Therefore, O best among the Bharatas, Arjuna! First of all, having controlled the senses, you must forcibly slay this sinful desire, the great destroyer of knowledge and realization.
Commentary: 'Therefore, first control the senses, O best of the Bharatas'—To control the senses is not to let them engage in sense-objects with the attitude of enjoyment, but to let them engage only with the attitude of mere sustenance or as an instrument. The intent is that there should be no engagement with sense-objects with attachment, nor withdrawal from them with aversion. (Gita 18.10) Engagement with attachment and withdrawal with aversion strengthen attachment and aversion, and even against one's will, they lead a person towards downfall. Therefore, the scriptures alone are the authority for knowing engagement and withdrawal, or duty and non-duty. (Gita 16.24) By performing duty and abandoning non-duty according to the scriptures, the senses come under control. The reason for instructing to first regulate the senses in order to slay desire is that as long as a person remains under the sway of the senses, his vision does not turn towards the Truth; and without the vision turning towards the Truth, i.e., without the experience of the Truth, desire is not completely destroyed.
A person's engagement occurs through the senses only. Therefore, he first gets entangled in the sense-objects, which gives rise to desire for those objects. By performing actions imbued with desire, a person comes completely under the control of the senses, and this leads to his downfall. But the person who, having controlled the senses, performs obligatory actions with a desireless attitude, is quickly uplifted.
'This destroyer of knowledge and realization'—The word 'knowledge' can also mean scriptural knowledge; for example, in the context of the natural duties of a Brahmana, the word 'knowledge' refers to scriptural knowledge. (Gita 18.42). However, according to the context here, it seems appropriate to take 'knowledge' to mean discrimination (knowing duty and non-duty separately). The word 'realization' means special knowledge, i.e., knowledge of the Truth (experiential knowledge, true knowledge, or awareness).
Both discrimination and knowledge of the Truth are self-evident. The experience of the knowledge of the Truth is not had by all, but the experience of discrimination is had by everyone. This discrimination is especially present in humans. This is also established by the word 'unwillingly' in Arjuna's question (Why does a person commit sin even unwillingly?), which indicates that a person possesses discrimination and it is through this discrimination that he knows both sin and virtue and does not wish to commit sin. The desire not to sin does not arise without discrimination. But this 'desire' covers that discrimination and does not allow it to awaken.
When discrimination is awakened, a person performs all actions keeping in view the future, i.e., the consequence. But due to desire covering discrimination, the vision does not go towards the consequence at all. It is precisely because the vision does not go towards the consequence that he commits sin.
Thus, when this desire does not allow even that discrimination, which is experienced by all, to awaken, then how will it allow that knowledge of the Truth, which is not experienced by all, to awaken? Therefore, here 'desire' is described as the destroyer of both knowledge (discrimination) and realization (awareness).
In reality, this desire does not destroy (cause the absence of) knowledge and realization; rather, it covers both of them, i.e., does not allow them to manifest. Covering them is described here as destroying them. The reason is that knowledge and realization are never destroyed. Destruction actually happens only to 'desire'. Just as when clouds come before the eyes, it is said that 'the clouds have covered the sun', but in reality, the sun is not covered; rather, the eyes are covered. Similarly, it is said that 'desire has covered knowledge and realization', but in reality, knowledge and realization are not covered; rather, the intellect is covered.
'Therefore, slay this sinful one'—Desire is the root of all sins. Therefore, when desire arises, the possibility of sin remains. Later, desire covers a person's discrimination and makes him blind, due to which he loses the very knowledge of sin and virtue and gets engrossed in sins alone. This leads to his great downfall. Therefore, the Lord, describing desire as a great sinner, commands that it must certainly be slain.
Thinking that household life is not proper, one should become an ascetic, go into seclusion—with such thoughts a person wishes to change the action, but does not give up the cause, 'desire'; he does not even think of giving it up. If he gives up desire, then all actions would automatically become correct. When a person dies while holding the desire to live and other desires, those desires become the cause of his next birth. The intent is that as long as desire remains in a person, he remains bound in the bondage of birth and death. Thus, apart from binding, desire serves no other purpose.
When a person has attraction towards inert objects, only then does desire for them arise. As soon as desire arises, the vision of discrimination is suppressed and the predominance of sense-vision occurs. The senses engage a person only in the enjoyment of pleasures from sound and other sense-objects. Even the inclination of animals and birds remains only up to the pleasure received through the senses. But due to desire covering discrimination, a person begins to desire objects for sense-born pleasure and then begins to desire money for objects. Not only that, his vision shifts from money itself to the counting (hoarding) of money. Then he gets engrossed only in increasing the count of money. Hoarding money is more degrading than money required for mere sustenance, and even compared to hoarding, the counting of money is greatly degrading. To increase the count, he even begins to commit sinful acts like lies, deceit, fraud, theft, etc., and when the count increases, pride also arises in him, which is the root of demoniac wealth. Thus, due to desire, a person proceeds towards great downfall. Therefore, the Lord commands to thoroughly destroy this great sinner, desire.
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