Manage desires
Published:
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 59:
Sanskrit:
विṣया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः। रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते॥
Transliteration:
Viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ Rasavarjaṁ raso’pyasya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate
Translation:
The objects of the senses withdraw from a person who abstains from them, but the taste for them remains. However, even this taste ceases when one realizes the Supreme.
Commentary:
This verse explains the power of spiritual realization in overcoming attachment to sensory pleasures. Renunciation through self-control may temporarily withdraw a person’s indulgence in sense objects, but the inner craving (rasa) for them can persist. True renunciation happens only when one experiences the higher, transcendent joy of spiritual realization (paraṁ dṛṣṭvā). This higher satisfaction makes the lower pleasures insignificant and unattractive.
In essence, the verse emphasizes the transformation of desires through spiritual enlightenment rather than suppression or forced detachment.