Question: Lust, greed, anger, jealousy, pride etc torment us despite our best efforts to eliminate them. Why is it so?

Swamiji:  The reason why they have us in their grip is because we souls are under Maya.  These—lust, anger, greed, hatred, envy, illusion—are the generals of Maya.  God is like the light and Maya is like darkness.   If we turn our back towards the light, it is inevitable that we will be enveloped by darkness.  We souls who are in this material world have our back towards God, which means our consciousness is turned away from him.  That is why Maya has enveloped us, and as long as Maya remains all these defects will also remain.

Swamiji:  The reason why they have us in their grip is because we souls are under Maya.  These—lust, anger, greed, hatred, envy, illusion—are the generals of Maya.  God is like the light and Maya is like darkness.   If we turn our back towards the light, it is inevitable that we will be enveloped by darkness.  We souls who are in this material world have our back towards God, which means our consciousness is turned away from him.  That is why Maya has enveloped us, and as long as Maya remains all these defects will also remain.

We cannot overcome lust, greed, anger, etc by fighting with the mind, “Let me not become angry…let me not become angry…let me not become angry.”  Rather than fight with the darkness, we should strive to go towards the light.  God is that light.  When we try to surrender to God, these defects start falling away.  When we engage in devotion for the highest, the lowest falls away by itself.

Watch this video by Swami Mukundananda, ‘The Most Powerful Way To Purify The Mind’.  Learn the powerful secret to overcome your mental defects.