Gita 16.10 Taking shelter of lust amidst problems is like taking shelter of kidnappers when threatened by thieves

Transcript

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Krishna Thank you This is Bhagavad Gita 16.10 and Krishna is speaking here about how the demoniac act of Kama Ashitya Dushpuram They take shelter of Kama which is insatiable Dushpuram Dambhamana Madanvitaha They are intoxicated by also the considerations of prestige and honor which are considered by Racharyas to be subtle sex Mohad Gruhitva Asad Grahan Under the spell of illusion Mohad Gruhitva they accept Asad that which is temporary that which is unreal in the sense of not going to last forever last for long Gruhitva Asad Grahan they embrace it Pravartante Ashuchi Vrataha at they engage in they delight in they flourish in unclean vows so for example somebody may take a vow especially in today’s pitiably sensually driven culture some people take a vow a perverse vow that I will sleep with this many partners and they think of these as their sexual conquests but actually it is not that they are making sexual conquests sex is making a conquest over them because they are getting more and more captivated bound by those desires karma is a natural part of any life but karma the two problems with this it is taking shelter of that and the kind of karma is dushpura we all face problems in life and amidst those problems what we take shelter of determines our future some people when they are troubled by problems they just turn on television and try to forget everything that is wrong in their life others may just start taking a boxing bag and punching it hoping to work out all that energy of anger and some may indulge in sex indiscriminately excessively they feel that if they can get a mate that proves that they are attractive enough they are potent enough and thus they end up exhibiting their own ignorance about how things work in material nature suppose a person is running away from some danger and that person runs into the hands of kidnappers now that person may think I am being protected from the danger of the unknown thieves but if that person has gone into the hands of kidnappers the kidnappers are bigger and may be better organized thieves and who will actually demand a bigger amount now a street thug may just steal what is there in one’s wallet but a kidnapper will hold one as ransom till they empty one’s entire bank balance and maybe something more also so if we consider the problems we face in life to be like thugs that we meet on the path of life then taking shelter of our lower desires like karma here is mentioned that is like running from thieves into the hands of kidnappers so the problems cause us some trouble but when we become hooked to karma to lust then that causes us far far greater trouble so when we take shelter of lust we suffer much more than otherwise and we bring that suffering upon ourselves DUSHPURAM sometimes some kidnappers they ask for ransom and even after the ransom is given they don’t release the kidnapped person they say more ransom more ransom so like that DUSHPURAM lust never releases it from its clutches it makes us do this do this do this and no matter how much we indulge still lust keeps demanding more and more and more and thus the person becomes endlessly indentured Bhagavad Gita in the third chapter in text 39 has talked about lust as NITYA VAYIRENA AVRUTAM GYANAM ETHENA GYANINO NITYA VAYIRENA ETERNAL ENEMY so KAMAM ASHRUTYA DUSHPURAM DAMBAMANAM ADANVITAH lust is not just an expression of the desire to enjoy the body of another person it is also a power gain a power trip because when men attract a woman to enjoy it gives them an ego trip and when women attract attract men that gives them an ego trip because it makes them feel oh see how attractive I am I can attract even this man this man is so powerful so prestigious so this so that and yet he is attracted to me and man goes on ego trip thinking that oh this woman is so beautiful and I have her for my enjoyment now so while both of them are going on ego trips actually both of them are getting more and more entangled and enslaved because the attachment that develops becomes soon addictive and it makes it very difficult for people to protect themselves so there is an intoxication of prestige DAMBHMANAMADANVITAH so when our sexuality becomes the basis of our self-worth then we subject ourselves to enormous amounts of insecurity so in today’s culture where everybody has to be attractive enough to get a mate that is of course always been there throughout human history but in today’s world especially when there are no commitments also so people are always on the prowl in a sense so DAMBHMANAMADANVITAH so their self-worth comes based comes from how attractive a mate they are they have so thus lust becomes not just physical driving force but also social driving force and thus the whole set people just get consumed by illusion MOHAD GRUHITVA SADGRAHAN so whether it is the physical pleasure or the social prestige both of them are a part of the network of illusion into which we get captivated MOHAD GRUHITVA SADGRAHAN we accept that and we get consumed by that so always thinking how I can get more pleasure always thinking how I can I can brag about my sexual conquests and thus I can increase my prestige in society so this network of physical and social obsession that is induced by lust makes people delight in doing unholy things PRAVARTANTE ASHUCHIVRATAH that means that PRAVARTANTE TILKATE ASHUCHIVRATAH that they delight in unholy activities in sinful activities in which they just can’t move forwards they use their power of determination to go deeper and deeper into addiction and thus they become enslaved now how that ASHUCHIVRATAH can make them monstrous and murderous will be described in future verses