Eknath Easwaran's Commentary
The capacity to discriminate between right desires and wrong desires is very precious. Right desires benefit everyone – including ourselves. Wrong desires may be pleasing, but they benefit no one – again, not even ourselves. The criteria are simple to state, but not so simple to apply in everyday life.
The problem that arises is that wrong desires can be very skillful impersonators. They put on a three-piece suit and a false mustache and present themselves suavely as Mr. Right, the benefactor of all; if they happen to be just what we like, that is only happy coincidence. To live wisely, we need to be able to recognize right desires and yield to them, which is a pleasant but rare state of affairs. But much more important, we need to be able to recognize wrong desires and resist them.
This can be very difficult. There are times when we have to take on the desire face to face, like a boxer in the ring. The very attitude of resisting in the face of a wrong desire is the beginning of good health, vitality, and love.