VERSE 26

In Sanskrit the desire for wealth is called lobha. The mental agitation, which desires sexual indulgence, is called Kaama. Anger springs from both these sources. And anger is the parent of all kinds of sins. It makes a man commit inconceivable atrocities. It destroys his reason and reduces him to an animal.

The moment an unrighteous desire springs in the mind, at once it must be eschewed. By merely ordering it to go, it will not go. The mind must be diverted to something else. Other good thoughts will bar the entry of evil thoughts into the mind. This is the secret of the nature of the mind. Man's mind travels all ever the world. But there is no room in it for two thoughts at one moment.

If a good thought lodges in the mind and engages it completely, the other will get automatically pushed out. Profiting by this secret of the nature of the mind, one should try to get rid of evil thoughts and desires. If we yield to desire even in the slightest measure, we are lost. If we think: 'My desire lies concealed in my heart; no one need know about it', and thus if we fail to realize the danger, we shall be ruined. We become its slave. It will stick to us like a leech. Once a thought obtains a place in the mind, it easily takes the shape of action very soon. Even if it remains dormant as a thought, that impure thought it is a sinful thing. It will foul the pure heart and spoil it. It will foul the temple of God and pollute it.

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