Desire- the greatest obstacle to spiritual progress

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Bhagavad gita, chapter 16, sloka 21 says:

The door to hell, which is the destroyer of the soul, is of three kinds—desire

(kaama), anger (krodha), and greed (lobha).

Actually, desire is the root cause of the other two. When a desire is not

fulfilled, a person becomes angry. When it is fulfilled, another stronger desire

arises. Thus, if a person gets ten thousand rupees, he wants to get one lakh.

This is greed. Thus the greatest enemy of the human being, and the greatest

obstacle to spiritual progress is desire for worldly objects and persons.

But if the same desire is directed towards God, it becomes the best means for

liberation from samsaara. Lord Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavatam, 10. 22. 26:

na mayyaaveshita dhiyaam kaamah kaamaaya kalpate|

bharjitaa kvadhitaa dhaanaa praayo bijaaya neshyate ||

 

The meaning is that desire directed towards Krishna is not like worldly desires.

It is like grain fried or boiled, which may retain the appearance of grain, but

will not germinate. Similarly, desire directed towards God will not produce the

bad effects of worldly desires.

S.N.Sastri