14.12: Desire the worthy, not the trendy

The Bhagavad-gita (14.12) states that those predominated by passion are constantly inundated by desires to try out something new. 

Our capacity to desire is our most powerful resource, second only to our capacity to access Krishna’s grace. Our desires shape our life’s direction and destination; our past desires have molded us into what we presently are and our present desires will mold us into what we will be in future. 

Unfortunately, despite the defining role that desires play in our life, we often imprudently squander their power. We frequently let our desires be determined by trendiness rather than worthiness; we desire that which is praised in the current social mirror rather than  that which is prized in the eternal spiritual barometer. Consequently, we end up desiring and sweating for petty trinkets and titillations that are entirely unworthy of our spiritual sanctity and even our human dignity. This colossal waste of desires cumulates into a tragic waste of an entire lifetime, when death forces us to leave behind all that we have desired and achieved. 

Gita wisdom rescues us from getting buried in the trendiness trap by raising our eyes to that which is truly worthy: our eternal loving relationship with Krishna. When we direct and focus our immense power of desire on loving and serving Krishna, then our desires become the cause of not repeated disappointment, but perennial fulfillment.