Sense management

Even as a tortoise draws in its limbs, the wise can draw in their senses at will. --------Bhagavad Gita

          Sri Easwaran muses: "What a marvelous simile! Just imagine a tortoise being approached by a group of school children with sticks in their hands. He sees the children coming, and the command is given to the limbs, “Retire!” Immediately, the head, the tail, and the four legs withdraw into the shell. The children come; they tap on the shell with their sticks, trying to get the tortoise to come out. He is safe inside. 
After the children leave and all is quiet, the tortoise ventures to stick his neck out, then his tail and legs. He continues his journey, unconcerned. He goes where he likes. 
If we want to live in freedom, we must train our senses. We learn when to welcome an experience, and when to withdraw for our own safety. We become masters of our lives. Then we will be like the giant tortoise I saw at the zoo – wandering freely while all the other animals were in cages. A notice on his back read: “I am free. Don’t report me to the management.”
        Sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. What about other senses? The spiritual sense? Intuition? Emotional mirroring, reaction? I am really challenged by this. I have a hard time being in control of my senses.Therefore, I struggle with true wisdom. I constantly have emotional reactions to what I sense. This little simile helps me to attempt to be in control of my senses, if at all possible.