Desire arises when there is ignorance of the true Self. In this forgetting, we mistakenly believe we are limited individuals identified with our bodies and thoughts. In forgetting we are absolute bliss consciousness, we seek permanent satisfaction in the outer, ever-changing world.
In our misidentification and misperception of who we are, every time we experience a small, temporary pleasure, we become attached to it, leading to craving for more. Patanjali said, “Attachment is that which follows identification with pleasurable experiences.”
Because we only search outside of ourselves, we believe that lasting happiness can be found in temporary possessions, relationships, achievements and circumstances. Our passion, restlessness and grasping action fuel the endless cycle of outer desire. The impressions from all these actions fuel an even more intense search outside.
Krishna said, “While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment to them, and from such attachment desire is born, and from desire anger arises. From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion, bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool.”
Kabir said, “Desires are like the flames of fire—they consume everything that comes in their way. Give up desires, and the fire will subside.”
Something deep inside us is seeking a return to bliss, to wholeness and permanent contentment. This is the impulse to know our Self, to find liberation. Often, it is our disappointment and pain that causes us to turn within. Yet, our conditioning that permanent bliss can be found outside of our Self is intense. It often takes repeated disappointments and repetitive pain to show us.
Ramana Maharshi said, “Desirelessness is the highest bliss. The end of all desires is the realization of the Self. When there are no more desires, then the Self shines forth in its true glory.”
When desires come up in the mind, we must be able to watch them and let them go. Our senses are directed outward and so the mind will follow the senses into the outer world seeking satisfaction and creating a grasping monkey mind. Pulling the mind back from the object of desire is discipline. We can turn the mind within, toward the mantra, the highest, the Self. Real discipline is discipline of the mind. Self-control is control over the wanderings of our mind.
Grace is the power of realization. Grace is always moving us along this path of realizing where permanent satisfaction lies. As this realization becomes Self evident and deepens, desires retreat, replaced by the fountainhead of bliss that is our true Self.
With the grace of God, Guru and Self, who are all one, our Self is revealed and the bliss that is its inherent nature is revealed. It is meditation, right action and devotion that allow revelation, that draw grace. It is shifting our identification from the body and thoughts to the Self (Absolute Bliss Consciousness) that eases the grip of desire. It is the experience of the bliss of the Self within that allows desires to subside, revealing peace, stillness and bliss.
Blessings,
