Bhagavad Gita: Desire and Control



The Bhagavad Gita or "Song of the Lord" is a discourse with Krishna, who symbolizes the universal Cosmic Christ, the universal force of love and compassion that incarnated in all teh greatest beings of humanity: Jesus, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Quetzalcoatl, Fu Ji, Amida, Hermes, and more. Christ as Krishna advises Arjuna, who symbolizes the Human Soul (the universal hero: Theseus, Perseus, Siegfried, Lancelot, Orpheus, etc). This discourse is extracted from the longer Mahabharata, or "Great Warrior."

Krishna explains his identity very precisely in chapter seven:

Among thousands of men, one perchance strives for perfection; even among those who strive and are perfect, only one perchance knows me in truth.

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, thought (Manas) and reason (Buddhi), egoism (Ahamkara) – thus is My Prakriti [womb of divine mother space] divided eight-fold.

This is the inferior (Prakriti); but distinct from this know thou My superior Prakriti [universal ocean of sexual water], the very life, O mighty-armed, by which this universe is upheld.

Know that all beings have their birth in these [because all are born of sex]. So, I am the source and dissolution of the whole universe.

There is naught else higher than I, O Dhananjaya; in Me all this is woven as clusters of gems on a string.

I am the sapidity in water, O son of Kunti. I am the light in the moon [mother] and the sun [father]. I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas, sound in ether, humanity in men.

And I am the agreeable odour in the earth and the brilliance in the fire, the vitality in all beings, and I am the austerity in ascetics.

Know Me, O Partha, as the eternal seed [semen] of all beings...

The presence of Christ in the seed or sexual energy of all creatures is the basis for chastity and Tantra. Thus, to know the meaning of the scripture, this meaning must be kept in mind.

Krishna and Arjuna

Arjuna [the disciple] said:

54. What, O Kesava, Is the description of one of steady knowledge, who is constant in contemplation? How does one of steady knowledge speak, how sit, how move?

Krishna [Christ] said:

55. The Lord said: When a man, satisfied in the [true] Self alone by himself, completely casts off all the desires of the mind, then is he said to be one of steady knowledge [Gnosis, Daath, Jnana].

56. He whose heart is not distressed in calamities, from whom all longing for pleasures has departed, who is free from attachment, fear and wrath, he is called a sage, a man of steady knowledge.

57. Whoso, without attachment anywhere, on meeting with anything good or bad, neither exults nor hates, his knowledge becomes steady.

58. When he completely withdraws the senses from sense-objects, as the tortoise (withdraws) its limbs from all sides, his knowledge is steady.

59. Objects withdraw from an abstinent man, but not the taste. On seeing the Supreme, his taste, too, ceases.

60. The dangerous senses, O son of Kunti, forcibly carry away the mind of a wise man, even while striving (to control them).

61. Restraining them all, a man should remain steadfast, intent on Me. His knowledge is steady whose senses are under control.

62. When a man thinks of objects, attachment for them arises. From attachment arises desire; from desire arises wrath.

63. From wrath arises delusion; from delusion, failure of memory; from failure of memory, loss of conscience; from loss of conscience he is utterly ruined.

64. He attains peace, who, self-controlled, approaches objects with the senses devoid of love and hatred and brought under his own-control.

65. In peace there is an end of all his miseries; for, the reason of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady.

66. There is no wisdom to the unsteady, and no meditation to the unsteady, and to the un-meditative no peace; to the peaceless, how can there be happiness ?

67. For, the mind which yields to the roving senses carries away his knowledge, as the wind (carries away) a ship on water.

68. Therefore, O mighty-armed, his knowledge is steady whose senses have been entirely restrained from sense-objects.

69. What is night to all beings, therein the self controlled one is awake. Where all beings are awake, that is the night of the sage who sees.

70. He attains peace, into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which, filled from all sides, remains unaltered; but not he who desires objects.

71. That man attains peace, who, abandoning all desires, moves about without attachment, without selfishness, without vanity.

72. This is the Brahmic state, O son of Pritha. Attaining to this, none is deluded. Remaining in this state even at the last period of life, one attains to the felicity of Brahman [the Creator].

III. YOGA OF CAUSE AND EFFECT (Karma Yoga)

Arjuna [the disciple] said:

1. If it be thought by Thee that knowledge is superior to action, O Janardana, why then dost Thou, O Kesava, direct me to this terrible action [to kill all my relatives, a symbol of the beloved ego we have within]?

