Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: The Path of Understanding
Bhagavad Gita 2.59
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः ।
रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ॥
viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ | rasavarjaṃ raso'pyasya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate ||
Sense objects fall away from a person who abstains from them, but the taste for them remains. Even that taste falls away once the Supreme has been seen.
Modern context
This is acute psychology. Abstaining removes the object but not the taste for it: the dieter still dreams of sweets. Willpower alone leaves the craving intact. The longing itself ends only when something more satisfying has been found. Lasting change comes from a higher interest, not from suppression.