Root of Misfortune - The Desire to Enjoy

The conditioned soul's sojourn in the material world is not an accident but a consequence of a fundamental misuse of free will. Śrīla Prabhupāda identifies the desire to enjoy separately from Kṛṣṇa as the root of all misfortune, initiating a cycle of birth and death that no material adjustment can stop. This article examines the mechanics of this entrapment and the liberating shift from self-service to divine service.

The Cause of Material Existence

Why is the eternal spirit soul rotting in a temporary material body? Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the root cause is the misuse of free will—specifically, the desire to enjoy independently of Kṛṣṇa. This desire marks the beginning of our misfortune. Although the soul has nothing to do with the material energy, this persistent desire forces the living entity to transmigrate from one species to another in a futile attempt to find satisfaction.

• When we desire to enjoy this material world, forgetting service of Krsna, that is the beginning of our misfortune.
• I am spirit soul. I have nothing to do with this material world, but because I have a desire to enjoy it in different ways, I am transmigrating from one body to another. I do not know when this began, but it is still going on - This is real knowledge.
• Originally the living entity is a spiritual being, but when he actually desires to enjoy this material world, he comes down.

The Machinery of Bondage

The material nature acts as a supplier of facilities. Based on the living entity's specific desire to enjoy, the material energy provides a particular type of body with specific senses. However, this is a trap. The more one desires to enjoy the senses, the more one becomes entangled. Even in old age, when the physical capacity to enjoy dwindles, the burning desire remains, causing intense misery.

• As soon as one desires to enjoy his senses, he puts himself under the control of material energy and automatically, or mechanically, is placed into the cycle of birth and death in various life-forms.
• Because of his desire to enjoy the material world, the living entity is dressed with the material gross and subtle bodies. Thus he is given a chance to enjoy the senses. The senses are therefore the instruments for enjoying the material world.
• In old age the senses lose their strength, and although an old man desires to enjoy his senses, and especially sex life, he is very miserable because his instruments of enjoyment no longer function.

The Cheating of Liberation

It is not only the gross materialists who are misled. Those who seek liberation (mokṣa) or oneness with the Supreme are also driven by a subtle form of the desire to enjoy. They simply want to enjoy the status of being God or being free from suffering. Śrīla Prabhupāda compares the desire for material enjoyment and the desire for liberation to two witches that haunt the living entity, preventing pure devotional service.

• The material desire to enjoy the material world and the desire to become liberated from material bondage are considered to be two witches, and they haunt one like ghosts.
• The prefix 'pra' in the word 'projjhita' specifically refers to those desiring liberation or oneness with the Supreme. Such a desire should be understood to be the foremost cheating propensity.
• As long as there is the desire to enjoy sensually or to become one with the Supreme or to possess the mystic powers, there is no question of attaining the stage of pure devotional service.

True Enjoyment in Service

The solution to this entanglement is not the artificial renunciation of the "sour grapes" philosophy, but the purification of desire. In the spiritual world, the desire to enjoy is present, but it is centered on Kṛṣṇa. An advanced devotee acts in naiṣkarmya—they do not desire to enjoy the world for themselves, nor do they desire to reject it. They simply accept whatever is favorable for Kṛṣṇa's service, finding the highest enjoyment in satisfying the senses of the Lord.

• An advanced devotee has no desire to enjoy or reject anything. His only duty is to accept whatever is favorable for the advancement of Krsna consciousness.
• The desire for enjoyment is present both in Krsna and in His parts and parcels, the living entities. In the spiritual world, such desires are also spiritual. No one should mistakenly consider such desires to be material.
• One who knows that he must work in Krsna consciousness, who no longer desires to enjoy this material world, is actually learned.

Conclusion

The desire to enjoy is the defining characteristic of the conditioned soul. It is the catalyst that transforms the spirit soul's consciousness from clear to cloudy, entrapping it in the complex machinery of karma and transmigration. Freedom is achieved not by becoming void of desire, but by acknowledging that Kṛṣṇa is the only Enjoyer. When we shift our desire from "enjoying the world" to "enjoying the service of the Lord," our original, blissful constitutional position is restored.

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 Desire to Enjoy. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.