2. With an apparently perplexing speech, Thou confusest as it were my understanding. Tell me with certainty that one (way) by which I may attain bliss [in Hebrew, bliss is "Eden."]

Krishna [Christ] said:

3. In this world a twofold path was taught by Me at first, O sinless one: that of Sankhyas by devotion to knowledge and that of Yogins by devotion to action.

4. Not by abstaining from action does man win actionlessness, nor by mere renunciation does he attain perfection.

5. None, verily, even for an instant, ever remains doing no action; for every one is driven helpless to action by the energies born of Nature [all energy is derived from sex].

6. He who, restraining the organs of action [sex], sits thinking in his mind of the objects of the senses, self-deluded, he is said to be one of false conduct [or false chastity].

7. But whoso, restraining the senses by mind O Arjuna, engages in Karma-Yoga [yoking or controlling his action], unattached, with [sexual] organs of action [controlled by My guidance], he is esteemed.

8. Do thou perform (thy) bounden duty [of sexual activity: for you were made that way]; for [to accomplish your mission of killing the ego, sexual] action is superior to inaction [celibacy]. And even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for thee by inaction.

9. Except in the case of action for Sacrifice’s sake, this world is action-bound. Action [in sex] for the sake Thereof, do thou, O son of Kunti, perform, free from attachment [to fornication].

10. Having first created mankind [sexually] together with sacrifices, the Prajapati [parentless creator] said, “By this [sexual act] shall ye propagate; let this be to you the cow of plenty.

11. With this [sexual act] do ye nourish the Gods [with Soma: ambrosia] and the Gods shall nourish you; thus nourishing one another, ye shall attain the supreme good.

12. Nourished by the sacrifice [of the orgasm], the Gods [receive your transmuted sexual force and] shall indeed bestow on you the enjoyments [of the tree of knowledge] ye desire [that are in harmony with the laws of the Gods].” Whoso enjoys – without offering to Them – Their gifts [of sex], he is verily a thief [and is punished].

13. The righteous, who eat the remnant of the sacrifice [enjoying the scent of the tree but not the fruit], are freed from all sins [karma, ego]; but sin do the impious eat who cook [in the sexual oven] for their own sakes [lust].

14. From food [sexual fruit] creatures come forth; the production of food is from rain [sexual waters]; rain comes forth from sacrifice [the law of Christ]; sacrifice is born of action [consciousness];

15. Know thou that action comes from Brahman [the Creator] and that Brahman comes from the Imperishable [Ain, Absolute]. Therefore, the all-pervading Brahman ever rests in sacrifice [Christ].

16. He who follows not here the wheel thus set in motion, who is of sinful life, indulging in senses, he lives in vain, O son of Pritha.

17. That man, verily, who rejoices only in the self, who is satisfied with the Self, who is content in the Self alone – for him there is nothing to do.

18. For him, there is here no interest whatever in what is done or what is not done. Nor is there in all beings any one he should resort to for any object.

19. Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform the action which should be done; for, performing action without attachment, man reaches the Supreme.

20. By action only, indeed, did Janaka and others try to attain perfection. Even with a view to the protection of the masses thou shouldst perform (action).

21. Whatsoever a great man does, that alone the other men do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world follows.

22. I [Christ] have nothing whatsoever to achieve in the three worlds, O son of Pritha, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained; yet I engage in action [through my messengers].

23. For, should I not ever engage in action, unwearied, men would in all matters follow My path, O son of Pritha.

24. These worlds would be ruined if I should not perform action; I should be the cause of confusion of castes and should destroy these creatures.

25. As ignorant men act attached to work, O Bharata, so should the wise man act, unattached from a wish to protect the masses.

26. Let no wise man cause unsettlement in the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action; he should make them do all actions, himself fulfilling them with devotion.

27. Actions are wrought in all cases by the [sexual] energies of Nature. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks ‘I am the doer’.

28. But he who knows the truth [prajna], O mighty-armed, about the divisions of the [sexual] energies and (their) functions, is not attached, thinking that the energies act upon the energies.

29. Those deluded by the [sexual] energies of Nature are attached to the functions of the [sexual] energies. He who knows the All should not unsettle the unwise who know not the All.

30. Renouncing all action in Me, with thy thought resting on the Self, being free from hope, free from selfishness, devoid of fever, do thou fight.

31. Men who constantly practise this teaching of Mine with faith and without cavilling, they too are liberated from actions.

