At the end of the third chapter, Arjun asks Shree Krishna a very practical question. He wants to know why it is that we do wrong things, even when we know it is wrong. What force is it that compels us to knowingly do wrong, almost against our will (chapter 3, verse 36)?
Shree Krishna answers that kam (desire) is the cause of our sinful actions (chapter 3, verse 37). How does desire cause us to do wrong things, seemingly against our will? He says that it veils our power of discrimination, like smoke veils a fire, like dirt covers a mirror, and like amniotic fluid covers an embryo (chapter 3, verse 38). Normally, our knowledge of right and wrong allows our intellect to discriminate between what is a good action and what is a wrong action. But under the effect of desire, our intellect becomes clouded, and loses this ability to discriminate.
For example, out of a desire to possess something, we may steal -not because we don’t know stealing is wrong – but because the desire overpowers our discrimination. Due to the desire, we feel it is more important to possess that thing than to be “good”. Another example is that out of a desire to be popular, we may lie about something. We know it is wrong to lie, but the desire makes us feel that it is more important to be popular then to be truthful. This shows that our discrimination has been clouded by desire.
Where does desire come from?
Desire is a natural product of rajogun, which is one of the 3 qualities of maya (sattva gun is the pious quality, rajogun is the selfish quality and tamogun is the impious quality). The whole world is made of maya, so the whole world inherently has these three qualities. Our mind is also made of maya, so these 3 qualities of maya are inborn in the mind. Thus, desire is inborn in the human mind (chapter 3, verse 40). We all naturally have desire, thus we are all in danger of doing sinful actions under the influence of desire.
How can we overcome the effect of desire?
There are two facets of our mind referred to in the Gita. They are man (the emotional mind) and buddhi (the intellectual mind). Man is the part of the mind that generates desires and feels the impulses to do something. Buddhi is the part of the mind that decides whether or not to do something. In other words, the buddhi is the seat of the power of discrimination.
Ideally, the buddhi should govern the man – then the power of discrimination is allowed to function properly. But what often happens is that we allow our man to govern our buddhi – then we regress to the state we were in as children, when we always acted on impulse, and didn’t know right from wrong.
Or you could even say that we regress to the same level as animals, who always act on instinct, and do not possess a power of discrimination (to know right from wrong).
In this case, how do we increase the ability of the buddhi to govern the man and resist wrong impulses?
Buddhi is also the part of the mind that understands concepts and acquires knowledge. The type of knowledge that our intellect gains impacts its strength and ability to govern the man and resist impulses. Spiritual knowledge is called ‘tattva gyan’. When we have correct spiritual knowledge, it strengthens our intellect so that it can overcome the effect of desire.
Tattva gyan helps you overcome desire
What type of spiritual knowledge do we need to help us in this situation? Although very simple, it is the most important piece of knowledge – God is always watching us, keeping track of our actions, and arranging for us to get the reward or punishment for our good and bad actions in our future lives. In reality, we will refrain from doing a wrong thing even if we feel that a single person is watching us – then who could do a wrong thing if they felt that God is watching them?
We actually have this tattva gyan – that God is omnipresent, He sees everything, He resides in our heart and knows our every thought, He notes all our karm and gives us the results. We have been taught this since childhood. The problem is that we only keep this knowledge on a very superficial level, thus it is easily overpowered by the desires and impulses of our man.
Under the influence of desire, we conveniently forget that God is watching us, and we feel that we are alone and have our privacy. In other words, we think, “Nobody knows what I am doing or thinking right now, other than me.” In this state of mind, we become nastik -non-believers in God. Then we feel that we can get away with it, so just go ahead and give in to the desire.
The solution to this problem is to strengthen this tattva gyan by repeatedly contemplating on it in our mind. The more times we think deeply about something, the more deeply that concept or belief becomes ingrained in our mind. To whatever degree this tattva gyan becomes ingrained in our mind, our buddhi gains the power to overcome the effect of desire and remain in control of the man so that it can exercise its power of discrimination. In other words, the more we believe in God, and feel His presence near us all the time, the more power we have to overcome the negative effects of desire.
Shree Krishna also mentions that desire gives rise to anger. This is another culprit responsible for causing us to do wrongs things. How anger affects us, and how we can overcome it, will be discussed in the next article.
Disciple of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj:
Swami Nikhilanand Ji is a Canadian born Hindu spiritual leader based in Austin, Texas. He is a sanyasi disciple and pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj.
Attracted to the teachings of Hinduism from a young age, Swamiji eventually let his deep spiritual longing lead him to India, where he was most fortunate to come under the guidance of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Thereafter, living in the ashrams of JKP, he extensively studied Hindi, the philosophy of the prime Sanskrit scriptures (Vedas, Darshan Shastras, Gita, Bhagwatam), and practiced meditation in the tradition of raganuga bhakti. In 2003, he was given sanyas. Now, with the blessings of his Guruji, he offers satsang programs throughout America, engaging audiences with his clear explanations of Hindu philosophy coupled with inspired chanting of Sanskrit mantras and shlokas and charming nam sankirtan. His informative and compelling speeches provide practical insight into how to adopt the teachings of Sanatan Dharm into our daily lives, and inspire us to awaken our inner spiritual potential.
To stay in touch with Swami Nikhilanand Ji, like his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SwamiNikhilanand or follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/Swami_Nikhil.
Swami Nikhilanand
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