Is it possible for man to live without desire? It is
impossible. Desire is the motivating force that helps man to achieve many
things in life. At every step there is a desire and man’s life progresses in
trying to satisfy his desires! Parents desire their children to study well and
be a Topper in school or college! Employed youth desire to reach the top in
their departments! They want to progress further. One is never satisfied with
what he has! The old car has to be replaced with the new one; the old model
with the latest with many more new additional facilities! Old house has to be remodelled
or sold off and a new cottage or a modern villa has to be bought! People say’
the old order changeth yielding place to new”. That is also natural law. Nature
also transforms itself with new vesture and changes according to seasons!
Desire within
limits is safe and not dangerous. We can desire for things that are possible for
achievement. We should never desire for things that we cannot achieve. That
will lead us to failure and disappointment. Desire should be ethical and should
not cross the limits of morality and social mores.“Desire is bonfire that burns
with greater fury, asking for more fuel. Desire is the sole cause of sorrow and
distress” says Bhagawan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba! It is an unquenchable and
insatiable thirst. A desire satisfied leads to another desire like the fire fed
with ghee during the homas or sacrifices! Desire leads to ambition and if it is
not within one’s limits, he fails miserably!
Our puranas are replete with stories of even Devas and kings and
emperors who were undone by the illegal desires that they wanted to satisfy.
Indra, king of
Devas had an insatiable passion for Ahalya, the wife of sage Gauthama! He was
terribly disappointed as the creator Brahma gave her away in marriage to the
great sage. He was waiting for an opportunity to satisfy his desire for her. One
day, while sage Gauthama was away, he planned to try his luck! But Ahalya , being a ‘pativrata’- a very
chaste lady, he could not near her in his own form. He took the form of sage
Gautama and went to Ahalya who mistook him for her own husband. Soon Ahalya
realized her lapse and sage Gauthama arrived on the scene! Burning with rage at
the heinous crime Indra had done, the sage cursed him to lose his manliness!
Ahalya was cursed to remain as as an insensible rock! Later Ahalya came back to
life when Sri Rama happened to touch the rock on his way I Desires for the
wives of others are immoral and detestable!
The Ramayana
speaks of a similar desire on the part of Ravana, the King of Lanka!Told about
the celestial beauty of Sita, by his
sister Surpanakha, Ravana craved for her. Ravana was a great ‘ tapasvin’ a great
scholar in Sama veda and had kept Indra and other Devas in servitude in Lanka!
But his burning desire for Sita gave him sleepless nights! He managed to abduct
Sita with the help of Maricha who led Sri Rama away in search of the golden
deer desired by sita! Not only did he not succeed but he and his clan of
rakshasas were rooted out in the battle between Sri Rama and Ravana! We should
remember that Sita is also responsible for what had happened. It is her DESIRE
for the golden deer that started her unbearable suffering in the ‘asoka vana!’
In the
story of another great king Nahusha we see how desire makes people blind
and disrespect elders! Nahusha had
performed a hundred Aswanedha yagas and qualified himself for the enviable post
o f Indra In heaven! According to the custom, great sages were carrying him on
the palanquin. Nahusha, in his anxiety to reach quickly, prodded one
of the maharshis with his foot saying’ sarpa, sarpa’. The sage was infuriated
at this slight and cursed Nahusha to become a serpent and suffer for long! ‘Sarpa’
means serpent and also’move quickly’There is another very strange story of king
Yayati who had two wives Devayani and Sarmishta. He was very fond of Sarmishta and neglected
Devayani. Depressed very much, She
complained to her father Sukracharya. Enraged at what Yayati had done,
Sukracharya cursed Yayati to lose his prime youth and grow old! Yayati was not
satisfied with conjugal bliss and desired to enjoy for many more years! Later
he exchanged his old age with the youth of his son Puru These illustrations point out the pitfalls on the
way to satisfy one’s desire! Let us desire for good and noble things in life
within the reach of accomplishment!
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