इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः | मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ||३-४२||
indriyāṇi parāṇyāhurindriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ . manasastu parā buddhiryo buddheḥ paratastu saḥ ||3-42||
Chapter 3 · Verse 42
Karma Yoga
कर्मयोग
In plain words
You must recognize your inner power by understanding that your mind is above your senses, your intellect is above your mind, and your true Self is above even that. By developing jnana, which is spiritual wisdom, you can look beyond physical desires and connect with your highest, divine consciousness.
Translation
3.42 The senses are high, they say: the mind is higher than the senses; the intellect is higher than the mind; but what is greater than intellect is that (desire).
Meaning
When compared with the physical body which is gross external and limited the senses are certainly superior as they are more subtle internal and have a wider range of activity. The mind is superior to the senses as the senses cannot do anything independently without the help of the mind. The mind can perform the functions of the five senses. The intellect is superior to the mind because it is endowed with the faculty of discrimination. When the mind is in a state of doubt the intellect comes to its resuce. The Self the Witness is superior even to the intellect as the intellect borrows its light from the Self.
Word by word
इन्द्रियाणि the senses पराणि superior आहुः (they) say इन्द्रियेभ्यः than the senses परम् superior मनः the mind मनसः than the mind तु but परा superior बुद्धिः intellect यः who बुद्धेः than the intellect परतः greater तु but सः He.