Gita for Life · Feelings
What does the Gita say about desire and lust?
4 passages of the Gita on this question. Each shows what the verse says, why it belongs here, and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s explanation.
In short
Desire is part of who we are, and the Gītā does not ask us to become empty of it. It shows how our love for Kṛṣṇa, covered by contact with matter, turns into lust that is never satisfied, and how that same desire can be turned back toward Him.
You cannot stop desiring, but you can change what you desire.
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Why do I do what I don’t want to do?
anicchann api vārṣṇeya Bhagavad-gītā 3.36
What the verse says
Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa a very honest question: by what is a person pushed into sinful acts, “even unwillingly, as if engaged by force”?
Read 3.36 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the soul, as part of the Supreme, is originally pure. In contact with material nature it acts wrongly, sometimes even against its own will, and the cause is not the Supersoul within but something Kṛṣṇa names in the next verse.
“Although the living entity sometimes does not want to act in sin, he is still forced to act.”
Lesson
If you have ever promised yourself “never again” and then done it again, you are not alone: Arjuna asked the same question. The first step is to admit the pull honestly, without excuses and without despair.
Example
A student promises himself he will watch just one short video before studying. An hour later he is still scrolling, and he does not even remember deciding to.
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The enemy has a name: lust, which is love gone sour
kāma eṣa krodha eṣa Bhagavad-gītā 3.37
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa answers: it is lust, born of contact with the mode of passion and later turned into wrath. He calls it “the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world.”
Read 3.37 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
The Blessed Lord said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that our eternal love for Kṛṣṇa, in contact with the material world, is transformed into lust. He compares it to milk that turns into yogurt when it touches sour tamarind.
“the sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust, as milk in contact with sour tamarind is transformed into yogurt.”
Lesson
Lust is not our true nature; it is our capacity to love, turned toward the wrong object. That is why the answer is not to become loveless, but to let love find its real object again.
Example
Someone who keeps checking how many likes a photo has got is really longing to be loved and appreciated. The longing is real; it is only looking in the wrong place.
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A fire that more fuel never puts out
duṣpūreṇānalena ca Bhagavad-gītā 3.39
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa says our pure consciousness is covered by this eternal enemy in the form of lust, “which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.”
Read 3.39 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Thus, a man's pure consciousness is covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Citing the Manu-smṛti, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that no amount of sense enjoyment can satisfy lust, just as fuel never puts out a fire. The pleasure we feel along the way, he says, is in the end the enemy of the one who enjoys it.
“lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel.”
Lesson
“Once I have this, I’ll be satisfied” is the promise lust always makes and never keeps. Each time we feed the fire, it asks for more.
Example
A new phone feels wonderful for a week. Then a newer model comes out, and the old feeling of “not enough” returns, exactly as before.
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Your real self is covered, not lost
dhūmenāvriyate vahnir Bhagavad-gītā 3.38
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa says the living being is covered by different degrees of lust, as fire is covered by smoke, a mirror by dust, or an embryo by the womb.
Read 3.38 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, similarly, the living entity is covered by different degrees of this lust.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that in the human form our covering is like smoke over a fire: the spark of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is still there and can be made to blaze. He calls human life a chance to escape, and says the best way to clean the dust from the mirror of the mind is to chant the holy names of the Lord.
“In the human form of life, one can conquer the enemy, lust, by cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness under able guidance.”
Lesson
However strong your desires feel, they are a covering, not your identity. You are the fire under the smoke. With the holy name and good guidance, the smoke clears.
Example
A mirror covered in dust shows nothing, yet the mirror is not broken. Wipe it a little every day, and your face appears again.
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Don’t try to kill desire; change what you desire
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān Bhagavad-gītā 2.71
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa says that one who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from longing, without a sense of proprietorship and without false ego, alone attains real peace.
Read 2.71 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that being desireless does not mean having no desires: the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa is real desirelessness. He gives Arjuna as the example: Arjuna did not want to fight for himself, yet fought with all his ability once Kṛṣṇa wanted it.
“The living entity cannot be desireless or senseless, but he does have to change the quality of the desires.”
