BHAGAVAD-GITA 3:37

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 3:37

 

sri-bhagavan uvaca

kama esa krodha esa

rajo-guna-samudbhavah

mahasano maha-papma

viddhy enam iha vairinam

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

sri-bhagavan uvaca--the Personality of Godhead said; kamah--lust;

esah--this; krodhah--wrath; esah--this; rajah-guna--the mode of

passion; samudbhavah--born of; maha-asanah--all-devouring;

maha-papma--greatly sinful; viddhi--know; enam--this; iha--in the

material world; vairinam--greatest enemy.

 

TRANSLATION

 

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.

 

PURPORT

 

When a living entity comes in contact with the material creation, his

eternal love for Krsna is transformed into lust, in association with

the mode of passion. 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. Then again, when lust is unsatisfied, it

turns into wrath; wrath is transformed into illusion, and illusion

continues the material existence. Therefore, lust is the greatest

enemy of the living entity, and it is lust only which induces the pure

living entity to remain entangled in the material world. Wrath is the

manifestation of the mode of ignorance; these modes exhibit themselves

as wrath and other corollaries. If, therefore, the mode of passion,

instead of being degraded into the mode of ignorance, is elevated to

the mode of goodness by the prescribed method of living and acting,

then one can be saved from the degradation of wrath by spiritual

attachment.

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead expanded Himself into many for His

ever-increasing spiritual bliss, and the living entities are parts and

parcels of this spiritual bliss. They also have partial independence,

but by misuse of their independence, when the service attitude is

transformed into the propensity for sense enjoyment, they come under

the sway of lust. This material creation is created by the Lord to

give facility to the conditioned souls to fulfill these lustful

propensities, and when completely baffled by prolonged lustful

activities, the living entities begin to inquire about their real

position.

 

This inquiry is the beginning of the Vedanta-sutras, wherein it is

said, athato brahma-jijnasa: one should inquire into the Supreme. And

the Supreme is defined in Srimad- Bhagavatam as janmadyasya yato

'nvayad itaratas ca, or, "The origin of everything is the Supreme

Brahman." Therefore the origin of lust is also in the Supreme. If,

therefore, lust is transformed into love for the Supreme, or

transformed into Krsna consciousness--or, in other words, desiring

everything for Krsna--then both lust and wrath can be spiritualized.

Hanuman, the great servitor of Lord Rama, exhibited his wrath by

burning the golden city of Ravana, but by doing so he became the

greatest devotee of the Lord. Here also, in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord

induces Arjuna to engage his wrath upon his enemies for the

satisfaction of the Lord. Therefore, lust and wrath, when they are

employed in Krsna consciousness, become our friends instead of our

enemies.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.