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What is Lust ?
From Spiritual Warrior II
Transforming Lust into Love by HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami Krishnapada
(Part 3 of 4) Submitted by Manoj
Triumphing over Lust
We must watch ourselves carefully if we are to escape the clutches of lust. To halt the downward progression of our consciousness, we must not allow our lust to degrade into anger and self-perpetuating illusion, from which it is extremely difficult to escape. People who have conquered lust can accomplish amazing feats, because their self-control connects them with the energy of love. They become empowered spiritual warriors who are extremely difficult to defeat. On the other hand, those under the influence of lust are easily manipulated. For example, a boxer may deliberately try to make his opponent angry in order to cause him to lose control and lunge, with no thought for the consequences. This is just what the fighter wants: to have his opponent open and undefended, ready for defeat.
Material energy, in the guise of the devil or maya, likes to make people lose control so that they become easy prey. Consequently, we must monitor ourselves, being careful not to allow lust to make us lose mastery over any situation. Like the boxer just mentioned, a warrior who loses control becomes a casualty. A soldier who gets angry on the battlefield may suddenly leap out of his foxhole and run toward the enemy, shouting, "I'm going to kill everybody!" Of course, it is he who will soon be dead.
To avoid falling into these traps, and to live fully as human beings, we must learn to control our lust by regulating the senses. Lust hides out in the senses, looking for a chance to take advantage of us. It can cause us to lose every ounce of equilibrium and stability we have and can drive us to commit the most heinous actions, even murder or suicide. As we have seen, the more we give in to lust, the more difficult it is the next time to resist, and the more enslaved and conditioned we become-to the point that we may spend the rest of our lives in its clutches.
The senses function in an interesting way. They can be compared to horses pulling a chariot, each one straining in a different direction to make the chariot move. Any one horse pulling too strongly can cause disaster. The senses are so powerful that any unregulated or improperly controlled situation can cause an individual to commit sinful actions.
What holds our senses-the horses-in check? It is the mind, governed by the intelligence when it is in contact with the soul. The intelligence, as just mentioned, is our faculty of discernment. Human beings function according to an ascending hierarchy in the following order: the senses, the mind, the intelligence and finally the soul. Like a skillful enemy, lust hides out in the senses, the mind and the intelligence, waiting for an opportunity to dominate us and cover our awareness of the soul.
The mind serves as an intermediary between the intelligence and the senses, and accepts or rejects stimulation from the environment according to the quality, caliber and strength of our intelligence.
In response to the environment, the senses-the eyes, nose, ears, mouth and genitals-send messages to the mind, demanding that the mind arrange for their gratification. The mind is constantly engaged in accepting one demand and rejecting another-accepting, rejecting, accepting, rejecting. An insufficiently strong mind will give in to the senses repeatedly. However, a strong mind will refuse to become a slave to the senses.
We often have difficulty keeping the mind under control, even when we manage to refrain from speaking inappropriately or to stop ourselves from taking an unwise action. Everything in our lives is based on quality of mind: who we are now, who we were before, who we are going to be and to what degree we are bound or liberated. The mind either interferes with self-realization or serves the soul. It can be our greatest enemy or our greatest friend. Nothing is more devastating than a mind out of control, because the mind knows all of our secrets. An enemy who is this close to us can be very destructive! But a mind under control becomes our greatest friend for the same reason: it knows us intimately. A close friend is a source of great comfort and support. The mind's choice of direction is up to each of us.
How do we develop a strong mind? We do so by backing up the mind with the intelligence, which acts as the moral factor. The senses may have a particular desire and give the mind orders to arrange to have that desire fulfilled. However, the intelligence warns the mind, "But if you do so, these are the consequences." When the intelligence is connected with transcendental knowledge, it has sufficient power to harness the wild mind. In such circumstances, the mind will calm down and regulate the senses properly. But if the intelligence is weak, the mind will not listen. Instead, it will fall prey to the dictates of the senses.