32. But those who, carping at this, My teaching, practise it not – know them as deluded in all knowledge, as senseless men doomed to destruction.

33. Even the man of knowledge acts in conformity with his own nature; (all) beings follow (their) nature; what shall coercion avail ?

34. Love and hate lie towards the object of each sense; let none become subject to these two; for, they are his enemies.

35. Better one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one’s own duty; the duty of another is productive of danger.

Arjuna [the disciple] said:

36. But by what dragged on, O Varshneya, does a man, though reluctant, commit sin, as if constrained by force?

Krishna [Christ] said:

37. It is desire, it is wrath, born of the energy of Rajas [lust], all-devouring, all sinful; that, know thou, is the foe here.

38. As fire is surrounded by smoke, as a mirror by rust, as the foetus is enclosed in the womb, so is this covered by it.

39. Covered, O son of Kunti, is wisdom by this constant enemy of the wise, in the form of desire, which is greedy and insatiable. [in other words, wisdom must be taken out of lust]

40. The senses, mind and reason are said to be its seat; veiling wisdom through these, it deludes the embodied.

41. Therefore, O lord of the Bharatas, restrain the senses first, do thou cast off this sinful thing [fornication] which is destructive of knowledge and wisdom.

42. They say that the senses are superior; superior to the senses is mind; superior to mind is reason; one who is even superior to reason is He.

43. Then knowing Him who is superior to reason, subduing the self by the self, slay thou, O mighty-armed, the enemy in the form of desire, hard to conquer.

•••

XVI. SPIRITUALITY AND MATERIALISM (Daivasura sampat Vibhaga Yoga)

Krishna [Christ] said:

1. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga; alms-giving, self-restraint and worship, study of one’s own (scriptures), austerity, uprightness;

2. Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, serenity, absence of calumny, compassion to creatures, un-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness;

3. Energy, forgiveness; fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride; these belong to one born for a divine lot, O Bharata.

4. Ostentation, arrogance and self-conceit, anger as also insolence and ignorance, belong to one who is born, O Partha, for a demoniac lot.

5. The divine nature [soul, essence, buddha nature or tathagatagarbha] is deemed for liberation, the demoniac [egos: pride, lust, envy, etc] for bondage. Grieve not, O Pandava; thou art born for a divine lot.

6. There are two [sexual] creations of beings in this world, the divine and the demoniac. The divine has been described as length; hear from Me, O Partha, of the demoniac.

7. Neither action nor inaction do the demoniac men know [because they are deluded]; neither purity nor good conduct nor truth is found in them.

8. They say, “the universe is unreal, without a basis, without a Lord, born of mutual union, brought about by lust; what else?”

9. Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellect, of fierce deeds, rise as the enemies of the world for its destruction.

10. Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, holding unwholesome views through delusion, they work with unholy resolve;

11. Beset with immense cares ending only with death, sensual enjoyment their highest aim, assured that that is all;

12. Bound by hundreds of bands of hope, given over to lust and wrath, they strive to secure by unjust means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment.

13. "This to-day has been gained by me; this desire I shall attain; this is mine and this wealth also shall be mine in future."

14. “That enemy has been slain by me and others also shall I slay. I am a lord. I enjoy, I am successful, strong and healthy.”

15. “I am rich and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will rejoice.” Thus deluded by un-wisdom.

16. Bewildered by many a fancy, entangled in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall into a foul hell.

17. Self-honored, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices in name with hypocrisy, without regard to ordinance.

18. Given over to egotism, power, haughtiness, lust and anger, these malicious people hate Me in their own and others’ bodies [because, as mentioned above, Christ is the seed, the semen, the sexual force, thus by fornication the demoniacs abuse Christ].

19. These cruel haters, worst of men, I hurl these evil-doers for ever in the worlds into the wombs of the demons only.

20. Entering into demoniac wombs, the deluded ones, in birth after birth, without ever reaching Me, O son of Kunti, pass into a condition still lower than that.

21. Triple is this, the gate to hell, destructive of the self; LUST, WRATH and GREED. Therefore, these three, you should abandon.

22. A man who is released from these, the three gates to darkness, O son of Kunti, does good to the self and thereby reaches the Supreme Goal.

23. He who, neglecting the scriptural ordinance, acts under the impulse of desire, attains not perfection, nor happiness, nor the Supreme Goal.

24. Therefore, the scripture is thy authority in deciding as to what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Now, thou oughtest to know and perform thy duty laid down in the scripture-law.

Quoted from Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of the Lord."