“That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.37)

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यत् तद् अग्रे विषम् इव
परिणामे ’मृतोपमम्
तत् सुखं सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तम्
आत्म-बुद्धि-प्रसाद-जम्

yat tad agre viṣam iva
pariṇāme ’mṛtopamam
tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam
ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam

“I am ready to follow bhakti-yoga. I have my yoga mat and everything. Just kidding. Did I get you? See what I did there? No, seriously, though, I do have a set of japa beads. I know how to chant the mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. I am ready to concentrate on the sounds, to dedicate some time, to hopefully progress to some period of dhyana, which is meditation.

“But let me take care of this one thing first. I promise, once this is out of the way, I will be all set. Is it a responsibility, you ask. No, I cautiously admit to you that it is a material desire. I want to really enjoy this new car that is coming out. I have had my eye on it for a long time. It sounds silly, but I care about what people think when they see me pull up in the parking lot to the office.

“I admire the craftmanship, the aesthetic appeal, the attention paid to luxury and comfort, and of course the name of the brand. Honestly, once women see me seated in one of these things, I will have a difficult time fending them off. All of my problems will be solved. Let me indulge this last desire, and then I vow to follow the meaning to life, to devote myself to changing consciousness for the better, for experiencing a higher taste.”

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते
निराहारस्य देहिनः
रस-वर्जं रसो ऽप्य् अस्य
परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते

viṣayā vinivartante
nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso ‘py asya
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.59)

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that when it comes to bhoga, there is never a point at which there is enough. Enjoyment of the senses, indulging the urges that begin from childhood, is a losing proposition in the long run.

We can make a simple experiment out of it. Perhaps I am craving pizza for dinner. A fresh pie, right out of the oven. Let me try to enjoy the same, every day for a week. Will I be happier, as a result? Will my mind be at peace? Will life’s problems suddenly vanish? Will I stumble upon a new outlook?

आपूर्यमाणम् अचल-प्रतिष्ठं
समुद्रम् आपः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्
तद्वत् कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिम् आप्नोति न काम-कामी

āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ
samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat
tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve
sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī

“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.70)

The sane approach is to apply some kind of a limit. In the discipline of yoga, this is known as anartha-nivritti. Removing those things which are not profitable. It can also be part of the yama and niyama. It is self-control. Understanding and respecting that the human being has the capacity to apply logic and reasoning for reaching a better condition. If I know better, then I should act better.

Shri Krishna describes that happiness in the mode of goodness, sattva-guna, is like poison in the beginning. This means that we are following something unwanted. According to our understanding, it is not bhoga. It may not necessarily be tyaga in the explicit sense, where we are giving something up, but we follow the activities more so because higher authorities recommend them.

The benefit here is that the poison can turn into nectar. It has happened. It continues to happen. It will happen again in the future. People have experienced the transformation. They provide living evidence to support the principle. They began in something that was not agreeable and soon it turned into the most blissful activity.

With the path of bhoga this will never happen. We may try and try. We mistakenly think that all we need is a recalibration. This one last desire and no more. If I change the subject of my interest, that perhaps my category is amiss, then everything will change. But as Prahlada Maharaja describes, this approach is like chewing that which has had all of the taste already extracted from it. The returns are linearly diminishing.

“One day will come when death will finish everything, and the living entity will have to enter another body to begin another chapter of life and again begin the cycle of material sense gratification. Prahlada Maharaja describes this process as punah punash charvita-charvananam (SB 7.5.30). Materialistic life means chewing the chewed again and again.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.27.14 Purport)

In Closing:

No matter how much to try,
When on bhoga to rely.

Then disappointed in the end,
In fruitless endeavor to spend.

Yoga discipline targeting at the start,
To control the urges the way smart.

While poison at first faced,
Soon like nectar to taste.

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