A Mere Thought or Imagination Produces Dangerous Attachment

Bhagavad Gita 2:62-63 : Brooding on sense objects causes attachment to them. Attachment  breeds craving; craving breeds anger. Anger breeds delusion.; delusion breeds loss of memory (of the Self). Loss of right memory causes decay of the discriminating faculty. from decay of discrimination, annihilation (of spiritual life0 follows. [Translation from Paramahansa Yogananda's God Talks with Arjuna, The Bhagavad Gita].

Commentary on the verses by Paramahansa Yogananda: Visualising sensory happiness produces an increasing attachment to that feeling of attraction. Such attachment becomes crystallised into an active desire for acquirement, giving birth to crafty cravings, the pernicious foe of peace. Desires unfulfilled enmesh man in the travails of anger. Wrath creates distorting clouds of delusion. From delusion flows from the loss of memory and self-respect of one's own position and normal behaviour. From a mangled memory of one's proper self exudes the stench of decayed discrimination. When the discrimination degenerates, the destruction of spiritual life follows. (pg. 307 - 208, The Bhagavad Gita).

Commentary on the verses by Swami Sri Aurobindo: (Brooding over the sense objects, Man begets attachment for them) because the mind naturally lends itself to the senses; it observes the objects of sense with an inner interest, settled upon them and makes them the object of absorbing thought for the intelligence and of strong interest for the will. By that attachment comes, by attachment desire, by desire distress, passion and anger when the desire is not satisfied or thwarted or opposed, and by passion the soul is obscured, the intelligence and will forget to see and be seated in the calm observing soul; there is a fall from the memory of one's true self, and by that lapse the intelligent will will is also obscured, destroyed even... (pg 42, Bhagavad Gita: In the Light of Sri Aurobindo).

Commentary on the verses by Swami Sivananda: When a man thinks of the beautiful and pleasant and alluring features of sense-objects, he gets attached to them. He, then, regards them, as something worthy of acquisition, and begins to hanker after them. He develops a strong desire to possesses them.... (pg. 76, The Bhagavad Gita [South Africa publication]).

Commentary on the verses by Swami Tapasyananda: Giving oneself up to the cravings of the senses, without any effort to regulate, control and sublimate them, (Man's degradation takes place). Such a life reduces him to the level of animality, which is the meaning of "loss of discriminative intelligence". (pg. 82, Srimad Bhagavad Gita: The Scripture of Mankind).