The five elements each have a characteristic that affects and attracts one of the five senses. The ether as sound fascinates the mind through the ear; air as touch draws the mind to itself through the skin; fire as form manipulates the mind in its favour through the eye; water as taste enslaves the mind through the tongue; and earth as smell intoxicates the mind through the nose. The senses interact with the external world and produce experiences which yield joy or grief. Falsely identifying himself with the senses, man suffers in the coils of attachment. He does not realize that he is neither the body nor the senses, that he is Brahman (Godhead) himself.

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba