Our consciousness in our present conditioned stage keeps moving up and down, akin to a sine wave. An elevated consciousness in the mode of goodness corresponds with the sine wave’s crest, whereas a lowered consciousness in the mode of ignorance corresponds with its trough.
The Bhagavad-gita (14.10) delineates how the three modes battle within us to control our consciousness. When the lower modes dominate us, we feel impelled towards immoral actions. If we entertain those impulses, they grow formidable, even irresistible. Eventually, they sweep us into sin just as a powerful ocean wave sweeps away swimmers.
To prevent the inner sine wave from triggering an outer sin wave, we need the rampart of tolerance. The Gita (05.23) exhorts us to tolerate the urges of desire and anger, assuring that such tolerance will engender happiness.
To tolerate something means to endure its presence without succumbing to its influence. We can tolerate the urges for worldly pleasures more easily when we have access to higher pleasure. Bhakti-yoga offers the easiest access to the highest pleasure: the bliss of immortal love for the all-attractive Supreme, Krishna. Unfortunately, our conditionings can distract us from Krishna, thereby cutting our access to devotional happiness. Still, if we cultivate the habit of disciplined bhakti practice, we get from within the intelligence to remember that worldly pleasures are fleeting, whereas spiritual joys are lasting, in fact, everlasting. By such intelligence, we can persevere till the trough of the inner sine wave passes, and the appearance of its crest makes accessing higher joys easier.
Pertinently, the Gita (14.26) concludes its chapter on the modes by recommending that we transcend them by practicing uninterrupted bhakti-yoga. Over time, bhakti purifies us, situating us steadily in transcendence. Then the sinusoidal motions of our consciousness stop, and we become perennially joyful.
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