So we are studying the Bhagavad Gita. We are on the third chapter towards the very end.

Arjuna asked this question that why is it? What is it that within us makes us do wrong things?

Things which even if we do not want to do something wrong and yet we end up doing things which are unethical or immoral. We cannot control ourselves.

It is also the great obstacle to spiritual life.

After all, what is it that prevents us from meditating peacefully?

What is it that prevents us from doing unselfish work, doing work for the sake of others?

What is it that prevents us from loving God? So and realizing ourselves

as beyond body and mind as the Atman. All the yogas had this one problem, this one obstacle.

What is that? And Sri Krishna answers that it is desire. Notice that it is the same answer given by the Buddha.

There is suffering in the world.

That's the first noble truth and the second noble truth is the cause of suffering is desire.

Sry Krishna says,

Kaamayeshah Krodhya, Raja-gunasamudhavha.

Desire and anger.

But basically desire, because we saw that anger is nothing but frustrated desire.

So desire, passion, lust, this is the major fundamental obstruction.

Now, in the conclusion of the third chapter, Sri Krishna is going to talk about the ways to deal with this.

How does one overcome this great enemy of spiritual life in the last few verses?

So we're going to do verse number 40. I think we are done up to verse 39

last time. Yes, verse number 40. The background to this verse number 40 is this. So now

that we have decided we are going to be spiritual, we have to overcome the problem of

desire. Nothing wrong with desire as such. have decided we are going to be spiritual we have to overcome the problem of desire

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