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Chapter 3 · Karma-yoga · 43 verses

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Mind & yogaChapter 3 · Karma-yoga
3.363.38

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 3.37

Lust, anger and mastery over senses

श्री भगवानुवाच

काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भ‍वः ।

महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥ ३७ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

kāma eṣa krodha eṣa

rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ

mahāśano mahā-pāpmā

viddhy enam iha vairiṇam

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Lust and Its Transformation

  1. 1The Lord says lust is born from the mode of passion, turns into anger, and is the world's all-devouring sinful enemy.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that love for Kṛṣṇa becomes lust through material contact. Unsatisfied lust leads to anger and illusion, keeping us bound to material life.
  3. 3Learn to desire everything for Kṛṣṇa. When used for His satisfaction, lust and anger become friends instead of enemies.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 3, Karma-yoga: lust, anger and mastery over senses.

What it teaches

Theme summary

A disciplined mind is one's best friend.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: manas, indriya, yoga.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 3.37 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to mind & yoga?

Practice

Sit quietly for ten minutes and gently return the mind.

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The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 3 ›
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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 3.38Lust, anger and mastery over sensesBG 3.39Lust, anger and mastery over sensesBG 6.35Practice and detachment

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.