In the underworld, when anyone joins a gang and becomes an active member in its questionable or criminal activities, such joining is often a path of no return. The gang won’t let a member go, and the more a person has done for the gang, the more the gang becomes unrelenting, even tormenting or threatening that person if they try to leave. Eventually, that person may start believing that staying on is actually easier and safer than leaving.
When we indulge in sensual pleasures, we are also entering into a situation similar to the underworld—where the path out is far more difficult than the path in. The forces of illusion, which conspire to allure us, simply do not want to let us go. The Bhagavad-gita points to this in 7.14 when declaring that the forces of illusion, driven as they are by the illusory energy, have powers that can seem as formidable as the powers of the Divine—making them almost impossible to overcome.
Whenever we indulge in sensual pleasures, it’s not merely a personal matter of what we are doing. We become examples, and sometimes even agents, for the forces of illusion to expand their tentacles and allure others. Just by seeing others indulge, people may feel inspired to indulge, too. Sometimes we may knowingly or unknowingly become advocates for indulgence through our words and actions—just as a person who gets hooked on drugs may not only take drugs privately but may also begin dealing those drugs. This sometimes happens because they innocently or ignorantly believe the drugs actually give pleasure, but more often because they need money, and drug peddling becomes a convenient, though dangerous, way of earning it.
The more we indulge, the more we become instruments for spreading the forces of illusion. The more we act as instruments for these forces, the tighter their grip becomes, ensuring we can never escape their hold. Even if we do somehow get out, the forces’ attempts to reclaim us grow more relentless and vicious.
If we consider addiction from the broader perspective of a war between the forces of illusion and reality, we can begin to understand why addiction is so difficult to break. What binds us to a substance and its meager pleasures is not just a weakness of will; it is that we are targeted by forces far bigger than ourselves.
Just as the safest way for a gang member to escape a gang is to enter a witness protection program, where they are protected by trustworthy, competent law enforcement officers, we too can seek protection from addiction by placing ourselves in the care of the Supreme Lord. Like a witness protection program, this may involve taking on a new identity and building a life significantly different from our previous one so that the underworld—the forces of illusion—cannot locate or target us.
To break free from the clutches of addiction, we need to surrender to the Supreme Lord, as emphasized in Bhagavad-gita 7.14, and become devoted to his service. When we come under his protection, we are no longer solely dependent on our own efforts to rid ourselves of the desires that relentlessly pursue us. Additionally, we need to build a new life—finding new friends, adopting healthier habits, and even moving to environments that are more conducive to a life free from addiction.
In our commitment to spiritual growth, we may also choose to take spiritual initiation, receiving a new name and thereby acquiring a new identity. Through such a radical transformation, we stand the best chance of overcoming the forces of addiction that might otherwise haunt us indefinitely.
Thankfully, by taking shelter of the Lord and becoming devoted to him, each one of us can permanently break free from the clutches of addictive desires, no matter how formidable or forceful those clutches may have been in the past.
Summary:
Indulging in sensual pleasure, especially in those pleasures that have the potential to become addictive and destructive, is like entering the underworld and joining a gang. It is often a path of no return, or at least a path from which return is extremely difficult. Just as a gang won’t let go of a former member—especially if that member has done a lot of work for the gang—the forces of illusion are equally unwilling to let go of us when we strive for an indulgence-free or addiction-free life. Our continued indulgence makes us examples or even advocates, knowingly or unknowingly, for others to be recruited by the forces of illusion.
Just as the safest way for a gang member to break free is to enter a witness protection program with a reliable law enforcement agency, acquire a new identity, and start a new life, the best way to break free from addictive pleasures is to surrender to the almighty Lord, who is both competent and caring enough to protect us from the force of illusion. Through his service, we can begin a new life centered on habits and environments more conducive to an addiction-free existence and can even acquire a new identity through spiritual association and initiation.
Think it over:
- Reflect on how a life of indulgence may make us, or has made us, an instrument for the forces of illusion to tempt others toward indulgence.
- Explain, using the underworld metaphor, why addictive desires are so difficult to break free from.
- Explain, with the same metaphor, how you can break free from a desire that has been persistently pursuing you for a long time.
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07.14 This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
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