When we have gained sufficient mastery of the senses by developing a strong mind and intelligence, we can elevate our consciousness. On the other hand, if we lack mastery, we will find ourselves on a downward slope toward animal-like behavior. Animals are extremely concerned with territorial rights, attacking others to protect their sovereignty. Humans in a low state of consciousness act in the same way. We attain a significant point in our evolution when we can break out of these animalistic shackles. We do so by developing our intelligence and tempering it with humility. Humility is a powerful weapon, because it opens us up to greater love, concern and compassion, so that we naturally become more interested in the welfare of others. Without humility, we fall prey to an inflated idea of our own importance and seek unabashedly to fulfill our egocentric desires.
Regulation of our senses steadies us in such a way that we can deal calmly with any situation without losing our higher consciousness. Each challenge simply becomes an opportunity to use the mastery we have developed. If we have such mastery, God will always give us an opportunity to practice it. If we really want to love God more and more, He will give us many challenges and tests that allow us to grow. If our mastery is weak or if our motivations are mixed, we will not pass these tests and will quickly revert to our bad patterns.
Spiritual Strength Conquers the Senses
Ultimately, then, we control lust by spiritual means. The intelligence, mind and senses must be subject to direction from the soul. As the Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 3.43) explains, "Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence ... one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence and thus-by spiritual strength-conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust."
Our physical bodies are actually prison suits not directly associated with God. In the Bible, the Book of Corinthians says that we have a terrestrial form and a celestial one. While we are in the terrestrial body, we are away from God. The body-with its senses, mind and intelligence-makes relentless demands upon us, and our soul has to deal with this continuous onslaught. That is why the scriptures warn us to master our senses and not to identify with our immediate environment. If we do not control our senses, identifying with our material surroundings instead, we will be pulled in many directions simultaneously and lose our balance. The qualities of simplicity, renunciation and austerity, which are a part of all spiritual systems, can help us detach from such temptations and overcome lust. They allow the soul, rather than our senses, to direct our actions.
The Supersoul in the Heart
Whenever the soul is in charge rather than the senses, it is because we have become receptive to the Lord's will. Indeed, the Lord never abandons us. An active, loving presence of God listens, watches, observes and guides us from within-if we are willing to listen. In Christianity, this presence is known as the Holy Spirit, and in the Vedic tradition it is called the Supersoul. The Supersoul communicates with the individual soul within each of us whenever we make ourselves available. This is a wonderful state of affairs, because it means that God is close enough to hear us when we are lonely and to appreciate us when no one else seems to care. In fact, the Lord's presence in the heart is the only real comfort we have. External supports may disappoint us when we need them the most, but God will never fail us-although we may fail God by not taking advantage of His love and protection.
Clinging to our own personal will only causes one problem after another. Ultimately, the way to gain mastery over the senses and begin the transformation of lust into love is to surrender to the Lord, praying, "Thy will be done." In this way we become receptive to the guidance of the Supersoul. When we practice this prayer of surrender, we become more detached from our own will and more available to God.
How do we attain a state of surrender that seems so remote from our current situation? Several steps are available to us. First of all, we must become more willing to abide by the laws of the spiritual world. We must also associate with spiritual people who can guide us and remind us of our commitments. Finally, we must not allow anything or anyone-including our own mind and intelligence-to impede our progress toward the goal of loving and serving God.
Sometimes, even our closest friends may prove to be obstacles. At other times, the obstacle may take the form of money, and on other occasions our own husband, wife or children may stand in the way. Their resistance may become so intense that every time we engage in spiritual activities, they complain, "Why are you always reading spiritual books? Why do you always meditate? Why do you just want to go and pray or chant whenever we want to do something?"
Such people are really saying, "Why does it have to be God all the time? Why not me?" A husband who wants his wife to devote all her attention to him may try to push God out of the way. A wife may behave in a similar manner. But no one can compete with God, and we are all held responsible for our choices. Our environments have been arranged by the Lord as part of our tests to ascertain our behavior in each situation.
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