CHAPTER 3, TEXT 37: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.
For me, the word "enemy" brings to mind Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and murderers in prison. Pushed a little further, an "enemy" is war, slavery, global warming, plastic straws, sweatshops, and cocaine. These all-devouring "enemies" tear at our souls and have us question the very definition of what it means to be a human being - Hitler destroyed millions and cocaine continues to destroy millions. How could this happen? How could we let this happen?
Why?
Krishna is telling us here that the enemy is not outside, the enemy is inside.
The sinful enemy of this world is lust.
Lust only.
What a striking declaration. Now, lust is described as all-devouring, sinful, and an enemy. That definitely brings to mind characteristics that I would assign to Hitler, war, and cocaine. But what is so profound about this verse that underneath lust is the most profound nature of the soul: love.
Srila Prabhupad elaborates: "When a living entity comes in contact with the material creation, his eternal love for Kṛṣṇa [God] is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion" (162). This means that the line between lust and love is much thinner than we could ever imagine.
Prabhupad continues: "Or, in other words, the sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust, as milk in contact with sour tamarind is transformed into yogurt." Both milk and yogurt come from the cow, and are composed of the same substance. But when the sour tamarind of the mode of passion comes in contact with the milk of love, the milk transforms into a completely distinct substance with a different taste, texture, and chemical properties. Yogurt is milk, and yet it is not. Lust is love, and yet is not.
Lust has such power to destroy and devour the soul because it is the reflection of the deepest prerogative of the soul: to love.
What's more, the intrinsic propensity of the soul is to serve. But once again, when the soul comes in contact with the mode of passion, "the service attitude is transformed into the propensity for sense enjoyment" (163). Service means that I am caring for another, concerning myself with the needs and wants of another, and in its highest expression I serve God and others in complete selflessness. But in this material world, that propensity turns inward: I want to serve myself. I want to serve my own senses and desires and goals. I become the center. Ultimately, love transforms into lust, and the path of lust is destructive and filled with endless pain.
The only hope is that maybe, one day, the soul becomes "completely baffled by prolonged lustful activities, [and] the living entities begin to inquire about their real position." Indeed, too much war, too much global warming, too much cocaine, too many plastic straws, and we can hopefully become baffled. Hopefully, we get sick of the pain and the suffering and yearn for meaning. Athatho brahma-jijnasa - one should inquire into the absolute truth (163). Hopefully, we inquire about our real position, which is to serve and to love.
There is hope. Much like how beneath the disgusting mask of a monster lies a beautiful maiden, so beneath the mask of lust lies love. In this sense, we can actually feel compassion for ourselves, whenever lust begins to consume our hearts, for we can simply notice that our propensity to love is simply being misplaced. The process of Krishna consciousness is about learning how to offer our love in the right place. Ultimately, "lust and wrath, when they are employed in Krsna consciousness, become our friends instead of our enemies."
If lust is the greatest enemy of the world, then if lust is employed in Krishna consciousness to awaken the love dormant within the heart of each and every living being, then that lust and love have the greatest potential to transform the world.
P.S. The purport of this verse given by Srila Prabhupad is brilliant; you're encouraged to check it out here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/
For me, the word "enemy" brings to mind Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and murderers in prison. Pushed a little further, an "enemy" is war, slavery, global warming, plastic straws, sweatshops, and cocaine. These all-devouring "enemies" tear at our souls and have us question the very definition of what it means to be a human being - Hitler destroyed millions and cocaine continues to destroy millions. How could this happen? How could we let this happen?
Why?
Krishna is telling us here that the enemy is not outside, the enemy is inside.
The sinful enemy of this world is lust.
Lust only.
What a striking declaration. Now, lust is described as all-devouring, sinful, and an enemy. That definitely brings to mind characteristics that I would assign to Hitler, war, and cocaine. But what is so profound about this verse that underneath lust is the most profound nature of the soul: love.
Srila Prabhupad elaborates: "When a living entity comes in contact with the material creation, his eternal love for Kṛṣṇa [God] is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion" (162). This means that the line between lust and love is much thinner than we could ever imagine.
Prabhupad continues: "Or, in other words, the sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust, as milk in contact with sour tamarind is transformed into yogurt." Both milk and yogurt come from the cow, and are composed of the same substance. But when the sour tamarind of the mode of passion comes in contact with the milk of love, the milk transforms into a completely distinct substance with a different taste, texture, and chemical properties. Yogurt is milk, and yet it is not. Lust is love, and yet is not.
Lust has such power to destroy and devour the soul because it is the reflection of the deepest prerogative of the soul: to love.
What's more, the intrinsic propensity of the soul is to serve. But once again, when the soul comes in contact with the mode of passion, "the service attitude is transformed into the propensity for sense enjoyment" (163). Service means that I am caring for another, concerning myself with the needs and wants of another, and in its highest expression I serve God and others in complete selflessness. But in this material world, that propensity turns inward: I want to serve myself. I want to serve my own senses and desires and goals. I become the center. Ultimately, love transforms into lust, and the path of lust is destructive and filled with endless pain.
The only hope is that maybe, one day, the soul becomes "completely baffled by prolonged lustful activities, [and] the living entities begin to inquire about their real position." Indeed, too much war, too much global warming, too much cocaine, too many plastic straws, and we can hopefully become baffled. Hopefully, we get sick of the pain and the suffering and yearn for meaning. Athatho brahma-jijnasa - one should inquire into the absolute truth (163). Hopefully, we inquire about our real position, which is to serve and to love.
There is hope. Much like how beneath the disgusting mask of a monster lies a beautiful maiden, so beneath the mask of lust lies love. In this sense, we can actually feel compassion for ourselves, whenever lust begins to consume our hearts, for we can simply notice that our propensity to love is simply being misplaced. The process of Krishna consciousness is about learning how to offer our love in the right place. Ultimately, "lust and wrath, when they are employed in Krsna consciousness, become our friends instead of our enemies."
If lust is the greatest enemy of the world, then if lust is employed in Krishna consciousness to awaken the love dormant within the heart of each and every living being, then that lust and love have the greatest potential to transform the world.
P.S. The purport of this verse given by Srila Prabhupad is brilliant; you're encouraged to check it out here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/
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