Our mind loves to go down the pleasure lane of memory, especially when those pleasures are materialistic. It not only glues itself to those memories but also replays them repeatedly, thereby inciting us to indulge in those pleasures again. Thus, the pleasure lane is the most traveled lane in the city of our memory.

The mind also frequently travels back on the misery lane, especially when the blame for that misery can be laid on someone else. Whenever we meet or even think of that person, the mind rushes down that lane and hyperactively re-enacts its blame game.

But what if the misery was caused by our own misdeeds, especially our reckless attempts for material enjoyment? Then the mind becomes curiously lethargic, even paralytic, to go down that lane. We can call this lane the consequence lane of memory because it contains memories that demonstrate the miserable consequences of material indulgences. The mind rarely recollects any such memory – unless it can somehow use the recollection to perversely incite us towards the same indulgence.

When we strive to move towards Krishna on the lane of devotion, worldly pleasures act as the most prominent roadblocks. The Bhagavad-gita (05.22) functions as a roadblock-remover by declaring that material pleasures are the wombs of misery. Initially, this verse may seem to be a mere theory for us. It may even appear to be a counter-factual theory when temptations promise us material pleasure. However, we just need to push ourselves down the consequence lane of memory. Then we will realize that the Gita is precisely stating a reality that we ourselves have repeatedly experienced.

Thus, by going down regularly on the consequence lane of memory, we will get the impetus to go up undistractedly on the devotion lane of life.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 05 Text 22

“An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.”