One of the most prominent yoga texts, the Bhagavad Gita, explores a charioteer (traditionally, a person who drives a horse and buggy) as an analogy of the mind. In Chapter 3, verse 43, Krishna likens our five senses of taste, touch, hearing, sight, and smell to the horses that pull the chariot of our untamed mind.
Under the control of a skilled driver, our senses (the five horses) serve us very well. In fact, they can take us great distances! But under the direction of an incompetent or distracted driver, we can be pulled off course or driven into rugged terrain. To get where we aspire to go – be it Kansas, the Olympics, or Enlightenment – we need the strength and determination of a disciplined mind. And like any muscle, the mind must be trained to declare its authority as a master of the senses.