Suppose we need to choose between paths A and B, wherein A will take us to a good place and B to a bad place. What will motivate us to choose well? Both desire and fear: desire for the good destination and fear of the bad destination.
The Bhagavad-gita’s sixteenth chapter combines both these motivators by outlining first the virtues of the godly nature and then the vices of the ungodly nature, thereby inspiring us to act wisely (16.24). Though both desire and fear can motivate effectively, their motivating potency can vary in different situations.
When desire motivates more than fear: Suppose we think that our present character is ok and that we don’t need to develop any virtue. Then, we can motivate ourselves with an appealing vision of the positive power of virtue. Suppose we don’t consider the virtue of equanimity too important. But we meet someone who stays remarkably calm amid life’s upheavals and thereby gets things done competently even amid duress. Observing them may inspire us to strive for greater equanimity, as the Gita repeatedly recommends (02.39, 05.20, 12.19).
When fear motivates more than desire: Suppose we have some vice whose dangerousness we deny or downplay. Then, we can motivate ourselves with an alarming vision of how that vice might delude, degrade or even destroy us. Suppose we speak rashly or harshly whenever we are annoyed, and we don’t consider such verbal incontinence a big problem. But we meet someone whose impulsive words have wrecked an important relationship in their life. Observing them can motivate us to strive for greater verbal discipline, as the Gita recommends (17.15).
One-sentence summary:
Contemplate seriously both the benefits of cultivating virtue and the dangers of condoning vice — and let the resulting desire or fear or both motivate us toward self-transformation.
Think it over:
- What two forces can motivate us for self-transformation?
- Is there any virtue that you can cultivate by using desire as a motivator?
- Is there any vice that you can curb by using fear as a motivator?
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16.24: One should therefore understand what is duty and what is not duty by the regulations of the scriptures. Knowing such rules and regulations, one should act so that he may gradually be elevated.
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