In today’s materialistic culture, countless images of attractive sense objects allure us incessantly. Our mind imagines that the pleasure therein is immense and irresistible. Believing our imagination, we crave and slave to get those objects.

However, sense pleasure always remains disappointingly meager. Why? Because our body’s capacity to enjoy is limited – inalterably limited, independent of the attractiveness of the sense object. We may have the grandest feast available, but our stomach’s capacity to take in food stays limited. That’s why, no matter how much the hype, sense pleasure ends frustratingly fast.

And sense pleasure ends not with pleasure, but with trouble. Why? Because sensual indulgence inflames our craving for sense objects. Over time, such cravings can become maddeningly unbearable, making us hooked, even addicted.

Addictive desires make us enjoy sense pleasure excessively. By abusing our body to extract more pleasure than what it can naturally give, we weaken and damage it. People who overeat habitually soon become more disease-prone.

Moreover, addictive cravings can numb our moral sense, goad us into wrongdoings, and set us up for grave karmic consequences.

Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (05.22) warns that sensual pleasure is the womb of misery – understanding this, the wise don’t delight in such pleasure.

Then, are we meant to live without pleasure? No; we are meant to seek and savor infinite spiritual pleasure.

Spiritual pleasure is best attained by devotionally connecting our essence, our soul, with the supreme soul, Krishna, who is the reservoir of all pleasure. We as souls are eternal; Krishna is eternal; and our loving connection, once established, can be eternal, thus granting us everlasting joy.

By remembering that sensual pleasures end, and end with trouble, we can strengthen our conviction to practice bhakti-yoga undistractedly. The resulting purification will gradually grant us absorption in Krishna and the supreme satisfaction thereof.

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