काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भ‍वः ।
महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥

kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ |
mahāśano mahā-pāpmā viddhy enam iha vairiṇam ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.37)

“[In response to the question, ‘What causes a person to commit sin even against one’s will?’ Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:] It is kāma, of raja-guṇa in origin, voracious, and greatly harmful, and it is [kāma’s transformation upon obstruction] anger. Know this [i.e., kāma] to be the enemy here [i.e., on the path to mokṣa].”

Commentary

kāmaḥ prāktana-vāsanā-hetukaḥ śabdādi-viṣayako’bhilāṣaḥ puruṣaṁ pāpe prerayati | tad anicchum api so’sya preraka ity arthaḥ | … īśvaraḥ karmāntaritaḥ parjanyavat sarvatra prerakaḥ | kāmas tu svayam eva pāpmāgre iti tathoktam |
(Excerpt from the Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā)

“Kāma, that is, desire related to sounds and other objects of the senses caused by previous vāsanās [i.e., proclivities imprinted in the subconscious mind (citta) by actions performed in the past, esp., past lives] impels a person to sin. Therefore, it [i.e., kāma] is one’s impeller even though one does not wish that. This is the meaning. … Īśvara, hidden within karma, is the impeller everywhere like a rain cloud [i.e., like a rain cloud that showers water everywhere indiscriminately, Īśvara is indirectly an impeller of the actions of a jīva]. Kāma, however, itself is [the impeller, i.e., kāma caused by vāsanās is the direct impeller of a jīva’s action], and thus earlier was called harmful.”

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