INSATIABLE DESIRE

Desireless is Brahman, the Supreme Being. I am the basis of the formless Brahman, the immortal and imperishable, of eternal dharma, and of unending divine bliss, as Sri Krishna axiomatically says in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

brahmaṇo hi pratiṣhṭhāham amṛitasyāvyayasya cha

śhāśhvatasya cha dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya cha

Brahman is pure intelligence, infinity bliss, and beyond space-time-causation. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, "Activities do not taint Me, nor do I desire the fruits of action. One who knows Me in this way is never bound by the karmic reactions of work." He is transcendental to the fruitive reactions of work.

na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛihā

iti māṁ yo ’bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate

Desire engulfs every other being, but the range of variation varies from the divine-spiritual realm to the material realm. Desire-driven activities are bound by karmic (action-based) reactions to fruitive results. One of the principles of cosmic order is elevation in life processes. The elevation is towards Self-Realisation. Self-realisation is the realisation of the self.

It moves from the lower self to the higher self, the realisation of divine consciousness. Self-realisation is an intrinsic part of elevating experiences. In our ancient scriptures, there are highlights for both the path and the followers who follow the path. In Vedic philosophy, "Ṛta" refers to the cosmic order or universal law that governs the functioning of the universe. "Ṛta" (Sanskrit ऋत) is intertwined with Satya (Truth). Satya (Truth) is manifested by the establishment of the cosmos, while "Ṛta" is the mode of being that promotes the freedom, safety, security, and stability" of the truth. It is a fundamental concept in Vedic philosophy and is often described as the principle of natural order, truth, and justice that underlies the entire universe.

1. Outline    

The Puruṣārthas or aims, of human life or the object of life pursuits are "Dharma (righteousness, moral values), Artha (prosperity, economic values), Kāma (pleasure, love, psychological values), and Moksha (liberation, spiritual values)." All four aims of human life are equally important for the object of life. However, in cases of triage, the Dharma-embedded action will always be primus inter pares.

Desires, feelings, thoughts, and actions emanate from the body-mind-intellect complex that leads to attachment, and unfulfillment of any of them leads to anger and finally clouding of judgement. Desire is insatiable when it induces a strong and unquenchable craving or longing for something. No matter how much one tries, the urge to satisfy the desire remains overwhelming, relentless, and persistent. Its nature can vary greatly depending on the being and its specific circumstances. It could manifest in various aspects of life's journey, like a desire for success, fame, recognition, wealth, knowledge, power, love, etc. It may even move beyond these to other levels all together, like self-realisation, spiritual enlightenment, or the search for Truth.

People with an insatiable desire may constantly seek out new experiences, possessions, or achievements in an attempt to fulfil their longing. However, regardless of how much they attain, they still feel a sense of emptiness or dissatisfaction, leading them to continuously chase after more.

However, insatiable are sensual desires. Insatiable desire drives beings into a conundrum when it emerges from the senses. It induces a strong and unquenchable craving or longing to gratify the senses that burns like a fire. It implies a relentless, persistent, and often overwhelming urge that cannot be satisfied no matter how much one tries. Such desires emanating from the conundrums of the senses in the body-mind-intellect complex are insatiable.

While having aspirations and goals is a normal part of human nature, an insatiable desire can become problematic when it dominates a person's life, leading to a constant state of restlessness, dissatisfaction, and an inability to find contentment.

2. Scriptures

Insatiable desires derails the search for Truth and also the elevation processes of Self-realisation. The Srimad Bhagavad Gita emphatically says about this aspect that desire leads to anger, and anger leads to clouding of intellect and judgement.

Sri Krishna elaborates in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita on the pitfalls of sense-driven desires.

dhyāyato viṣhayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣhūpajāyate

saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate

While contemplating the objects of the senses, one develops an attachment to them. Attachment leads to desire, and from desire arises anger. Anger, greed, lust, etc. are considered in the Vedic scriptures as mānas rog, or diseases of the mind, and need to be controlled.

krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ

smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati

Anger leads to clouding of judgement, which results in bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, the intellect gets destroyed, and when the intellect is destroyed, one is ruined.

rāga-dveṣha-viyuktais tu viṣhayān indriyaiśh charan

ātma-vaśhyair-vidheyātmā prasādam adhigachchhati

But, Sri Krishna says, one who controls the mind and is free from attachment and aversion, even while using the objects of the senses, attains the Grace of God.

 The Srimad Bhagavad Gita emphatically says about this aspect:

āvṛitaṁ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā

kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣhpūreṇānalena cha

The knowledge of even the most discerning gets covered by this perpetual enemy in the form of insatiable desire, which is never satisfied and burns like fire, O son of Kunti.

Material desires driven by the senses have no end and are insatiable. Srimad Bhagavatam tersely says so.

tṛṣṇayā bhava-vāhinyā

yogyaiḥ kāmair apūryayā

karmāṇi kāryamāṇo’haṁ

nānā-yoniṣu yojitaḥ (ŚB 7.13.24)

Because of material desires, I was being carried away by the waves of material nature’s laws, and thus I was engaging in different activities and struggling for existence in various forms of life.

The Dhammapada says all desires driven by the senses bring only sorrow.

Not by rain of golden coins

is found desires’ satiety;

desires are dukkha, of little joy;

thus a wise one understands. (Dhammapada 14-186)

Insatiable are sensual desires. Sensual desires will not be satisfied even with a shower of gold. The wise know that sensual pleasure brings little satisfaction and much pain.

The discipline of the Buddha does not even go after heavenly pleasures. The discipline of the Buddha has his mind fixed only on the process of ending cravings.

It further says that if a wise person were to take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, he would observe the four Noble Truths with high wisdom.

But going for refuge to Buddha,

to Dhamma and the Sangha too,

one sees with perfect wisdom

the tetrad of the Noble Truths: (Dhammapada 14-190)

It highlights that the four extraordinary realities are suffering, the arising of suffering, the ending of suffering, and the eight-fold path leading to the ending of suffering.

Dukkha, its causal arising,

the overcoming of dukkha,

and the Eight-fold Path that’s Noble

leading to dukkha’s allaying. (Dhammapada 14-191)

The eight elements of the noble path are:

(i) A correct view, an accurate understanding of the nature of things, specifically the Four Noble Truths ((a) the truth of misery or suffering, (b) the truth that misery originates within the craving for pleasure, (c) the truth that this craving can be eliminated, and (d) the truth that this elimination is the result of following a methodical way or path),

(ii) correct intention, avoiding thoughts of attachment, hatred, and harmful intent,

(iii) correct speech, refraining from verbal misdeeds such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech,

(iv) correct action, refraining from physical misdeeds such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct,

(v) correct livelihood, avoiding trades that directly or indirectly harm others, such as selling slaves, weapons, animals for slaughter, intoxicants, or poisons.

(vi) correct effort, abandoning negative states of mind that have already arisen, preventing negative states that have yet to arise, and sustaining positive states that have already arisen,

(vii) correct mindfulness, awareness of body, feelings, thought, and phenomena, and

(viii) correct concentration and single-mindedness.

The eight-fold noble path the followers need to follow for the realisation of divine consciousness

Yoga Vasistha, Sage Vasistha teaches Sri Rama about liberation and "self-effort" as a step towards moksha, or liberation. It says, The world is nothing but the play of Consciousness. Sage Vasistha, while teaching Sri Rama, emphasises on the need for "self-effort" in spiritual practice. This aspect of teaching is most important as it focuses on the free will of the human being to exercise self-effort. The Yoga Vasistha holds that the highest human achievement is to become liberated in life (Jivana Mukta). Yoga Vasistha says that enlightenment consists of just three steps: there is an appearance; what is the substance behind the appearance? The mind. What is the substance of the mind, and who understands all this? The answer is pure consciousness. In that consciousness, you and I, the subject and the object, appear to be divided.

In the Vivekchudamani, Sri Shankaracharya puts emphasis on the application of Vivek to discriminate between the inner and outer selves. The outer self gives sensual gratification, whereas the inner self gives Sat-Chit-Anand (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). He says, "One should recover oneself, immersed in the sea of birth and death, by means of devotion to right discrimination."

3. Remarks

Sensual-driven desires need to be controlled by the Atman (the inner spirit) to realise its own Self through self-enquiry. Ramana Maharshi says: To all deep-thinking minds, the inquiry about the "I" and its nature has an irresistible fascination. Self-enquiry is the only infallible and direct means to realise the unconditioned, absolute being that you really are. When the subtle mind goes out through the brain and the sense organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out but retaining it in the heart is what is called "inwardness". Letting the mind go out of the heart is known as "externalisation.". Thus, when the mind stays in the heart, the ‘I," which is the source of all thoughts, will go, and the Self, which has always existed, will shine.

Srimad Bhagavatam says to detach from the fruitive results of desire-induced actions. Material activities never entangle the devotees of the Supreme Lord, who are fully satisfied by serving the dust of His lotus feet. Nor do material activities entangle those intelligent sages who have freed themselves from the bondage of all fruitive reactions through the power of yoga. So how could there be any question of bondage for the Lord Himself, who assumes His transcendental forms according to His own sweet will?

yat-pāda-paṅkaja-parāga-niṣeva-tṛptā
yoga-prabhāva-vidhutākhila-karma-bandhāḥ
svairaṁ caranti munayo ’pi na nahyamānās

tasyecchayātta-vapuṣaḥ kuta eva bandhaḥ (ŚB 10.33.34)

Swami Vivekananda says every being in the universe has the potentiality of transcending the senses. No life will be a failure, and there is no such thing as failure in the universe.

-Asutosh Satpathy