Category:Desiring Sense Gratification
Theme Analysis
The desire for sense gratification is the fundamental cause of the living entity's entanglement in the material world. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that desire itself is an eternal function of the soul and cannot be stopped; however, its direction must be changed. This category explores the critical difference between material lust (kama) and spiritual love (prema). While the former is characterized by the desire to satisfy one's own senses, the latter is defined by the exclusive desire to satisfy the senses of the Supreme Lord.
- The Root of Material Existence: Material life begins when the living entity forgets their eternal service to God and develops a desire to enjoy independently. This selfish motivation forces the soul to accept various material bodies, from microbes to demigods, solely to facilitate different grades of sense gratification.
- The Illusion of Enjoyment: Although the conditioned soul strives for happiness through personal gratification, this pursuit only leads to frustration, anger, and further bondage. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that as long as there is even a "tinge" of personal desire, true peace remains unattainable because the soul is constitutionally a servant, not a master.
- Purification via Dovetailing: Renunciation does not mean the artificial negation of desire, which results in spiritual suicide or impersonalism. True liberation is achieved by "dovetailing" one's desires with the Supreme Will. When the senses are engaged in the service of the proprietor of the senses (Hṛṣīkeśa), the quality of desire transforms from material to spiritual.
- The Definition of Pure Love: The perfection of life is described as anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam—being devoid of all material desires. In this state, the devotee moves like a machine under the direction of the Supreme, wanting nothing for themselves and everything for Kṛṣṇa. This selfless service is the essence of pure love.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Distinction Between Pure Love and Desiring Sense Gratification.
Pages in category "Desiring Sense Gratification"
The following 125 pages are in this category, out of 125 total.
A
- A devotee does not at all desire anything for sense gratification. Devotion is explained as devoid of material desires - anyabhilasita-sunya
- A King is not meant simply to realize taxes from the citizens and accumulate wealth to spend in sense gratification. World monarchy has failed ever since kings began to satisfy their personal senses with the taxes accumulated from the citizens
- A Krsna conscious man - one who has lost all inclinations for material sense gratification, although the desires are present. BG 1972 purports
- A Krsna conscious person is always dovetailed with the supreme desire, for he has no desire for personal sense gratification. He moves exactly like a part of a machine. BG 1972 purports
- A person engaged in such pure devotional service neither desires anything for sense gratification, nor laments for any loss, nor hates anything, nor enjoys anything on his personal account, nor becomes very enthusiastic in material activity
- A person sometimes accepts the dress of a sannyasi or babaji in the renounced order, but he cannot give up desires for sense gratification, especially for the association of women. Such a person cannot make advancement in spiritual life
- A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego - he alone can attain real peace. BG 2.71 - 1972
- A pure devotee engaged in the service of Lord Krsna has no desire for his personal sense gratification, and thus he never accepts anything for that purpose
- According to Vaisnava philosophy, when a living entity desires to gratify his senses and forgets the service of the Lord, he is given a place in the material world to act freely according to his desire
- All desires within this material world are sinful because material desire means sense gratification, which always involves action that is more or less sinful
- All the regulative principles in the Vedas pertaining to desires for popularity, fatherhood, wealth and so on are different phases of sense gratification
- Although King Gaya had no personal desire for sense gratification, all his desires were fulfilled by virtue of his performance of Vedic rituals
- Although the grhastha desires sense gratification, he acts according to Vedic instructions. The grhamedhi, however, who is interested only in sense gratification, does not follow any Vedic instruction
- Always anxious to fulfill their unlimited desires for sense gratification, they (materialists) are conspicuous by their ability to exploit their fellow living beings
- Among the gopis, there is not a pinch of desire for sense gratification. Their only desire is to give pleasure to Krsna, and this is why they mingle with Him and enjoy with Him
- An insignificant insect has a desire for sense gratification and even a great personality like Lord Brahma also wants to dominate this material nature
- Any person who desires the fruits of the four principles religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, at the end, liberation, should engage himself in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Any person who is always desirous of fruitive results in religious or economic activities, whose only desire is sense gratification, and whose mind, life and senses are thus engaged, is in the mode of passion. BG 1972 purports
- As long as there is the slightest tinge of sense gratification or desire for sense gratification, peace will remain far, far away. This is because by nature we're all eternal servants of the SG & therefore cannot enjoy anything for our personal interests
- As long as we desire to enjoy sense gratification, we create material activities. When the living entity acts in the material field, he enjoys the senses, and while enjoying the senses, he creates another series of material activities
- At the end of one hundred years, one who has not acted as a human being in a life of tapasya (austerity & penance) must certainly be embodied again in a body like those of cats, dogs and hogs. This life of lusty desires and sense gratification is risky
