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by Swami Ramakrishnananda
Desire controls and moves human beings as if they were puppets. Desire is the motivation that
lies behind every action, the power and energy that causes all movement. Desire incites men to make the most incredible efforts. However, few stop to observe and analyze this force, which is so central in their lives. In spite of the fact that most people suffer from desire, almost no one asks the question: What is desire? What are the origins and roots of this powerful energy? Is it possible to live free of the slavery of desires? Can our effort to satiate our desires lead to satisfaction? Does our happiness depend on gratifying our desires?
Contents
What is desire? Desire and Suffering Desire and symbols The problem of desire Desire and fear To live without desires Desire for God Desire and the present
What is desire?
Desireor an appetite which may be intellectual, sexual, physical or emotional etc.is an acute inclination of the will towards acquiring a particular enjoyment or pleasure. Desire is born from the tendency to repeat pleasant sensations produced by specific sensory experiences in the mind. Often, that tendency can be transformed into anxiety and even an uncontrollable need to overindulge that particular appetite. According to Augustine of Hippo (354 430 CE), the origin of desire is found in mans disobedience to the law of God. We may read in his famed work De Civitate Dei, or The City of God, book XIII, chapter 13: He rejoiced in his own freedom to act perversely and disdained the service of God. Therefore he was deprived of the obedient service that the body had until then rendered to him. Just as man disregards the will of God, the body ignores the needs of the soul. In the same way that the human being is separated, disconnected from the divine will, the mind and the body develop desires which are in conflict with the interests of the soul. As is mentioned in the New Testament, in Galatians (5:17) Because the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit and that of the Spirit is against the flesh; and these are opposed to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. However it will not help us in our spiritual search to memorize the opinions and conclusions about desire which have been stated by Plato, Hegel, Kojve, or other philosophers. Rather it is essential to discover what desire is, in and for ourselves. The truly religious person does not
settle for thinking about and recycling old ideas, but seeks instead to observe and look within himself, since religion is revelation.
All desire is preceded by a sensation. At the root of desire is an emotion or a feeling. If our perception of the mental symbol stimulates in us an agreeable and pleasant emotion, the desire is born to pursue that object in order to enjoy the pleasure it will produce in us. If the symbol produces a disagreeable sensation, we will try to avoid it. But, if we stop to analyze the situation, we will see that what we really want is the sensation, and not the object, person, or situation in itself. We create symbols in such a way that words, forms, ideas, persons, names, etc, become signs. We form images of places, objects,words, persons, and even of ourselves. Each symbol becomes associated with a specific emotion, which is a subjective reaction related to our specific interpretation of that symbol. For example, money, clothes, the school where we study, the neighborhood where we live and the car that we own, are symbols that determine our social position, or our success in life. Suppose that we want to experience the sensation of being respected by others. In our life, we have noticed that people are respected if they have a very big house, the latest model car, a lot of money and expensive clothes. When we associate these objects with the respect of society, the desire to obtain them is born. However, we do not desire these objects to enjoy them, but to obtain the specific feeling of being respected and appreciated. Desires pursue nothing real, but only chase after feelings and emotions. When we want money, we arent looking to collect green or blue pieces of paper; what we are seeking through money are sensations of power or security. However, the sensation of power is not power; the feeling of security does not necessarily mean we are secure. Similarly, we strive to build a relationship with a partner in order to feel loved, we sing and dance in order to feel appreciated, etc. However, feeling loved does not mean that one is really loved. So, in the end, after all our efforts we have nothing substantial in our hands, but only a handful of emotions. Left only with these sensations, we have the feeling that it is not enough, so we try to repeat the experience. This leads to our becoming attached to the object, situation or person that prompted that experience. Trying to satisfy desires is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline; in the end we only find ourselves more dissatisfied, and with a greater appetite.
we live trying to satisfy our desires, we are dancing to their beat and not to our own. We will never attain fulfillment in life by trying to satisfy our desires, but only by transcending them.
However, people who try to gratify their desires live in discontentment, because satisfaction is not related to the appeasement of our desires, but is living in the now and being what we are.
The desire for enlightenment is not ours, but it is the Self, desiring us. It is not man desiring God, but the divine call, deep in the human heart.
One who lives detached and has abandoned all desire, has renounced all sense of possession and is divested of his ego, attains true peace. e brhm sthiti prtha nain prpya vimuhyati sthitvsym anta-kle pi Brahma-nirvam cchati That is established in the Absolute. After reaching there, there is no confusion. If in the hour of death, one is found in this state, he remains established in the Absolute.