Why You're Sad

I have arrived back in Vrindavan after 10 days in Puri for the last month of my stay in India. In order to put my mind in the best possible state of consciousness before heading back to the real jungle in New York, I have decided to begin an intensive study of the entire Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text spoken 5,000 years ago that is the basis of all religion but simultaneously transcends them all. While reading, I came across a very simple yet important point being made early on. This point very effectively outlines the cause of our misery and dissatisfaction in the material world. It reads as follows, "While contemplating the objects of the senses a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool." (Bhagavad Gita 2.62-2.63) The senses require engagement. However according to our mindset, there is both proper and improper engagement. In the Bhagavad Gita we see that one who is in knowledge of the temporary and unsatisfactory nature of the material world and thus engages the senses while remaining detached from sense objects is able to use such objects in a way that elevates him to higher levels of consciousness. On the other hand, one who is constantly thinking about sense objects, who sees them as objects for his enjoyment as opposed to platforms for his advancement in consciousness becomes very deeply entangled in this vicious cycle of material misery. With an open mind,we can watch how in the past we have been trapped in this cycle. Many practical examples can be given and easily understood. A boy who has come into contact with a beautiful girl may begin to think about her constantly, from this constant  mental engagement he develops an attachment for her. When the attachment is there,the boy develops strong desires to be with the girl and have control over her. When the boy sees the girl acting independently of his will, the boy comes to the realization that despite his deep desire to be in control of her, ultimately she is independent and also acts according to her desires, from this realization anger arises. When the boy's senses and intelligence are thus clouded by anger he begins to see things that are not there. I don't know how many times during heated arguments between couples I've overheard the phrase "You're delusional". From this delusion, the boy's memory will be filled with false misconceptions about the girl thinking her to be all kinds of things that in reality she is not. Seeing as our memory is the basis of our intelligence, this boys mind, which is now polluted with illusion loses the ability to intelligently judge the girl all together. Thus not being able to perceive things as they are, the poor boy is bound to further suffering in the material world. If the boy were able to clearly perceive the girl as something other than just an object for his enjoyment, having her own personal will and desires and recognize the fact that she won't be around forever, this attachment would have never developed in the first place. Without the deep attachment  he could always deal with her from the heart out of love as opposed to dealing from the senses out of lust. Thinking and acting from the heart out of love, in attempt to act in accordance with the natural flow of things as opposed to thinking and acting only according to your illusory desires is called Bhakti Yoga or devotional service. Because of the fact that we are ultimately not in total control of anything in the material world as well as the fact that our purpose in life is not to simply gratify our senses at will according to our desires like animals, any action that we perform in attempt to control or exploit the material world forces one into the miserable cycle above mentioned and yields sinful reactions (also called karma). However the Gita says by engaging in devotional service, highly learned men free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries. Thus in order to free ourselves from the suffering that arises in the material world we must first eradicate two misconceptions. 1 that we are the controller and everything should move according to our will, 2 that we are meant to live to enjoy as much as possible as opposed to simply enjoying to live. These two misconceptions keep us constantly in anxiety because they quite simply completely disagree with the way things actually work. As long as our actions and thoughts reflect on selfish desires, we may obtain some temporary sense gratification but happiness will always elude our grasp.