Desires and Mr Ravi

Mr Ravi had his first desire of the day right after he woke up in the morning. He felt like having morning tea. He did not ask himself why he was having this desire; he never did so. He was not that kind of an introspective person. What came to mind, mostly he followed them. Further, even if he asked himself he was not able to find out the reason for the desire for a morning tea; maybe, there was no satisfactory answer. Anyway, he unknowingly continued to nurture this desire every morning.

While making the tea he wanted to boil the tea powder in milk; the tea after ‘cooking’ the powder in milk had a special taste; that was Ravi’s preference. After making the tea he added sugar to it and that was the time when the desire appeared again. He was not strong enough to resist them, but now-a-days his fear about being a diabetic patient made him stronger to prevent that desire. Ravi added only one teaspoon of sugar to his tea.

When Ravi was enjoying that hot morning tea sip by sip, he could hear the fresh chirps of morning birds; he and Padma used to sit like this for long. During his conversation with Padma, Ravi used to share the long list of his dreams to her; a bigger house, more expensive car, to buy some most valuable ornaments for himself and to her, to donate money for the temple construction so that his name will be carved there forever etc. etc. They were the desires he could share with Padma. He had some other desires which he could not share with her, like he wanted to meet his teenage love once again. He recently discovered that she, now a widow, is staying in a nearby city. He didn’t dare enough to reveal this desire to Padma because he had already blocked her from interacting with her male colleagues after office hours. Why should she talk to them after the office-time? There might be a possibility of a secret relationship in it. Ravi was not a fool; he was the last person to allow such things in his family. In this circumstance, Ravi suspected that Padma might react in the same manner if he revealed his secret longing for visiting his teenage love. He even concealed his desire to have a second bottle of beer, partly because fearing Padma’s silent instruction and partly to avoid the ugly look with a ‘big belly’. But Padma did not have any of these worries; she always seemed very calm. Ravi had wondered at times whether she had any desire at all. She had never expressed anything; she was always content in following his rules and instructions without any complaint. Was she keeping all her desires silently inside her? Many times Ravi wished he had a wife with much more desires and passions; he dreamt of a burning lady beside him. Ravi sighed deeply after the last sip of his morning tea. He felt a deep pain of unsatisfied desires inside his chest.

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In the case of Mr Ravi, the connection between psychological pain and desires should not be left unnoticed. The present desires form from the habits which are created by repeated involvement in certain activities.

Previous actions and experiences turn into sleeping tendencies.

Sleeping tendencies wake up and arise in suitable situations.

Active tendencies appear as desires.

Desires are the reason for psychological pain.

Mr Ravi is having this psychological pain due to his unrestricted flow of unjust desires. He is a gentleman in the eyes of the society because he is not a fool to express all his desires in public; naturally he could not satisfy his unquenchable desires as well. Needless to say that he couldn’t manage to wipe them out for a clear and peaceful mind. Therefore, he was eternally sad and in pain.

I wish Mr Ravi could look into his own thought process, edit them along with the desires and be content while enjoying that beautifully made morning tea which was made as he wanted to make it.

Apara Vairāgyam and Para Vairāgyam

Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra-s, classified Vairāgyam as Apara and Para.

The psychological state in which the desires are controlled is called Vairāgyam. The one who observes and manages [OM] his desires becomes different and special; he starts growing internally. Therefore Vairāgyam which involves the observation and management of desires has a lot of importance in practical life.

A student who is preparing for a public examination needs to manage his own desires to bring more attention to his studies. He may like games, watching movies, reading poems or spending time with friends on social media or in a mall. How can he do so many activities without suffering his main attention which is the preparation for the exam? It is practically impossible. His need to pass the exam with a decent result is the most important one. And he has many other interests as I mentioned above, among which he has to choose which one can be attended and which one should be managed or postponed; even postponement of the satisfaction of a desire is a kind of management. If the student is not capable of doing this process of observing his desires and managing them, he cannot prepare for his exam. He should be capable of choosing which interests are important and which are unnecessary in nature. The ability to choose this is called the power of discrimination. In this manner, discriminating the desires and managing them on the basis of this awareness is helpful for leading a good functional life. This is the initial level of Vairāgyam; this kind of Vairāgyam which is inevitable in an ordinary day-to-day life is called Apara Vairāgyam or, as Patanjali calls it in his Yoga Sutra-s, Vasikara Vairāgyam.

Apara Vairāgyam:

दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसम्ज्ञा वैराग्यम्  ॥१-२५॥

dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣayavitṛṣṇasya vaśīkārasamjña Vairāgyam (1-25)

dṛṣṭa anuśravika viṣaya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra samjña Vairāgyam - The state of mind, in which the desire-s in the both dṛṣṭa and anuśravika types are under control, is called Vaśīkāra. 

