Gauthama Buddha said that desire is the root cause of sorrow, because it could lead to disappointment if the desire is not fulfilled. The Bhagavad Gita says that desire springs from attachment which springs from continually thinking about something. And that desire leads to anger loss of memory, intellect and destruction. Narada Bhakthi Sutras agree with this. This implies that sorrow is a thing to be avoided and therefore desire is to be given up, to avoid that sorrow.
The Bhagavad Gita talks of Nishkama Karma or desire less work. This is a “cool model’ . The society benefits through such an approach and through that the individual benefits. The point is to focus on the ‘process’ or the activity and not on the results.
The Western Corporate talks of drive for results, it talks of greed, of growth for the sake of growth and it yokes people to itself through their greed and fear. This is unhealthy. To me the Western Corporate is incompatible in its fundamentals from the Bhagavad Gita. But once you give up that greed and fear, you also give up any possible achievements in that line. If I don’t desire money, power and glory why would I do a corporate job? Then I cannot have that achievement. Greed is not desire. They are not synonyms.
Is it so important to be free from sorrow? Vivekananda said that he was willing to be born a thousand times to serve his country. He did not desire salvation or moksha (freedom – from the birth and death cycle).
Contentment leads to peace. But desire leads to effort, effort to experience and to achievement. Even a desire for peace or for freedom from sorrow is a desire. Buddha’s desire for the truth was so great that he undertook a huge effort to find it. Slavery is a result of a desire to stay alive even under apalling conditions. Many devotees who desire God are unhappy till they reach that state of oneness. Even a desire for God is a desire. I still have desires. Realistically, I may have desires till I die. So I stand to suffer from not fulfilling my desires because: a) they are impossible desires. b) they are possible – but I don’t know how to fulfill them. c) I know how, but I have failed in my attempt. I may never reach a desireless state – even if I try.
My conclusion : Desire need not be given up. Desire leads to experience. Experience leads to wisdom. Desire leads to effort and effort leads to accomplishment. Because sorrow due to disappointment is not to be avoided, it is to be accepted. It has its place in learning and creativity and new ideas for doing things. And that is life. Renounciation is for those who cannot handle the disappointments that are an inevitable part of living, doing and being.
Comments on: "Satya Sutra – Desire is good." (2)
you are right in saying that desire leads to experience. But one must be willing to take all that they can from that experience. In doing so they ultimately realize that the wisdom they gain from those experiences are not worth the extent of sorrow or pain which they endure. It is my view that desires based on righteousness alone shall sustain itself. It is probably a more realistic version of Nishkama karma that the Gita makes of.
Very well said. Thank you.