The five evils

Krishna explains in seven slokas of the Gita that it8217;s excessive desire or craving kama that is the worst enemy of one who wishes to ...

Krishna explains in seven slokas of the Gita that it8217;s excessive desire or craving kama that is the worst enemy of one who wishes to lead a life of dharma. Each of these seven slokas reiterates the need to control desire which is like an insatiable fire. Kama is the foremost of the five evils of kama, krodha, moha, lobha and ahankara lust, anger, attachment, greed and pride.

All tensions and quarrels arise from these negative emotions and the key to a harmonious life is to discipline desire as soon as it arises.

Of course, kama is also one of the purusharthas dharma, artha, kama, moksha. These four universal human goals are: 1. Following the rule of morality. 2. Earning wealth. 3. Satisfying our desires. 4. Trying for release from repeated births. Of these, dharma has to be the guiding principle while going after money, desire or liberation. Desires not guided by dharma are destructive of our peace and happiness.

Our senses indriyah are the doors that allow the sight and sounds of this world into our mind. Our mind is like the screen on which scenes of a film are projected. Our senses are only performing their function of registering everything that goes on around us. Our mind manah reacts by holding on to the pleasurable sensations and avoids pain.

We share this with all other creatures since all living beings have a rudimentary, instinctive mind. But man is endowed with a higher faculty called buddhi intelligence. This is the capacity to discriminate and judge whether a sense input is to be encouraged and whether it is morally commendable.

Just as we go to school to learn various subjects, we have to be trained in ethical behaviour. Many families have feuds over property precisely because of greed arising from moha. They delude themselves that it is smart to fight for every inch of property and jewellery. It is a delusion because whatever you are entitled to, will come to you whether you want it or not, according to the law of karma. Yet people delude themselves that material things bring more happiness than the affection of brothers and sisters.

They delude themselves that by handing out patrimony or ancestral wealth, their children will be happy. This is not true either, because the youngster who knows that he is inheriting family wealth rarely puts effort into his studies. All these stereotyped thoughts are propagated by social gossip and they cloud our intelligence and result in moha.

Excerpted from 8216;Tattvaloka8217; magazine, May 2004