What is desire? Every person in the world is suffering from a disease, whether it is the disease of desires or the disease of wishes. We should think about this disease because Mahabharata Shanti Parva 251.7 said, ‘Kamabandhanmevaikam naanyadastiya bandhanam.’ That is, desire is the only bondage in the world; there is no other bondage. On the seriousness of this disease, Mahabharata Shanti Parva 277.12 said, ‘Anavapteshu Kameshu Mrityurbhyeti Manavam.’
That is, if desires are not fulfilled, death surrounds a person. That means the whole life is spent fulfilling these desires, but man’s desires never end. In other words, Mahabharata Shanti Parva 177.22 said, ‘Na Purve Napare Jatu Kamnamantamapnuvan.’ That is, in all three periods, people never found the end of their desires. Therefore, we will consider this wish on the basis of evidence and determine what diseases arise from it, what those diseases are, and how many types there are. We will know this in detail in this article.
Types of wishes
Mahabharata Shanti Parva 167.34, ‘Nasti Nasinnabhavishyad Bhootam Kamatikaat Param.’ That is, there is neither a desire-free creature anywhere, nor was there nor will be. Then Mahabharata Shanti Parva 251.7 said that ‘Kamabandhanmukto hi Brahmabhuyaya Kalpate’ i.e., the one who is freed from the bondage of desire, becomes capable of attaining Brahmabhava.
Why were such two contradictory things said in the Mahabharata? The answer is that there are two types of desires: 1. physical and 2. spiritual. In fact, material desires have been called desires, but spiritual desires have been called devotion, love, etc. That is why Mahabharata Shanti Parva 167.34 ‘Nasti Nasinna Bhavishyad Bhootam Kamatikaat Param.’ That is, there is neither a desire-free creature nor there was nor will be one.
In other words, whatever we desire in the physical world, we also desire the same in the spiritual world. Just as people in the world want to see, hear, and know things related to a particular person, devotees also wish the same thing; they want to see, hear, and know things related to God.
That is why Mahabharata Udyogparva 42.18 said, ‘Anih Aayati Param Paratma.’ That is, a person without desires attains God. That is, if one gives up material desires, then man attains God. Because by renouncing material desires, a person will only pursue spiritual desires, and by doing so, he attains God. Geeta said this in this way:
अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः।
तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः॥
– गीता ८. १४
That is, O Partha, I am easily accessible to the eternally engaged yogi who remembers me continuously; that is, I can be easily attained by him.
That is, the one whose mind does not think about any other subject. A person who constantly remembers God develops a mental attachment to God. Such a person attains God easily.
How do material desires originate?
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते।
सङ्गात् संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते॥६२॥
क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति॥६३॥
– गीता २.६२-६३
Meaning: A person who thinks about subjects gets attached to those subjects. Attachment gives rise to desire, and then desire gives rise to anger. When angry, memory gets corrupted due to stupor and fascination. When memory is corrupted, intelligence is destroyed. Due to the destruction of intelligence, a human being degrades.
There are total five types of subjects: 1. Smell 2. Juice 3. Form; 4. Touch 5. Word. These are five types of subjects because there are five senses in total: 1. nose, 2. tongue, 3. eye, 4. skin, and 5. ear. Now there are many wishes for each subject. For example, there are many topics to look at, like traveling and respect. Through all this, we see how much respect we have in society. You should think about all the subjects, etc.
So according to Gita 2.62–63, the more a person thinks about these subjects, the more he becomes attached to them. Someone thought a lot about honor and respect; someone thought a lot about becoming a great person; someone thought about eating pizza; someone thought about a certain man or woman. Now, the more times a person thinks, the more he gets attached to it, and the more he thinks, the more the attachment will increase.
Now there was attachment to those subjects, and out of attachment, desires arose. That is, due to attachment, the person developed a desire to want that thing or person. If it is fulfilled, then greed will arise, and if it is not fulfilled, then anger will arise. So the root cause of anger is the unfulfillment of one’s own desires.
When a person is in a state of anger and attachment, his memory gets corrupted; that is, at the time of anger and attachment, he does not remember what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. At that time, religion and unrighteousness are not taken into account, hence the person becomes biased. Mahabhaat is a clear example of this, due to not paying attention to whether there is Dharma (right) or Adharma (inappropriate) in love for one’s son, such a big war took place.
So, when the memory gets corrupted due to anger and attachment, then the intellect also gets destroyed; that is, in anger and attachment, the intellect also does not work. At that time, the decision as to what to take is not right because the intellect gets destroyed. And then, due to the destruction of the intellect, the human being degrades.
Therefore, desires arise due to attachment to objects. Which is the cause of anger, greed, attachment, etc.?
Where do desires reside?
Desires reside in the mind. That’s why desire remains in the mind. The senses are only a means to fulfill those desires. In other words, when desires arise in the mind, a person uses his senses to fulfill those desires. Therefore, there is a desire in the mind.
To understand with another example, your ear does not wish to listen to a certain music, your mind does. You are sleeping, and someone next to you is talking on the phone. You can’t hear anything. This is because the senses work through the mind. The senses are ineffective. The mind alone does whatever has to be done.
