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based on Swami Radhanandaji's discourse on Gita
kama esa kridha esa rajguna samudbhavah,
mahasano mahapapma viddy enam iha vairinam.
"Desire and the anger due to unfulfilled desires born out of Rajo-guna is all consuming, all sinful and is the biggest foe." -- Gita 3:37
In the previous shloka, Arjuna asked Lord Krishna a pertinent
question that arises in our mind all the time: "Why does one commit
sin, even if one does not wish to? Why are we helplessly carried away
towards sin? What is the root cause behind all the sins?"
Lord Krishna explains here that the root cause behind all sin is
desire, lust and passion (kamna). Unfulfilled desires cause
anger and force us to commit sin. The best definition of sin is: The
actions or thoughts, which culminate from desires, that do not take or
lead us towards God. The end result of all our desires is sorrow,
misery and disquietude. If the desires are partly fulfilled, then we desire more and grow greedy. Our biggest enemy
is desire, and its appetite is vast. But desires channeled in the
proper direction can become our best friend.
One should strive to find how deep rooted and widespread his or her
desires are. If not controlled or reined properly, they can consume
us. Desires attack only when we are not vigilant and initially make us
unconscious by overpowering our intellect. It spreads like cancer but
has a farther reaching effect than cancer because it destroys not only
our present body or life but many more to come.
Lord Krishna also explained the root
cause of desire and how it consumes or destroys a person in Ch. 2:62-63.
We don't have to give up hope. Gita and Lord Krishna are our guides.
God has given us discriminatory power and wisdom to control our
intellect, mind and organs and thus to control our desires.
Time and again man gets humiliated because of his being victim to lust
and greed. Still he is unable to recoil from them and give his thought
to God. -- Sri Ramakrishna
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Spirituality 