Lesson
Trying to want nothing only leaves you empty and frustrated. Instead, ask of each desire, “Whom is this for?”, and begin, little by little, to want things for Kṛṣṇa.
Example
A girl who loves to sing can sing to win praise, or sing kīrtana for Kṛṣṇa. The voice is the same; the desire behind it has changed, and so has its effect on her heart.
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A higher taste makes the lower one fade
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate Bhagavad-gītā 2.59
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa says that a person may be held back from sense enjoyment while the taste for it remains; but by experiencing a higher taste, he leaves it behind and becomes fixed in consciousness.
Read 2.59 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda compares rules on their own to a patient kept from certain foods: he dislikes the restriction and keeps his taste for them. But one who has tasted the beauty of Kṛṣṇa no longer has a taste for dead material things.
“When one is actually Kṛṣṇa conscious, he automatically loses his taste for pale things.”
Lesson
Saying “no” is needed, but on its own it is not enough. Fill your life with something better: kīrtana, hearing about Kṛṣṇa, the company of devotees, food offered to Him. A full heart has less room for cheap pleasures.
Example
After a joyful evening of kīrtana with friends, the urge to scroll through your phone till midnight is much weaker. Nobody forbade it; something better simply took its place.
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Begin now, wherever you are
tasmāt tvam indriyāṇy ādau Bhagavad-gītā 3.41
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna to curb lust “in the very beginning” by regulating the senses, and to slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization. Knowing oneself to be above the senses, mind and intelligence, one conquers this insatiable enemy by spiritual strength 3.43.
Read 3.41 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bhāratas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda says lust is only the perverted reflection of our natural love of God. Once love has turned into lust it is hard to return, yet Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so powerful that from any stage of life one can begin regulating the senses and turn lust into love of Godhead.
“Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so powerful that even a late beginner can become a lover of God by following the regulative principles of devotional service.”
Lesson
Desire is easiest to guide early, which is why good habits in childhood matter so much. But it is never too late. Start one small regulation today, and keep it.
Example
A man in his fifties who has never chanted before decides to chant one round of Hare Kṛṣṇa every morning before his tea. Small, regular steps like this are how a late beginner begins.
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Be like the ocean: full in Kṛṣṇa’s service
sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
What the verse says
Kṛṣṇa says that desires enter the steady person like rivers into the ocean, which is always being filled yet stays still; such a person attains peace, “and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” One who gives up desires born of the mind and is satisfied in the self is in pure transcendental consciousness 2.55.
Read 2.70 in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that as long as we have a body, its demands will come. But the devotee is not disturbed by them, because he is full: satisfied in serving the Lord, he stays steady like the ocean.
“Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace.”
Lesson
Desires will keep coming; you need neither panic nor obey. The more your heart is filled with Kṛṣṇa’s service, the more easily you can let them come and go, like rivers into the ocean, and keep your peace.
Example
During the festival sales, a young devotee sees the same advertisements as everyone else. She notices them, smiles and gets on with her day. She does not feel she is missing anything.
Feeding the fire, or turning desire to Kṛṣṇa?
| Feeding the fire | Turning desire to Kṛṣṇa | Verse |
|---|---|---|
| “Just once more, then I’ll stop.” | “This fire is never satisfied by more fuel.” | 3.39 |
| “My desires are my enemy, and I hate myself for them.” | “My desire is love for Kṛṣṇa gone sour; it can be turned back.” | 3.37 |
| “This is simply who I am.” | “My real self is covered, not lost.” | 3.38 |
| “I must crush every desire.” | “I change what I desire, not whether I desire.” | 2.71 |
| “Saying no leaves me empty.” | “A higher taste makes the lower one fade.” | 2.59 |
| “It’s too late for me to change.” | “Even a late beginner can turn lust into love.” | 3.41 |
| “I’ll be at peace when I get everything I want.” | “I am at peace when Kṛṣṇa’s service fills my heart.” | 2.70 |
Our reflections, each based on the verse named beside it.
Ask yourself
- Which desire most often makes me do what I later regret?
- What am I really longing for underneath it: love, rest, respect, security?
