TV Channel

Swamiji TV

Other links



Podcast details

Back to list Previous
Next
  • Recorded on: 12 Apr 2008
  • Language: English
  • Length: 0h 03m

The Nature of Desire

A spiritual discourse on the nature and purpose of desire.

"Desires are part of our life; they are created by the Creator. Without desires, you cannot exist, proceed, or improve."

"The difference is that the human can, through viveka (discernment), minimize their needs and minimize their desires."

The speaker explains desire as a fundamental, divinely created force essential for all existence and progress in creation, from humans to trees. He emphasizes the human capacity to use discernment to minimize desires, cautioning that simply fulfilling them can be like adding fuel to a fire, though he also gives the example of satiating hunger. The talk clarifies that desire extends beyond the sexual and touches on its perceived continuity even after physical death.

Desires are part of our life; they are created by the Creator. Without desires, you cannot exist, proceed, or improve. Without desires, creation itself cannot continue. Therefore, desire is a part of life. It is nature, and in nature, there are desires. So whether you are a human or a tree, it is no different. The tree has desires, and the human has desires. The difference is that the human can, through viveka (discernment), minimize their needs and minimize their desires. On the other hand, desire is like this: if you want to fulfill it, you are putting petrol on the fire. It will never be completely extinguished; only through your viveka, only through your logical thinking, can you minimize it, that's all. For example, when you are very hungry and you are going to eat, when the stomach is full, you will say, "No, thank you, really, it's enough." So there comes a time when you will say, "It's enough; I am not suffering." You are not longing for that anymore. But you cannot live without any desires. When you have no desires, then you are dead. But after death, again you have desire: someone should bury you or burn you or pull you; you are there. The next desires will awake: in which world you want to go and how you will come back. So desire is created by the Creator; it is part of our existence. And if this desire is... you have no desire? Desire means, don't think only of the sexual; when we are talking about desires, immediately your concentration goes to Mūlādhāra and Svādhiṣṭhāna.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

Email Notifications

You are welcome to subscribe to the Swamiji.tv Live Webcast announcements.
Sign up

Contact Us

If you have any comments or technical problems with swamiji.tv website, please send us an email.
info@swamiji.tv

Download App

YouTube Channel