Bhagavad Gita 3.43

evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā

saṁstabhyātmānam ātmanā

jahi śatruṁ mahā-bāho

kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam

 

“Thus, knowing with your intelligence that the soul is transcendental,

Situate your consciousness steadily on the level that is spiritual.

Conquer, O mighty-armed one, this fearsome foe,

In the form of desire, so deadly, so difficult to overthrow.”

 

My dear Lord, desire is a formidable force within me that can be used for both good and bad. Presently, this force has largely been conscripted by materialism and is being used in ways that take me away from my spiritual nature—even from the awareness of my spiritual nature. Bless me, my Lord, so that I can regain control of this foundational resource and use it to come closer to you, not go further away from you. O Lord, help me to realize that you are supremely desirable and that desiring you is my supremely desirable desire. I beg you, my Lord, let these twin understandings empower my intelligence in consciously choosing and cultivating the desires that draw me toward you, so that they become fueled and fortified.

This understanding, my Lord, can change my entire vision of the inner war. Rather than feeling that I have to give up desire and pleasure to win this war, I will realize that what I truly need to give up is only the desire that takes me away from pleasure. This conviction—that fighting the war against temptation is not about depriving myself, but about ending the control of the things that are depriving me—is the transformational game-changer. It can infuse me with immense energy to persevere until victory comes by your merciful grace, my Lord.

***

03.43 Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Kṛṣṇa consciousness] and thus – by spiritual strength – conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.