- Has getting what I wanted ever brought me lasting satisfaction?
- What “higher taste” can I add to my day, so that lower pleasures have less room?
- Which of my desires could I begin to fulfil for Kṛṣṇa instead of for myself?
The essence
Lust is our love for Kṛṣṇa, turned toward things that can never satisfy it. Don’t try to stop desiring; give your desires a higher object, and the heart becomes full, like the ocean.
The headings, explanations, lessons, examples, table and questions are ours, written to help you apply the verses. The Sanskrit lines, the verse translations and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s quoted words are from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is as published on vedabase.cc, unaltered.
All the verses for this topic
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Bhagavad-gītā 3.36–43
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?
Show the other 7 verses of 3.36–43
The Blessed Lord said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.37 As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, similarly, the living entity is covered by different degrees of this lust.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.38 Thus, a man's pure consciousness is covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.39 The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust, which veils the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.40 Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bhāratas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.41 The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.42 Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher self and thus—by spiritual strength—conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.
Bhagavad-gītā 3.43 Why this verse is here
Conquering Lust, the Greatest Enemy
From the study outline of the chapter
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 3.36
A living entity, as part and parcel of the Supreme, is originally spiritual, pure, and free from all material contaminations. Therefore, by nature he is not subjected to the sins of the material world. But when he is in contact with the material nature, he acts in many sinful ways without hesitation, and sometimes even against his will. As such, Arjuna's question to Kṛṣṇa is very sanguine, as to the perverted nature of the living entities. Although the living entity sometimes does not want to act in sin, he is still forced to act. Sinful actions are not, however, impelled by the Supersoul within, but are due to another cause, as the Lord explains in the next verse.
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Bhagavad-gītā 3.39
Thus, a man's pure consciousness is covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.
Why this verse is here
Lust is never satisfied
From the verse-by-verse study notes
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 3.39
It is said in the Manu-smṛti that lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel. In the material world, the center of all activities is sex, and thus this material world is called maithuṇya-āgāra, or the shackles of sex life. In the ordinary prison house, criminals are kept within bars; similarly, the criminals who are disobedient to the laws of the Lord are shackled by sex life. Advancement of material civilization on the basis of sense gratification means increasing the duration of the material existence of a living entity. Therefore, this lust is the symbol of ignorance by which the living entity is kept within the material world. …
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Bhagavad-gītā 2.55
The Blessed Lord said: O Pārtha, when a man gives up all varieties of sense desire which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.
Why this verse is here
When one gives up all desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, finds satisfaction in the self alone. (2.55 prajahāti yadā kāmān...)
From the thematic compilation Equanimity and Satisfaction
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 2.55
The Bhāgavatam affirms that any person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or devotional service of the Lord, has all the good qualities of the great sages, whereas a person who is not so transcendentally situated has no good qualifications, because he is sure to be taking refuge in his own mental concoctions. Consequently, it is rightly said herein that one has to give up all kinds of sense desire manufactured by mental concoction. Artificially, such sense desires cannot be stopped. But if one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then, automatically, sense desires subside without extraneous efforts. Therefore, one has to engage himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness without hesitation, for this devotional service will instantly help one on to the platform of transcendental consciousness. …
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Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
Why this verse is here
Like an ocean that is still despite many rivers entering it, one should be undisturbed by the incessant flow of desires. (2.70 āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ...)
From the thematic compilation Equanimity and Satisfaction
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains
From the purport to 2.70
Although the vast ocean is always filled with water, it is always, especially during the rainy season, being filled with much more water. But the ocean remains the same—steady; it is not agitated, nor does it cross beyond the limit of its brink. That is also true of a person fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As long as one has the material body, the demands of the body for sense gratification will continue. The devotee, however, is not disturbed by such desires because of his fullness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious man is not in need of anything because the Lord fulfills all his material necessities. Therefore he is like the ocean—always full in himself. Desires may come to him like the waters of the rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities, and he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification. …
Everyday questions answered by these verses
Related topics
Each verse is linked to this topic by a statement in our primary study source, shown under “Why this verse is here”. The verses and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words are quoted from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, unaltered.