16. DESIRE
D: Many spiritual aspirants make efforts to conquer desires but desires keep springing up again and again. What is the reason for this?
A: To conquer desire, first of all, there should be a firm resolve to that effect. A brahmacārin may be advised not to sleep in the afternoon. If it does not occur to him that sleeping in the afternoon is wrong, he may not sleep for some days, but may later think, “What is wrong if I sleep for just this one day?” Therefore, we should first resolve suitably. Some people do not practise viveka (discrimination). Still, they keep wishing that their desire should vanish. It will not. The reason for this is absence of vairāgya (dispassion). Vairāgya develops from viveka and desires are completely overcome through vairāgya. Other spiritual disciplines should also be faithfully carried out. In the initial stages, one may not have an inclination for them but if we abandon them on that account, how will desires subside? One should sincerely practise karma-yoga, mānasika-pūjā, contemplation of the Lord, etc. If dhyāna is also practised, it is highly laudable. Study of the śāstra-s is important.
D: Desires sometimes subside and appear to have been conquered but manifest all of a sudden. Is there any reason for this?
A: I will give you an illustration. Suppose there is a spring, one end of which is fixed to a wall. If we keep stretching the other end, the spring yields and elongates. No sooner do we stop pulling it than it returns to its original size. The mind is like the spring attached to the wall, which is the world. Though the spring (mind) is stretched (held under restraint) forcibly (by spiritual practices), it will go back to its original position if let free. So, the means to destroy desire should be searched for. It is not sufficient if it is controlled only at the time of an impulse. Some do not completely destroy desire. If a desire arises, they suppress it for the time being by thinking, “Oh, we should not give room for desire now.” That particular desire will then remain in the subconscious. It will burst out sometime later. Hence, by understanding the nature of desire and realising that we stand to gain no good from it, the means to destroy it should be sought. If the source is cut, there is no scope for it to arise suddenly. For him who finds this restraint difficult to practise, satsaṅga (company of satpuruṣa-s) is essential. Desires subside in the presence of great souls. Frequent study of the śāstra-s is a very good practice. The śāstra-s say, “There is no pleasure in material objects.” Though we have faith in the śāstra-s, our faith is not whole-hearted. Hence, a wrong notion such as, “What is wrong if a contrary act is done” may occur. Even to get rid of such ideas, it is beneficial to study the śāstra-s again and again.
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❑ Parables of Acharyal
When chasing a deer, a hunter blows a conch. The sound allures the deer and it tarries a while. That opportunity is made use of by the hunter to kill it. Thus, the deer loses its life because of its attachment to sound. To trap an elephant, people first lure it into a pit dug and camouflaged by them. Then, they tie it. The elephant continues to remain untamed. To tame and train it, they send a well-trained female to it. When the female comes into contact with the male, the latter feels delighted and becomes docile. Having rendered it docile, people train it and make it work for them. An elephant thus loses its freedom because of its yielding to the touch of a female.
When a lamp is lit, moths get attracted to the form of the flame. They rush into the flame and get burnt to death. Moths thus suffer destruction because they are charmed by a form. An angler attaches a worm to the hook of his fishing line and tosses it into the water. A fish, attracted by the imagined taste of the worm, bites the hook and gets stuck. As a consequence, it loses its life.
A bee sat on a lotus and began to suck up nectar. At dusk, the lotus began to close its petals. Captivated by the fragrance of the lotus the bee did not fly out. “The lotus fades at night. But this night is bound to pass and the sun shall rise again. At dawn, the lotus will bloom. I can escape then”, thought the bee. Unfortunately, that night, a herd of elephants came to the lake where the lotus was and began to play in the water. They caught and hurled the lotuses with their trunks. The effect was that the bee met its doom.
Each one of these creatures perished due to its being carried away by a particular sense-object. Man, on the other hand, is attracted by pleasing sounds, pleasant touch, beautiful forms, tasty dishes and fragrant odours. So, he should be very vigilant and should keep his senses under control. Else, he would be inviting trouble.
Bhartṛhari has said, “Let a moth enter a flame by virtue of its unawareness of the power of fire to burn. Let a fish bite the baited hook because of its ignorance. We, however, refuse to part with objects of sensual enjoyment even though we know them to be the causes of much trouble. Alas! How inscrutable is the impact of delusion!”
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❑ Experiences of Devotees
Saṁnyāsa and vairāgya go hand-in-hand. Vairāgya is the essence of spirituality. Acharyal never failed to stress the need to cultivate vairāgya. He Himself led a life of supreme contentment and dispassion. His life is a great lesson on the practice of vairāgya.
