Transcendental Knowledge · 2.62
The Anger Cascade
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते।
सङ्गात्सञ्जायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते॥
क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद्बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति॥
dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate
krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ
smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati
Translation
By contemplating sense objects, a person develops attachment to them. From attachment arises desire, and from desire arises anger. From anger comes delusion, from delusion comes confusion of memory, from confusion of memory comes destruction of intelligence, and from destruction of intelligence one is lost.
Meaning
Krishna maps the psychology of self-destruction with precise, step-by-step clarity. It begins not with action but with attention — what we dwell on. Each stage follows inevitably from the last. This is not a moral warning but a causal map. Understanding this cascade gives us the power to interrupt it early.
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