Conditioned Souls Desire to Lord Over Nature

The conditioned soul is defined by a profound case of mistaken identity. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that believing the temporary body to be the self and the material world to be a field for personal enjoyment, the living entity engages in a perpetual struggle to conquer material nature. This article explores his teachings on the nature of these material desires, how they entrap the soul in a network of karma, and the process by which one can transform these entanglements into spiritual liberation.

Root Cause - Lording Over Material Nature

According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, the origin of our material existence is not accidental; it stems from a specific misuse of free will. He explains that the conditioned soul enters the material atmosphere because of an independent desire to imitate the Supreme Lord, seeking to become the master and enjoyer of nature's resources.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Mechanism of Bondage - Lust and Transmigration

Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that desire is the fuel for transmigration. Just as a person changes clothes to suit the season, he notes that the soul changes bodies to facilitate specific material cravings. This section illustrates how deep-rooted sex desire and the hankering for material pleasure force the soul to accept one body after another, perpetuating the cycle of birth and death.

• 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.
• Every living being within this material world has a strong desire to enjoy matter to his fullest satisfaction. For this purpose, the conditioned soul must accept one body after another, and thus his strongly fixed fruitive desires continue.
• 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.

Futility of Material Enjoyment

Śrīla Prabhupāda often compares the pursuit of material desire to a mirage or a painful struggle. Although the soul hopes for happiness, he warns that the attempt to enjoy apart from Kṛṣṇa leads only to frustration, described here as the piercing of thorns and pebbles. He clarifies that real satisfaction remains elusive as long as the consciousness is absorbed in the temporary.

• 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.
• Parīksit said, "The conditioned souls within this material world are frustrated by searching out the pleasure of happiness derived from sense gratification. Such desires for material enjoyment are always piercing the hearts of conditioned souls."
• 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.

Path to Liberation

The solution to this entanglement is not the artificial repression of desire, but its re-engagement in the service of the Lord. He assures us that by hearing about Kṛṣṇa and following the instructions of a pure devotee, the conditioned soul can cleanse the heart of the "dirty things"—lust, anger, and greed—and revive the original, blissful nature of service.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Conclusion

Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the desires of a conditioned soul are the engine of the material world, driving the wheel of saṁsāra and keeping the living entity bound in a network of illusion. He explains that while these desires originate from a misuse of independence—specifically the wish to lord it over material nature—they can be rectified. By associating with unalloyed devotees and hearing the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he confirms that the soul can relinquish the painful burden of material ambition and find true satisfaction in its eternal constitutional position as a servant of the Supreme.

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Desires of a Conditioned Soul. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

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