We sometimes face problems that seem to hunt us externally and passions that seem to haunt us internally.

Hunted: We may feel attacked by problems due to misunderstandings with others (adhibhautika klesha) and environmental misery ranging from unpleasant weather to natural disasters (adhidaivika klesha).

Haunted: The passions of the mind like lust, anger and greed may possess us and push us towards self-defeating acts (a major part of adhyatmika klesha).

When we thus feel hunted and haunted, Gita wisdom shows us how we can transcend them.

Transcended: Being beloved children of Krishna, we are meant to delight eternally in a transcendental life of love that lies beyond the body and the mind. Krishna aids us in tasting transcendence by providing facilities and impetuses. He provides facilities in the form of spiritual manifestations like the holy names, Deities and scriptures. Unfortunately, we don’t avail of these facilities due to our material preoccupations. So, he provides us impetuses in the form of the threefold miseries.

Of course, Krishna doesn’t cause those miseries; our own past bad karma does. But he arranges those miseries so that they also act as impetuses for us to seek his shelter. When we thus become conscious of him, he empowers us to transcend misery, as the Bhagavad-gita (18.58) declares. By experiencing solace and strength in remembering him, we become convinced that transcendence is for real. This realization enables us to deal with the miseries without undue disturbance. More importantly, it also inspires us to accelerate our journey back to Krishna’s abode, where we transcend all miseries forever.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Text 58

“If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.”