How to see our inner darkness and see beyond the inner darkness

We all have dark desires within us—selfish, manipulative, and even abusive tendencies. If neglected, these desires can ambush us and drag us down, making us far worse than we ever imagined we could be, even on our worst days. Ignoring their presence is a dangerous recipe for self-destruction.

However, we must avoid the other extreme of equating ourselves entirely with these dark desires. Believing that such tendencies define our essence can lead to despair, making us lose hope that we can ever improve. This mindset can drive us to abandon all efforts at self-transformation, assuming such attempts are futile or just masks for an unchangeable core.

The Bhagavad-Gita offers a balanced perspective to navigate these extremes. It explains that dark desires stem from impressions embedded in our mind. These impressions act as internal triggers, fueling destructive tendencies. However, beyond the mind lies our spiritual essence—the soul, which is eternally pure and a part of the all-pure Divinity, as stated in Bhagavad-Gita 15.7.

By identifying with our spiritual essence rather than the mind, we can rise above lower desires. Anchoring ourselves to the all-attractive divine, Krishna, empowers us to reject and reform the darkness within, manifesting our divine potential and reconnecting with our true spiritual identity.

Summary:

Denying the presence of dark desires sets us up to be ambushed by them, leading to self-destruction.
Equating ourselves with our dark desires fosters hopelessness and undermines self-transformation efforts.
Recognizing dark desires as impressions in the mind while emphasizing the purity of our spiritual essence empowers us to reject and reform inner darkness.

Think it over:

Reflect on a time when denying the presence of dark desires caused them to ambush you.
Recall a moment when you abandoned self-transformation because you equated yourself with your dark desires.
Consider how the Bhagavad-Gita’s wisdom can offer a more holistic and transformative understanding of your inner world.

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15.07 The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.