Can I follow bhagwat Gita while expecting materialistic enjoyment?

Question

Can I follow bhagwat Gita principles, while working to enjoy my life by buying fancy cars, travelling having girlfriend, etc?

Can I practice teachings of gita with a desire to enjoy all materialistic things but as a gift of God?

Answer 1

Geeta never said one should leave all materiel enjoyment. But instead it said one should leave greed (aasakti) in that enjoyment.

Bhagavad Gita 5.7 The karm yogis, who are of purified intellect, and who control the mind and senses, see the Soul of all souls in every living being. Though performing all kinds of actions, they are never entangled.

Here Krishna explained that real yogis also does bhogas (materialistic enjoyment) but they never gets habitual of it. Even doing bhogas they always have self-control over themselves.

Bhagavad Gita 5.8 – 5.9 Those steadfast in this karm yog, always think, “I am not the doer,” even while engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking, excreting, and grasping, and opening or closing the eyes. With the light of divine knowledge, they see that it is only the material senses that are moving amongst their objects.

True karma yogis always thinks that everything (seeing, touching, smell..) is use to done by 5 senses, not by me.He has setup his mind in a way that he thinks it all is doing of senses. He himself does nothing.

Bhagavad Gita 5.10 Those who dedicate their actions to God, abandoning all attachment, remain untouched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Here Krishna said, those who performs all actions by thinking he is doing this for my Lord, those persons performs all bhogas and even after performing all bhogas they never gets attachment/bond with any bhoga. Means they still remains yogis. Same as when drop of water falls on leaf of lotus and then it slips down but even after touching the water drop, Leaf of lotus never gets wet, simillarly yogis performs all bhogas but they don't gets attachment with any bhogas. Here Drop of water is bhoga and leaf is yogi. Even when they comes in contact, bhogas can't put any impact on yogis. Because all yogis has strong will power, they can detached himself from every bhoga while doing those bhogas.

Bhagavad Gita 5.11 The yogis, while giving up attachment, perform actions with their body, senses, mind, and intellect, only for the purpose of self-purification.

Bhagavad Gita 5.12 Offering the results of all activities to God, the karm yogis attain everlasting peace. Whereas those who, being impelled by their desires, work with a selfish motive become entangled because they are attached to the fruits of their actions.

Here is difference beween actions of yogis and actions of bhogis. Yogis does everything in greedless manner (by offering all punya fal to God) but bhogis does everything in greedy manner. Hence results, yogis attain peace and bhogis attains more attachment/bond with materialistic objects, and detached with God.