Bhagavad Gita The Song of God Commentary by Swami Mukundananda
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 3, Verse 37 श्रीभगवानुवाच | काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भव: || महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् || 37|| śhrī bhagavān uvācha kāma eṣha krodha eṣha rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ mahāśhano mahā-pāpmā viddhyenam iha vairiṇam śhri-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Lord said; kāmaḥ—desire; eṣhaḥ—this; krodhaḥ—wrath; eṣhaḥ—this; rajaḥ-guṇa—the mode of passion; samudbhavaḥ—born of; mahā-aśhanaḥ—all-devouring; mahā-pāpmā—greatly sinful; viddhi—know; enam—this; iha—in the material world; vairiṇam—the enemy shri bhagavan uvacha kama esha krodha esha rajo-guna-samudbhavah mahashano maha-papma viddhyenam iha vairinam Translation BG 3.37: The Supreme Lord said: It is lust alone, which is born of contact with the mode of passion, and later transformed into anger. Know this as the sinful, all-devouring enemy in the world. Commentary The Vedas use the word kāma, or lust, not only for sexual desires but also to include all desires for material enjoyment based on the bodily concept of the self. Thus, lust shows itself in many ways—the urge for money, physical cravings, craving for prestige, the drive for power, etc. This lust is only a perverted reflection of love for God, which is the inherent nature of every living being. When the soul associates with the material energy in the form of the body, its divine love for God is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion. Since divine love is the highest power of God, its perversion in the material realm, which is lust, is also the most powerful force in worldly activities. Shree Krishna identifies this “lust” for worldly enjoyment as the cause of sin, as the malignant allure sitting within us. The mode of passion deludes the soul into believing that worldly objects will give satisfaction, and so one creates desires for acquiring them. When desire is satisfied, it gives birth to greed; when it is not satisfied, it gives rise to anger. One commits sins under the influence of all three—lust, greed, and anger. Greed is nothing but intensified desire, while anger is frustrated desire. Hence, Shree Krishna labels lust, or desire, as the root of all evil. K Rajaram IRS 10525 On Sat, 10 May 2025 at 06:36, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]> wrote: > There is nothing wrong in dreaming a Luxurious life. > What needs to be taken care of is > *Not let the NEED become GREED. * > Because *needs can always be met * > *but greed can never be fulfilled* > > N Jambunathan Rengarajapuram-Kodambakkam-Chennai-Mob:9176159004 > > *" What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you > become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to > a goal, not to people or things "* > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZooBsTAZTg8XEu1mkYfJ%2BEF_p0rx9f%3DzEdG4NcE5HNMYsw%40mail.gmail.com.