B
- Because everything is done for Krsna, he (personalist) enjoys only transcendental happiness in the discharge of this service. Those who are engaged in this process are known to be without desire for personal sense gratification. BG 1972 purports
- Because we are part and parcel of Krsna, the quality of desire for sense gratification exists within us. But the difference is that we are trying to gratify our senses in the material world; therefore we are perverted
- Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this
- Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this. BG 2.42.43 - 1972
- Better situated are those who desire sense gratification and promotion to the heavenly planets. Such people want to enjoy themselves like denizens of heaven in the gardens of paradise. They at least retain their individuality in order to enjoy life
- Bhakti means when we engage our senses, in the service of the proprietor of the senses, that is our perfect life. but as soon as we desire to use our senses for the gratification of the senses, that is called karma. That is called material life
- By developing a loving desire for the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, we subdue all material desires for sense gratification
- By making plans with determination, one should give up lusty desires for sense gratification. Similarly, by giving up envy one should conquer anger, by discussing the disadvantages of accumulating wealth one should give up greed
D
- Desire cannot be negated, but in devotional service the desire is changed only for the service of the Lord in place of desire for sense gratification
- Desire for overlording and sense gratification are the greatest enemies of the conditioned soul; but by the strength of Krsna consciousness, one can control the material senses, the mind and the intelligence. BG 1972 purports
- Desire you cannot stop. That is not possible. So long you are, your desires are there. Desire should be purified. When I desire to gratify my senses, that is material. When I desire to satisfy Krsna, that is spiritual
- Devoid of desire for sense gratification
- Dhruva Mahārāja is advised that if he has no desire for sense gratification, then he should directly engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The path of apavarga, or liberation, begins from the stage called moksa
H
- He (a human being) is therefore directed by the Vedic regulative principles to work in such a way that he may fulfill his desires for sense gratification and at the same time gradually become freed from material bondage
- He (the svami or gosvami) must be master of his senses. This is possible when one does not desire any material sense gratification. If, by chance, the senses want to work independently, he must control them
- He is anyabhilasita-sunya: a devotee is always devoid of all desires for sense gratification. His only aim is to satisfy or gratify the senses of the Lord. That is the difference between a karmi and a devotee
- Here in the material world, material nature forces the living entity to change his body due to his different desires for sense gratification
- Here it is authoritative statement that no one can become a yogi unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification. This is the first condition
I
- If a devotee desires material religiosity, economic development, sense gratification or liberation from the material world, he is awarded these results
- If a woman is fortunate enough to be the wife of a pure devotee, she can serve her husband without any desire for sense gratification
- In a liberated condition, there is no distinction between actions for sense gratification and actions for liberation. When one is liberated from the desires of sense gratification, he has no longer to suffer the reactions of lamentation or illusion
- In a spiritual relationship, sense gratification is most insignificant. Anyone who desires a relationship of perverted sense gratification with Krsna must be considered less intelligent. His mentality requires to be reformed
- In any case, the material bodies of all animals and men are foreign to the living entity. They change according to the living entity's desire for sense gratification. In the cycle of evolution, the living entity changes bodies one after another
- In material life everyone is desirous of sense gratification; therefore, a person who gets an object of sense gratification without endeavor should not refuse to accept it
- In the Bhagavad-gita (7.23) it is said that only unintelligent, bewildered persons driven by a strong desire for sense gratification worship the demigods for the temporary relief of temporary problems
- In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is recommended that whether one's desires liberation from material contamination, or is a pure devotee and has no desire for material sense gratification, he should in all cases surrender to Vasudeva and worship Him. BG 1972 p
- In the Vaikuntha planets all the residents are similar in form to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They all engage in devotional service to the Lord without desires for sense gratification
- In this material world we desire sense enjoyment, but without Krsna or without KC there is no possibility of sense enjoyment. We may have strong arms and legs, but when there is no consciousness - when there is no KC - we cannot even utilize them
- It is not possible to become desireless. The desire for sense gratification must be overcome by the process of purification, but desire for Krsna should be cultivated. It is simply that we have to transfer the desire
K
- Kardama Muni wanted to have a wife of like disposition because a wife is necessary to assist in spiritual and material advancement. It is said that a wife yields the fulfillment of all desires in religion, economic development and sense gratification
- Karmis are simply full of desires because they try to enjoy sense gratification. They are not peaceful in this life, nor the next, during the past, present or future
