Suppose a kidnapped person is running away from their abductors. If suddenly they feel themselves being pulled backwards, they will look sharply to discern what is happening. If they see that a lasso thrown by the abductors has fallen around them, they will immediately look for some way to cut it. If they have a knife, they will use it and break free.

We need to do something similar whenever we find ourselves being pulled suddenly from spiritual growth to sensual gratification. We are souls who have been abducted by the forces of illusion, which entice and ensnare us by promising immense pleasure in sensual indulgence – pleasure that never materializes. When we gain spiritual knowledge from the Bhagavad-gita, we understand our bound condition and strive to break free by practicing the most potent process for spiritual liberation, bhakti-yoga.

However, our past desires frequently bind us (Gita 16.12). While we are progressing on the spiritual path, these desires fall on us like lassos and suddenly pull our consciousness from the spiritual to the sensual. Because this lasso is invisible, we frequently don’t understand what is happening; we just become disheartened, deeming ourselves too fallen to persevere on the spiritual path.

But we don’t have to become disheartened – we have a knife to cut the lasso. Bhakti wisdom equips us with the sword of remembrance of Krishna. Whenever we remember him, that remembrance connects with the all-powerful supreme, thus calming and clarifying our consciousness. Moreover, because Krishna is the all-attractive source of all pleasure, his remembrance gives us a higher satisfaction that makes worldly indulgences less alluring.

Therefore, whenever our desires change suddenly, we needn’t become disheartened; we can instead become determined to remember Krishna, thereby protecting and advancing our spiritual freedom.

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