Hunted by Your Own Desires

We are going through the seventeenth sarga of the Vairagya Prakarana of Yoga Vasishta.
Lord Rama goes on negating many of the things that people often think are what life is all about, as the purpose of life – such as wealth, longevity.
He is telling all these to Sage Vishwamitra.
In the seventeenth sarga the Lord is talking about desires.
We have already covered part of this and now going ahead.

The Lord says –
I want to take the help of viveka and vairagya and arrive at the right conclusions about the world, I want to progress towards right knowledge.
But my attempts are thwarted by my own desires.
Whenever I try to tune the veena that is my life, desires come in like a rat and cut its strings that I am trying to tune.
I am just wandering about like a leaf that has fallen into a whirlpool, like a small blade of dry grass in a storm, like the clouds in the autumnal sky, simply being pushed around.
Nothing is under my control.
A bird trapped in a net, which can not go back to its nest.
In the same way I am not able to go home, where I really belong. To my true self. I am stuck in this net of ideas, thoughts, desires.
I am burning with desires. I have become so heated up with desires that even amruta will not be able to quench my thirst.
My desires are like a mad horse, running here and there.
Nobody can predict where it is going to go next.

These desires are driving man like how a bull is driven. He is loaded like a bull.
Desires – worldly – health, wealth, pleasure, power, position, recognition, family, progeny – all kinds of worldly desires.
Amushmika – karma to attain heaven and such other good worlds. Desire for comforts hereafter.
They are not just desires. You are forced to work to attain these desires.
The bull has no freedom of its own.
It has to bear the load and go wherever its master drives it.
Man is also like that. Loaded with desires. Being driven.
Like the wife of hunter how she spreads a net and waits for her prey to get trapped in it. She has techniques to attract her prey. To catch their attention so that they come and get trapped in her net.
The desires are also like that. They show you stuff like – wife, children, friends – very interesting stuff.
Then you are trapped in that net.

I am brave. But still this demoness called desires is unnerving me.
I have the vision called viveka – but she is making me blind.
I am happy and contented – but she is forcing me into sorrow.

Desire has its own ways of trapping you. You will not even realize that you are trapped.
Desire gives you slight pleasures once in while, which keeps you going on and on looking for more.
This is the biggest trap. It is not that desires don’t give you pleasure.
They give as much pleasure that you keep craving for more, hoping for more to come.
You start believing that if I stay put and work more – I will get more pleasure, more comfort, more happiness.
But then you are in a trap. It doesn’t happen so.
It’s only more and more work. Donkey work in search of pleasure.
But where does it take you – towards hatred, towards jealousy, towards frustration.
Desire is like a black cobra, with the slightest touch this cobra will jump at you, bite you.
Then you are poisoned forever.

Desire is a fierce demoness – she holds you captive, takes away your freedom.
All your pleasure-seeking ventures, they just go on weakening your body, give you diseases, she breaks the heart.
Every time you are not able to get what you want, your heart is broken.
She makes you feel miserable.

Desire – she is like an old damaged veena with rusted and broken strings. Good music can never come out of it.
This veena whose body is made up of desires, it can produce only cacophony, never good music.
Desire is like creepers growing inside caves, deprived of sunlight,
Of unpleasing appearance,
Unfit for consumption, often poisonous.
The bunch of flowers at the topmost branch of mango trees –
They dry up due to direct heat of the sun.
They can never produce mangoes. They have become hard and dry like thorns.
They are not pleasing for the eyes.
Desires are also like these – not capable of giving anything worthwhile, but they are still there.

• Desires disrupt the pursuit of clarity and self-awareness by constantly pulling the mind in scattered directions.

• Even if one has good intentions and tools like viveka (discernment) and vairagya (dispassion), desires interfere and undo that progress.

• The mind tossed by desires becomes helpless, like a leaf in a storm — with no control, no direction, and no peace.

• Desires operate like a trap — they show short-term pleasures to keep you chasing, while slowly binding you.

• Cravings are deceptive — they offer tiny rewards to fuel the illusion that more effort will bring lasting joy.

• Desires work like a skilled hunter: they lure, mislead, and catch you in cycles of action and disappointment.

• The human condition becomes one of slavery — like a bull yoked to a cart of endless wants, pulled without rest.

