December Gītā: 16.11

cintām aparimeyāṁ ca 
pralay'āntām upāśritāḥ
kām'opabhoga-paramā 
etāvad iti niścitāḥ

‘They are obsessed with endless anxieties that end only with death. Still, they maintain with complete assurance that gratification of desires and accumulation of wealth is the highest purpose of life.’
Bhagavad Gītā 16.11

I’m drawn to this section of the Gita because it reminds me of the seductions of the material world, and how the hunger for possessions and wealth never truly leads to happiness. Everything I accumulate will one day be left behind when I am no longer walking this planet.

When I read this śloka, I vividly picture someone who has met every need and gathered wealth – possibly a large house, probably a beautiful car – yet remains hostage to a web of anxiety, left wanting until death. They believe life’s highest purpose is to accumulate and satisfy, collecting wealth like medals, all while turning endlessly in a loop of obsession and unease.

This time of year, I’m reminded of Marley from A Christmas Carol, dragging through death the heavy chains he forged in life – each link a symbol of selfishness and desire, each one an emblem of regret as he moves through the afterlife.

The śloka suggests that those who take this path suffer its consequences, which implies there must be another way. And yet I wonder how helpful such a stark dichotomy is for us in 2025.

I prefer to think that obsession, yearning, and the relentless anxieties of the material world simply rest over our true nature like a veil. Perhaps liberation comes not from rejecting these parts of ourselves but from befriending them – meeting them with compassion, welcoming them in, and in doing so, gently letting them go.

We are human. We have wants, needs, desires, obsessions, and shadows – but we also have choice. Maya Angelou says it best: “Light and shadow are the opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our path or darken our way.“