03.41 – The mental avatar of AIDS

AIDS is an extremely dangerous disease, largely because of its sinister method of attack. Normally when a disease attacks the body, the immune system springs forward to the defense. But when lust attacks the body, it paralyzes the immune system itself. That’s why the body does little, if anything, to counter the infection. AIDS gradually pulverizes the immune system and makes the body nearly defenseless against other diseases. When these secondary infections make the patients malfunction physically, only then do they usually realize that something is wrong. Perceptive doctors know that the problem is not just this malfunctioning caused by the secondary infections but the original infection.

Lust is like the mental avatar of AIDS. The Bhagavad-gita (03.41) indicates that lust is jnana-vijnana nashanam, the destroyer of knowledge and realization. Our knowledge and realization are the basis of our intelligence, which is akin to our inner defense mechanism, our psychological immune system. Normally when a harmful emotion attacks us mentally, our intelligence springs forward to the defense. But when lust attacks us mentally, it deceives us with intoxicating feelings of pleasure that paralyze our intelligence. That’s why we do little, if anything, to counter the infection of lust – especially in today’s permissive culture. Lust gradually pulverizes our intelligence and makes us malfunction in various ways: in our normal concentration and working capacity, in our ability to spend money and time rationally, in our relationships, for example. Only due to such malfunctioning do we usually feel something is wrong. Perceptive spiritual guides know that the problem is not just this malfunctioning but also the root cause: infection by lust and the resulting breakdown of our intelligence.

By assimilating Gita wisdom, we can recognize lust’s initial titillation to be mentally toxic and thereby protect ourselves from the infection right in the beginning.