Desires are of two kinds: 1. Those due to the direct experience of the individual; like the longing for having more chocolates after tasting once. This kind of desires are called dṛṣṭa. 2. Those after being attracted by the description of another person; like increasing the interest towards cosmetics after watching the advertisements. These kinds of desires are called anuśravika. When all the negative desires in both these types are under control, and the individual allows only the positive interests for a good functional life, that state of mind is called Vasikara Vairāgyam.

(Vaśīkāra Vairāgyam is one of the four Apara Vairāgyam-s, namely yatamāna, vyatireka, ekendriya and Vaśīkāra. There is much more to talk about Apara Vairāgyam, because it is the practice of a beginner. I will elaborate more in another article.)

Para Vairāgyam:

तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यम् ॥१-२६॥

tatparam puruṣkhyāter guṇavaitṛṣṇyam (1-26)

The Para Vairāgyam is the state of mind as a result of realising the true nature of Ātma and overcoming the influence of Triguṇa-s - Satvaguṇa, Rajoguṇa and Tamoguṇa.

Para Vairāgyam is common for those who have progressed in the realisation of Atma through spiritual self-editing, purification and knowledge. When the individual realises that he is not this body-mind unit and he is Atman, all his desires connected with the body-mind unit will disappear. He knows that desires related to any aspect in life are only the creation of Triguṇa-s. Satva-Rajas-Tamo guṇa-s function only in the body-mind unit; they have no effect on Atma. Through this realisation the realised one gets rid of all desires, irrespective of their merits and demerits. Positive desires in daily life also will not be important for the Yogi; he has grown beyond the worldly interests because he knows that Atma, the Supreme Self, has no worldly connections. Such a perfect and complete Vairāgyam is called Para Vairāgyam.

Stages of Controlling Desire

 I am writing about Vairāgyam, the freedom from desire, in this article.

Observing and Managing [OM] the desires in mind is the most practical method. Observing what is there in mind is the first step. Thoughts, emotions etc should be observed; There can be various kinds of thoughts and emotions. They can be observed and their significance is understood. Among these various emotions, desires can also be discovered; and also, the nature of the desire can be understood. This understanding of the nature of the desire is necessary to manage it. If the wish is positive, it should be cultivated and if it is negative, it should not be followed with actions. The desire that appears in mind may stay in mind, as a thought or as an emotion, which may eventually dissolve in the mind itself. We may take it as a slogan that “let the negative desires and tendencies may perish in the mind before they are converted into action”.

All kinds of wishes and longings, whether they are positive or negative, are not acceptable for a Yogi who is seeking complete liberation, Mokṣa. But for the common man, who is not still worried about the attachments and detachments in life, should destroy negative desires and construct positive wishes in mind. This is for his better experience of life. The construction of the positive wishes in the mind helps the individual to function well in his workplace as well as in the family. These two levels of the process, one: building up a good personality by purifying the mind from negative habits and two: the Yogic method of complete eradication of all kinds of desires, both together are called Vairāgyam in the Yogasutra-s of Patanjali.

The state of mind where there is no Rāga or attachment towards the objects, living beings or ideas is called Vairāgyam; Desirefree mind. It is a happy state of mind. A desirefree person would not be an inactive one; he would act perfectly without the influence of desires and negative thoughts.

(Let me make it clear that desire and responsibility are two different faculties. You should act with responsibility; not with desire. I will write about it in another article.)

We are talking about desire and the expected freedom from it. As I mentioned in the beginning, freedom from desire is called Vairāgyam.

Patanjali talks about two kinds of Vairāgyam: Apara Viragyam and Para Vairāgyam. I have already mentioned in this article that before one becomes interested in Yogic perfection by getting free from all desires, he may be leading a good life with positive thoughts and wishes. The Yogic state of mind where any desire whether positive or negative is never accepted, is called Para Vairāgyam; whereas the state of mind of a good man who eradicates all negative thoughts from his mind and leads a life of positive thinking, is called Apara Vairāgyam.

Apara Vairāgyam:

दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसम्ज्ञा वैराग्यम्  ॥१-२५॥

dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣyavitṛṣṇasya vaśīkārasamjña Vairāgyam (1-25)

dṛṣṭa anuśravika viṣya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra samjña Vairāgyam - The desire for the matters which are experienced through senses and understood through descriptions, are all eradicated; this kind of Vairāgyam is called Vaśīkāra. 

(Vaśīkāra Vairāgyam is one of the four Apara Vairāgyam-s, namely yatamāna, vyatireka, ekendriya and Vaśīkāra.)

