ viṣayān upasevate
Translation
Presiding over the ear, the eye, the sense of touch, the sense of taste, and the smell — and also the mind — this soul enjoys the sense objects.
Interpretation
The embodied soul 'presides over' the five senses and the mind — it is the consciousness that activates and illumines all the instruments of experience. Through hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling, and through the coordinating mind, the soul experiences the objects of the world. But note the word 'presiding' — the soul is not the senses but their inner witness and illuminator. The realization that one is the presiding awareness, not the sense apparatus, is the beginning of the spiritual inward turn. We are the consciousness that sees, not what is seen.