Late one night, Acharyal woke up from sleep, ate a small, shrivelled plantain that was kept on a windowsill, drank some water and went back to bed. I, who was watching the scene, felt very bad that He ate the banana, which was fit to be thrown away. When I had the opportunity to talk to Him next morning, I gave vent to my feelings and said, “Why did Acharyal choose to eat the fruit that was in such a bad state?” “Why not?”, asked Acharyal. “There are boxes full of luscious grapes from Australia that were submitted to Acharyal. Why did Acharyal have to eat ‘that’ banana?”, I queried. Acharyal said, “It is advised that one has to eat something when he feels pain due to peptic ulcers. The banana served the purpose adequately. Just because better quality fruits are available today, do I have to eat that? Do you know what ‘virakti’ is? It is not the dispassion that you have towards an object in its absence. Even when the object of desire is in front of you and is also rightfully yours, you should not enjoy it. Even the thought ‘I want it’ should not be there in your mind. That alone is true ‘virakti’.” Acharyal continued, “Even though I may not attempt to procure the object, if I were to entertain a desire for it, the very longing will remain in My mind as a residual saṁskāra. On a different occasion, such a saṁskāra may impel Me to act even without My being conscious of it. For instance, let us suppose someone comes and places a delicious fruit in front of Me and I too am in need of it. Let us also suppose that I had earlier entertained a desire for it. In such a situation, I may at once consume the fruit without a second thought. So, ‘true mind control’ is that state of mind, where you do not even entertain the thought that you need something.”
[Sri Rajagopala Sarma]
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The Maharaja of Mysore had submitted a high quality, imported mattress for Acharyal’s use. At Secunderabad, Raja Limbekar too had offered imported blankets for the use of His Holiness. It was the attendant’s duty to make the bed for Acharyal every night before Acharyal and myself entered the room. Thereafter, the door would be locked. Acharyal would then remove His upper cloth and roll it up. This, He would use as His pillow. A deerskin served as His bed and, His lower cloth was the blanket! He would chant “Śambho Mahādeva” thrice and go to sleep. In the morning, as soon as He got up, He would slightly rumple the blankets to make it look as if it had been used by Him as His bedding. This was going on for a few days. One day, I asked His Holiness, “Why is Acharyal doing like this?” Acharyal clarified, “I am a saṁnyāsin and I don’t require such comforts. However, those who donate such articles to Me, expect Me to use them. If they come to know that I am not utilising them, they may come to the conclusion that the items offered were not of good quality and feel bad about it. As a result, they may trouble themselves further and get Me even more valuable objects. Why give room for all these? That is why I give an impression even to My attendants that I make use of the blankets presented to Me!”
[Sri Rajagopala Sarma]
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About how strict Acharyal was with Himself when He was young, He once said, “I knew that true brahmacarya consisted in perfect control of the mind and not in mutilation of organs of procreation or in taking drugs to suppress desires. Hence, I ensured, by Acharyal’s grace, that the mind was always kept in a state which never permitted the rise of lust. Even for a brahmacārin, it is positively shameful if a trace of a desire arises either in the waking or dream state. What then need be said as regards the saṁnyāsin?”
As regards the pomp with which He had to be associated on account of the pīṭha, He firmly held that all pomp related to the Math and not to Him as a person. In fact, He reduced His personal requirements to a bare minimum and it would be no exaggeration to say that He kept them even below the bare minimum level. In winter, Sringeri is rather cold, necessitating the use of a blanket at night. Acharyal wanted that the body should be under His control and not vice-versa. So, He started sleeping on the bare floor wearing a wet loin cloth and to add to the wetness, wrapping a wet towel around His waist. He wore no other clothing at night.
[Excerpted from Crest Jewel of Yogis]
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My father once posed this question to His Holiness: “At the Math Acharyal could afford to have all the comforts. Why not Acharyal enjoy all comforts ? Why should You strain Yourself by getting up early in the morning and working so hard all through the day and go to bed as late as eleven o’ clock? What do you get out of this?” Acharyal smiled at him and said, “Suppose you are offered jaggery and badam halwa both of which are sweet, which one of these two would you prefer?” My father said, “Where is the doubt here? I will choose the badam halwa.” “Well said”, remarked His Holiness. “Those who have tasted the bliss of the Supreme will not pine for these mundane things” added Acharyal.
[Sri S.Shivaswamy]
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