- Kaviraja Krsnadasa, explains the distinction between lusty desire and the service attitude here: " 'Lusty desire' refers to the desire to gratify one's senses, and 'transcendental desire' refers to the desire for serving the senses of the Lord"
L
- Life's desires should never be directed toward sense gratification. One should desire only a healthy life, or self-preservation, since a human being is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be the goal of one's works
- Lord Krsna said, "Such unattached persons haven't the least desire to accumulate wealth and prosperity for sense gratification, but sometimes they are found to collect money just to exhibit the exemplary life of a householder"
- Lusty desire refers to the desire to gratify one's personal senses, and transcendental desire refers to the desire for serving the senses of the Lord
- Lusty desire' refers to the desire to gratify one's personal senses, and 'transcendental desire' refers to the desire for serving the senses of the Lord
M
- Marriage is a concession for people who are unable to control their senses. Raghunatha, being an advanced devotee of Krsna, naturally had no desire for sense gratification. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised him not to enter the bondage of marriage
- Material existence begins with the illusioned bodily conception of life, and on the basis of this conception there ensues a series of unwanted things (anarthas). These unwanted things are actually mental desires for various types of sense gratification
- Material life means - when you desire to gratify your senses, that is material life. And when you desire to serve God, that is spiritual life. That is the difference between material life and spiritual life. Now we are trying to serve our senses
- Material life means a desire for sense gratification. They're (living entities) fallen because they wanted to gratify their senses. They cannot remain in Vaikuntha world
- Material life means that one forgets Krsna and that one increases in one's desires for sense gratification
- Materialistic life means attachment to the body and everything in relationship to the body. This attachment is based on lusty desires for sense gratification, specifically sexual enjoyment
O
- O Supreme Lord, if persons obsessed with material desires for sense gratification through material opulence worship You, who are the source of all knowledge and are transcendental to material qualities, they are not subject to material rebirth
- One becomes almost blind and is bereft of all sense when he is infuriated by the desire for sense gratification. He forgets everything
- One is subjected to desires for sense gratification because of identifying oneself with the body, and thus one engages in many different types of pious and impious action. This is what constitutes material bondage
- One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every act is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker whose fruitive action is burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge. BG 4.19 - 1972
- One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every endeavor is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker for whom the reactions of work have been burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge
- One may increase his ambition for sense gratification and even achieve what he desires for the gratification of his senses, but because this is on the material platform, he will never achieve satisfaction and contentment
- One should not accept the sannyasa order whimsically; he must be fully confident that he can restrain his desires for sense gratification
- One should refrain from acting out of a desire for sense gratification and should instead always engage in the Lord's loving service. In other words, bhakti-yoga is the acknowledged path of liberation
- One who desires sense gratification should worship the moon
- One who has fully subdued the lusty desires for sense gratification - he is understood to be a paramahamsa
P
- Persons under the grip of Maya are simply mad after sense enjoyment, but our goal is to lose all desire for sense gratification and become simply mad after Krishna. This is the perfection of human life
- Pure devotional service must be freed from all desires for sense gratification, fruitive aspirations and culture of monistic knowledge
S
- Simply on the strength of grammatical knowledge and word jugglery, professional reciters maintain their bodies and their desires for sense gratification by reading Srimad-Bhagavatam
- So long you will have desire for sense gratification, localized or expanded, the quality does not change
- Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has suggested how one can conquer lusty desires for sense gratification
- Svayambhuva Manu, was the emperor of the world, yet he had no desire for sense gratification. This is the meaning of monarchy
T
- The completely bewildered material civilization is wrongly directed towards the fulfillment of desires in sense gratification. In such civilization, in all spheres of life, the ultimate end is sense gratification
- The demigods in the celestial heavenly planets, who are appointed administrators of the material affairs, are also devotees of the Lord. But, at the same time, they have desires for material opulence and sense gratification
- The desire to gratify one's own senses is kama (lust), but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krsna is prema (love)
- The karmis who desire sense gratification, the jnanis who aspire for the liberation of merging into the existence of the Supreme, and the yogis who seek material success in mystic power are all restless, and ultimately they are baffled
- The mind of the living entity continues to exist in various gross bodies, and according to one's desires for sense gratification, the mind records different thoughts
- The person who lives in the center of household life derives material benefits by performing religious rituals, and thereby he fulfills his desire for economic development and sense gratification. Again and again he acts the same way
- The personified Vedas continued, "Despite all endeavors to attain perfection, such yogis, contaminated by desires for sense gratification, will continue to suffer in this life and the next"