Para Vairāgyam:

तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यम् ॥१-२६॥

tatparam puruṣkhyāter guṇavaitṛṣṇyam (1-26)

The Para Vairāgyam is the state of mind as a result of realising the true nature of Ātma and overcoming the influence of Triguṇa-s.

I will explain more about the Apara and Para Vairāgyam-s in another article.

Can One Control Desire?

 Here is the question: Can one control his desire? The answer is Yes. Then how is it possible?

The desire to have bed-coffee..

Is it a desire or a need?

Some say that it is not a desire, it is a need. 

Alas! Is bed-coffee a need?

Then what is the need?

And what is desire?

When one realises that something is inevitable and he cannot exist without it, it is a need. Then is bed-coffee a need? Is it inevitable? What will happen to an individual without tasting bed-coffee? No answer is needed.. 

(Nothing will happen without enjoying bed-coffee.)

Then is it a desire? Is the habit of tasting bed-coffee a desire? All the urges, except for those that come in the list of need, are considered as desires. If it is not a need, that urge should be considered as a desire. 

A desire is not a need.

A need cannot be a desire.

Suppose that Mr Mitran wants to get rid of his habit of enjoying bed-coffee; how can he achieve it?

There is a method for it.

Mr Mitran should realise that there are two steps involved in drinking a bed-coffee. 

Step 1: Mr Mitran feels like having bed-coffee.

Step 2. Mr Mitran makes coffee before taking it with his hand and drinks it sip by sip through his mouth.

The first step above is not under the control of Mitran; because he feels it before he himself becomes aware of the feeling. The feeling enters into mind without his consent and therefore, it is beyond his control.

But, the nature of the second step is different; if Mr Mitran wants, he can prevent his hands from making coffee; he can prevent his hands from touching the cup of coffee. Preventing the feeling inside is impossible, whereas stopping the hands and mouth from touching coffee may be possible.

Therefore, this is the method: 

Even though Mr Mitran’s mind feels like having bed-coffee, he keeps his resolution that he won't touch the bed-coffee with his hands and mouth. 

Then Mr Mitran may manage the internal difficulty due to the strength of urge for bed-coffee.

Eventually the internal urge will come to an end and Mr Mitran’s mind will find peace once again.

This process is the teaching of Bhagavad Gita, in the Sloka No 41 of Chapter III Karmayoga:

तस्मात् त्वं इन्द्रियाण्यादौ

नियम्य भरतर्षभ​

पाप्मानं प्रजहिह्येनम्

ज्ञानविज्ञाननाशनम्।

tasmat tvam indriyāṇyādau

niyamya bharatarṣabha

pāpmānam prajahihyenam

jñānavijñānanāśanam

Therefore, (because the desire and anger are existing in the mind and organs) O Bharatarṣabha, (you are powerful among the Bharata race and so you can be successful in this practice which requires a lot of will-power.) you may stop the organs from involving in unwanted action; then the internal urge which persuades you to do wrong actions, may be defeated (with mental process of repeated thinking and learning). This desire is the destroyer of the awareness and true experience of Ātma. (Awareness of Ātma is called Jñāna and true experience of Ātma is called Vijñāna.)

The Desires Work from Senses, Organs, Emotions, Thoughts and Knowledge

Where should we search for desires?

The desire is not anywhere outside.

The desire is not in the food items; it is there inside the person who consumes them.

The desire is not in the textile items; it is there inside the person who is blinded with the crazy fondness for fashionable clothes.

The desire works from inside.

But what does it mean by saying inside?

The desire cannot work without having a comfortable seat for it. It stays inside the body as well as inside the mind..

Which means desire is not there either in the outside objects or in Atma (in true Self). 

The mind can travel through all five senses and five organs of action. These senses and organs and mind are the places where desire can function.

In body: five senses  and  five organs of action

In mind: emotions,  thoughts  and  knowledge

Bhagavad Gita says:

इन्द्रियाणि मनोबुद्धिः अस्याधिष्ठानमुच्यते एतैर् विमोचयतेष​ ज्ञानमावृत्य देहिनम्।

indriyāṇi manobuddhiḥ

asyādhiṣṭhānamucyate

etair vimohayateṣa

jñānamāvṛtya dehinam (Chapter III Karmayoga - Sloka 40)

The Indriya-s, Manas and Buddhi are the seats of desire; the Self is deluded by them (the affected Indriya-s, Manas and Buddhi) who cover and hide the true Jñānam.

Bhagavad Gita suggests a method to get rid of desires in body, mind and knowledge in the next Sloka. We will see that.