• Even the desire for higher rewards like heaven (amushmika) binds the mind and distracts from true freedom.

• Desires pretend to serve happiness but actually lead to sorrow, illness, jealousy, and endless dissatisfaction.

• They create restlessness, prevent contentment, and even ruin what little joy could naturally arise.

• Desires weaken the body, poison the heart, and burden the mind with constant chasing and comparing.

• Attachment to outcomes turns work into drudgery and life into exhaustion — without any final satisfaction.

• The pleasure promised by desire is like a thorny, sun-burnt flower — dry, bitter, and ultimately useless.

• Even spiritual seekers can be fooled — desires dress up as noble goals, only to trap them deeper.

• Without intense clarity, one doesn’t even notice being trapped — the bait hides the cage.

What do desires actually do to the mind?
They scatter your focus and disturb inner peace. Even with tools like discernment and detachment, desires interfere and undo your efforts. You end up reacting rather than choosing, chasing instead of reflecting.

Why is it so hard to stay steady on the path of wisdom?
Because even a little craving slips in quietly and multiplies. Like a rat chewing through the strings of a veena, it ruins the music of your inner harmony.

But if we know desires are harmful, can't we just resist them?
Desire is not always loud or obvious. It often disguises itself as noble ambition or basic need, slipping in when your guard is down. Awareness has to be constant, not occasional.

How do desires trap a person?
They offer brief moments of pleasure to keep you chasing. Each hit feels rewarding, so you keep going — not realizing that the real cost is your freedom and contentment.

If they give pleasure, aren't desires at least partially helpful?
The pleasure is bait, not nourishment. It's like licking honey off a razor — the more you chase, the more you're cut.

Isn't any kind of pleasure better than none?
Not when the cost is long-term misery. Small joys are fine when they don’t bind you, but desires make you dependent, anxious, and afraid to lose — that's not real joy.

How do desires enslave a person?
They tie you to endless effort. Like a bull carrying a heavy load, you're pushed by your wants without rest, direction, or reward.

Why do we keep chasing desires even when we’re tired?
Because we believe the next thing will bring relief — a better job, more praise, a new relationship. But the list never ends, and the rest never comes.

Aren’t some desires natural and necessary?
Basic needs are not the issue — obsession is. When wants turn into compulsions, they become chains. It's not food that traps, but gluttony.

What happens when we fail to fulfil our desires?
It weakens the heart, breeds bitterness, and builds restlessness. Every unfulfilled craving becomes a wound, silently corroding the spirit.

How do desires affect the body and health?
They overstimulate, exhaust, and weaken. Constant wanting triggers stress, sleeplessness, poor decisions, and even illness.

Isn’t suffering from failure just part of being human?
Yes — but when it's caused by illusion and avoidable traps, it's not noble suffering. It's self-inflicted, unnecessary, and preventable through awareness.

Why is it said that desire blinds even the wise?
Because desire doesn’t fight directly. It seduces. Even when you're clear, it creeps in through justifications and stories — turning clarity into confusion.

How can I protect myself from this blindness?
By staying rooted in viveka — keep questioning your motives. Don’t assume your desires are aligned with your good just because they feel urgent.

Doesn’t ambition help us grow and improve?
Only if it’s clean — not driven by fear, greed, or comparison. True growth comes from purpose, not craving.

What’s the deeper harm in chasing pleasure?
It creates a pattern of dissatisfaction. Even when you gain, it’s not enough. So you keep running — faster, harder — but the finish line keeps moving.

Why does pleasure never feel like it lasts?
Because it’s dependent on conditions. When they shift — and they always do — the joy fades, and longing returns stronger.

Can’t we just enjoy pleasure without becoming attached?
You can — but only with great awareness. The problem isn’t pleasure, it’s forgetting who’s in charge. Most people let pleasure become the master.

How do desires affect spiritual seekers?
They dress up as spiritual goals — status, recognition, visions, even the idea of enlightenment — and derail true inquiry.

How do I know if my spiritual goal is a genuine pursuit or a disguised desire?
Ask: is it about becoming free, or about gaining something? The former liberates, the latter traps.

Isn’t even the desire for liberation still a desire?
Yes — but it's the only desire that burns all others. Once lit, it doesn't bind — it unties.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi