Category:Desires of a Conditioned Soul
Theme Analysis
The category "Desires of a Conditioned Soul" elucidates the psychological and ontological root of material existence. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the conditioned soul (jīva) is not native to the material atmosphere; rather, the soul enters this realm due to a specific, rebellious desire to imitate the Supreme Lord. This desire to "lord it over" material nature acts as the seed for all subsequent suffering. The material world is described as a facility created by the Lord to allow these souls to act out their fantasies of control and enjoyment, yet the mechanism is such that these very desires bind them to the cycle of birth and death (saṁsāra).
The quotes highlight that while the soul is eternal, it accepts temporary bodies like changing dresses to fulfill specific lusty desires. When one body is worn out or insufficient, nature provides another, ensuring the continuity of material bondage. The only escape from this cycle is the transformation of desire—from the exploitation of matter to the service of Kṛṣṇa.
- The Imitation of Godhead: The foundational error of the conditioned soul is the ambition to be the master. Driven by the mode of passion, the soul seeks to control resources, demand adoration, and enjoy independently of the Supreme.
- Lust as the Binding Force: This desire for control manifests primarily as sex desire and greed. These cravings are described as "dirty things" in the heart that blind the soul, forcing it to accept repeated birth and death.
- The Futility of Material Endeavor: Despite the intense struggle for existence, material desires never bring satisfaction. They are compared to climbing a hill of thorns; the result is inevitably frustration, misery, and further entanglement.
- Purification via Service: The cycle is broken not by stopping desire (which is impossible for a living being), but by purifying it. When the soul abandons the foolish attempt to lord over nature and engages in bhakti-yoga, the heart is cleansed, and the original spiritual position is restored.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Conditioned Souls Desire to Lord Over Nature.
Pages in category "Desires of a Conditioned Soul"
The following 54 pages are in this category, out of 54 total.
A
- A conditioned soul falsely thinks himself happy in the material world, but if he is favored by the instructions of an unalloyed devotee, he gives up his desire for material enjoyment and becomes enlightened in Krsna consciousness
- A person desiring to cross over these ritualistic ceremonies certainly feels pains like the piercing of thorns and pebbles endured by one attempting to climb a hill. Thus the conditioned soul suffers unlimitedly
- All conditioned souls are mad after these (profit, adoration and distinction) different forms of sex desire, and one shall see for himself how much he has been freed from such material hankerings based primarily on the sex desire
C
- Conditioned soul means one who has accepted something illusion as reality. Conditioned means that due to imperfect desires the spirit soul becomes dependent on material conditions for his satisfaction
- Conditioned souls are generally bereft of intelligence because of profound desires for sense gratification. They do not know what benedictions to ask. Therefore nondevotees are advised in the sastras to worship the demigods to achieve material benefits
G
- Generally a conditioned soul has the determination for material profit, but when these desires for material profit are satisfied through performance of yajna, one gradually achieves the spiritual platform. Then his life becomes perfect
- Generally, all conditioned souls in the material encagement are influenced by the mode of passion because every one of them is trying to lord it over the material nature to fulfill his individual desire
H
- He (conditioned soul) can know that his eternal position is to render service unto the Lord and not to the perverted senses in the capacity of lust, anger, desire to lord it over, etc
- He (the conditioned soul) is actually meant to serve the will of the Supreme Lord, but on account of the dirty things in the heart, he likes to serve his concocted desires
- He (the conditioned soul) must give up the foolish idea of becoming one with the Lord and the desire to have some wonderful powers just to get the ephemeral adoration of the world
- He (the conditioned soul) thus (raised upon the lap of a woman, his good senses are overcome by the force of passion) becomes almost blind with lusty desire and disobeys the rules and regulations governing sex life
- Herein (SB 8.24.52) the reason for foolishness is described. Because the conditioned soul in this material world is full of materialistic lusty desires, he cannot understand the SP of Godhead, although the Lord is situated in everyone's heart - BG 18.61
I
- If a bona fide listener hears of Krsna's pastimes with the gopis, which seem to be lusty affairs, the lusty desires in his heart, which constitute the heart disease of the conditioned soul, will be vanquished, and he will become a most exalted devotee
- In one life the conditioned soul desires to progress toward a certain objective, but after his body changes, he forgets everything. Nonetheless, my Lord, because he wanted to enjoy something of this world, You remind him of this in his next birth
- In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive results of work is so deep-rooted that it is very difficult even for the great sages to control such desires, despite great endeavors. BG 1972 purports
- In the conditioned state of life, the body is used as our dress, and as one needs different dresses during the summer and winter, we conditioned souls are changing bodies according to our desires
- In the material world the struggle for existence and survival of the fittest are laws because in the material world there is disparity between conditioned souls due to everyone's desire to lord it over the material resources
