Material Letdown And Spiritual Nreakdown, Diksha Mataji (Gita Daily)

Based on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 38

“What’s wrong with a bit of indulgence as long as one is not harming anyone?” This utilitarian-seeming rationale sometimes tempts us to transgress the moral boundaries given in the scriptures.

Gita wisdom gives the surprising response that our immoral indulgence harms at least one person for sure: ourselves. The Bhagavad-gita (18.38) states that passionate indulgences which seem initially like nectar turn out eventually to be like poison. What does this poison refer to? At one level, it refers to the karmic consequences that we will have to undergo in due course of time. But even without considering the eventual karmic consequences, we can understand this poison in terms of its two immediate consequences: material letdown and spiritual breakdown.

1. Material Letdown: Material pleasures rarely, if ever, live up to the hype that our media and our mind accord them. Despite the dreaming and scheming that precede them for a duration extending from hours to years, the actual indulgence ends within moments, and we are left feeling disappointed at best and cheated at worst.