- The plan is to give the conditioned souls who so desire a chance to enjoy sense gratification
- The prayers offered by Brahma cannot be chanted by anyone who desires to fulfill his own sense gratification. Such prayers can be selected only by a person who wants to satisfy the Lord in His service
- The process of fulfilling the natural desires for sense gratification was also inquired about by the King for the benefit of all concerned
- The significant word in this verse (in SB 4.13.34) is kaman, which means "sense gratificatory desires." A devotee is devoid of all kaman
- The so-called affection for family, society, country, etc., consists of different phases of sense gratification. When this desire is changed for the satisfaction of the Lord, it is called devotional service
- The spirit souls in the Brahmajyoti, although they have no desire for sense gratification, still they feel inconvenience like the ghost, and they fall down again in the Maya's atmosphere and develop a material body
- The sunshine sterilizes and purifies polluted and dirty places. Similarly, a devotee may engage in so many material activities, but because he has no desire for sense gratification, they never affect him
- The symptom of unflinching faith in pure DS is that one has overcome the many disruptive desires that impede pure devotional service, such as (3) the desire to work for sense gratification, without understanding one's relationship with Krsna
- The symptoms of the mind are determination and rejection, which are due to different kinds of desires. We desire that which is favorable to our sense gratification, and we reject that which is not favorable to sense gratification
- The term anyabhilasita-sunyam (CC Madhya 19.167) means, without desire for material sense gratification
- The Vedanta-sutra says that everything originates from Krsna. Param Brahman, or the Absolute Truth, means that from which everything is generated. Therefore, our desire for sense gratification is coming from Krsna
- The whole material existence has sprung up because of sense gratification, desires based principally on the sex desire
- There is a warning for devotees attracted to Krsna through conjugal love: it is not good for them to desire sense gratification by direct association with Krsna. Actually, the activities of sense gratification are material
- These desires (for sense gratification) are represented in the various species of life, from germs to the most perfected material bodies, those of Brahma and the demigods. All of these living entities have bodies composed of matter in different shapes
- This system of worshiping many gods, such as Durga, Siva, Ganesa, Surya and the impersonal Visnu form, is accepted by persons who have been blinded by an intense desire for sense gratification
- This warning (it is not good to desire sense gratification by direct association with Krsna) is specifically for those known as sahajiyas, who take it for granted that Krsna is an ordinary human being
- Those who are in bodily consciousness and who desire sense gratification are forbidden to indulge in discussions of the transcendental pastimes of Sri Radha and Krsna
- Those who desire liberation by merging into the existence of God do not desire sense gratification within the material world
- Thus (when the mind becomes polluted with desires for sense gratification) he begins his material existence, which means that he transmigrates from one body to another and becomes more and more entangled in material existence
- To become desireless means not to desire anything for sense gratification. In other words, desire for becoming Krsna conscious is actually desirelessness. BG 1972 purports
- Transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord is free from the infections of desires for sense gratification, fruitive work, and the culture of knowledge with the aim of merging into the Absolute to become one with the Supreme Lord
W
- We should not eat more, nor less. And nirasih. Nirasih means desireless of extravagance. Now we are desiring for sense gratification more and more. That is not wanted
- What is called renunciation is the same as yoga, or linking oneself with the Supreme, for no one can become a yogi unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification. BG 6.2 - 1972
- When a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness
- When properly executed in terms of the rites mentioned in the sastras, which are now very difficult to perform in this age of want and scarcity, such (demigod) worship can certainly fulfill one’s desires for sense gratification
- When strong lusty desires for sense gratification are unfulfilled, one becomes angry. This anger can be satisfied when one chastises his enemy
- When the mind becomes polluted by desires for sense gratification in the material world, the living entity drops into the material conditions, as explained in this verse - SB 4.29.75
- When there is a recommendation to become desireless, it is to be understood that this means that we should not desire anything for our sense gratification. For a devotee this state of mind, nihsprha, is the right position
- Which we are accepting as love, that is simply a desire for sense gratification. That is not love
- Why are such so-called men of religion allured by material gain? Because material gain can enable one to fulfill desires, which in turn satisfy sense gratification
- Why should we not fulfill this mission of life in this human form of life? Why unnecessarily desire so many sense gratification? This is called tapasya
- Word kama-mudha, meaning one who has lost his sense or is infatuated by lust of attraction for sense gratification, is used. Kama-mudhas are bereft of Krsna consciousness and devotional service and are infatuated by a strong desire for sense gratification
Y
- You may have some particular knowledge. Suppose you are expert singer. Very good. But if you earn your money for fulfilling your sense desires, that is demonic
- Your wanting to go with Me is simply a desire for sense gratification. In this way, you are breaking two religious principles, and because of this I am very unhappy