- In this way the conditioned soul becomes the servant of lusty desires, and when these are not fulfilled, he becomes the servant of anger and continues to be kicked by the external energy, maya
N
- No one can argue about when and how the conditioned soul became desirous of sense enjoyment, but the cause is there
- Not knowing this (that his activities are being observed by different stars and planets and are being recorded), the conditioned soul commits all kinds of sinful activities for the satisfaction of his lusty desires
O
- O my Lord, You are the master and leader of all living entities. Under Your direction, all conditioned souls, as if bound by rope, are constantly engaged in satisfying their desires
- One cannot trace out the history of when the conditioned soul first desired to lord it over material nature, but in Vedic literature we always find that the material creation is meant for the sense enjoyment of the conditioned soul
S
T
- The ambitious conditioned soul wants to be very happy in this material world with his family, but he is compared to a traveler in the forest who desires to climb a hill full of thorns and small stones
- The conditioned soul has desires, and the Supreme Soul fulfills them, but the conditioned soul is unable to see the Supreme Soul. Thus Prajapati Daksa offers his obeisances to the Supreme Soul, the Supersoul, even though unable to see Him
- The conditioned soul is encircled by such products (unwanted engagements), as well as products of sex desire, and bhakti-yoga leads to gradual evaporation of the sex desire, which is summarized in three headings, namely profit, adoration and distinction
- The conditioned souls who have come into contact with the material world are all more or less desirous of lording it over material nature
- The conditioned souls who have come to the material world to fulfill their desires to lord it over material nature are bound by the laws of nature. The best course is to abide by the Vedic rules; that will help one to be gradually elevated to liberation
- The creation and annihilation of the material worlds is a regular action of God just to allow the conditioned souls to play and create their own fate of being differently created again in terms of their independent desires at the time of annihilation
- The creation is not false, but it is a temporary manifestation just to give a chance for the conditioned souls to go back to Godhead. The desire to go back to Godhead and functions performed in that direction form the right path of work
- The demigods are amongst the conditioned souls who have developed this pure consciousness of service to the Lord but who at the same time continue to desire to lord it over the material energy
- The ever-conditioned soul, provoked by lusty desires to enjoy the material world, is forced to transmigrate from one body to another
- The grossest type of anartha which binds the conditioned soul in material existence is sex desire, and this sex desire gradually develops in the union of the male and female
- The laws of nature are not subservient to the whimsical desires of the conditioned soul. Our endeavor, therefore, should be to associate always with sattva-guna and not indulge in rajo-guna or tamo-guna - rajas-tamo-bhavah - SB 1.2.19
- The mahat-tattva cloud of the material creation, in which the conditioned souls, who want to lord it against the will of the Lord, are put into play as they desire under the control of the Lord by the agency of His external energy
- The mind of the conditioned soul, on account of its association with the material energy contains heaps of dirt in the form of desires to lord it over material nature. This dirt is like a mountain, but a mountain can be shattered when hit by a thunderbolt
- The plan is to give the conditioned souls who so desire a chance to enjoy sense gratification
- The system of varnasrama & its prescribed duties are so designed that the conditioned soul may enjoy in the material world according to his desire for sense gratification & at the same time gradually become elevated to spiritual understanding
- The Vedic principles are designed in such a way that the conditioned souls who have come to this material existence may be guided in fulfilling their material desires and at the same time be liberated and go back to Godhead, back home
- The whole world is Krsna's property. The material world is a field of activities for the corrupt conditioned souls who desire to enjoy in imitation of the Supreme
- Therefore by enmity or by devotional service, by fear, by affection or by lusty desire - by all of these or any one of them - if a conditioned soul somehow or other concentrates his mind upon the Lord, the result is the same
- These desires, instead of giving him (the conditioned soul) any peace of mind, create new problems and thus bind him to the cycle of repeated birth and death
- These temples, they are just like oasis in the desert for the conditioned souls to quench the thirst of their desire for real happiness
- This contamination in the heart of a conditioned soul becomes manifest in the form of lusty desires and greed for material possessions
W
- When such a living entity comes under the jurisdiction of the material energy, he is sent into one of the innumerable material universes created by the material energy to give a chance to conditioned souls to fulfill their desires in the material world
- Wherever a king goes, he is supposed to be accompanied by his queen, but when the king, or conditioned soul, becomes greatly overpowered by the desire for sense gratification, he does not care for religious principles
- Within this material world the conditioned soul has desires and acts in accordance with these desires. All these acts are observed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead