Bhakti-yogis Do Not Recommend Trying to Extinguish Material Desires

The soul’s natural propensity is to love God. This love is the natural energy that is always emanating from the soul. But when this loving energy is misdirected, not in the service of the Lord but in forgetfulness of the Lord, then it is transformed into kama, or lust. It is the same energy. Therefore to dovetail all our desires in the service of Krishna is to awaken our original love within our heart.

The impersonalist school of philosophy says that we should extinguish all our desires. They say that desire is the cause of attachment, attachment is the cause of bondage, and bondage to anything material is ultimately the cause of suffering. The impersonalists say that one should destroy this lust, destroy this attachment, destroy all desires. Then you will be free, then you will be liberated. But the bhakti yogis understand the higher principle – that if you try to destroy that energy you are trying to destroy the capacity to love. And factually you cannot destroy it because it is the nature of the soul to desire and to love.

But, Krishna fulfills everyone’s desires – so if you perform austerities for a long time focused on the goal to destroy this energy, then Krishna will make that energy unmanifested. It will always be there in its potential, but it will be unmanifested for some time. One will feel that they have merged into the energy of God – that they are liberated. But it is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam that one cannot remain in the liberated position for very long. Ultimately that loving energy of the soul will reawaken because ananda-mayo ‘bhyasat – the soul by nature eternally seeks loving reciprocation. So therefore, sometime or other that soul must again desire. And if that spiritual spark has not purified its desire to love Krishna, again it will fall down into this material world to seek love and the try to find pleasure in the illusory energy. Therefore the bhakti yogis do not recommend trying to extinguish material desires. Instead they say to purify your desires. The lust that is now in your heart is so powerful, driving you to do so many things in so many ways. It is the natural energy of the soul in a distorted form. Just redirect it towards Krishna and that very energy, in its purified state, is prema bhakti – pure love of God.

Thus we dovetail all of our desires, all of our activities, all of our words and thoughts – everything – in the service of Krishna. This is bhakti yoga – to reconnect our desires to Krishna through the process of devotional service. A materialistic person is completely blinded by kama, lust. But when you attain the higher stages of Bhakti, then you see the Supreme Personality of Godhead everywhere, and with great love you recognize Him everywhere.