Run After Desires, Run Into Pain

In the seventeenth sarga of the Vairagya Prakarana of Yoga Vasishta, Lord Rama is comparing desires to an old prostitute, a seducer. She chases everyone, offering so much. But she is old, she can never satisfy anyone, she is incapable of giving pleasure. She knows this about herself, that she can never satisfy anyone, but still she wouldn’t stop chasing.

Desire is like a creeper plant – in a dense forest. This creeper is poisonous. There are flowers in this creeper like old age, death – these are what blossom out of these creeper. Desires are so promising, but ultimately desire can only blossom old age and death, nothing else. Old age and death are unavoidable. There are also fruits in this creeper. Calamities in life, turmoils in life, disasters in life – when you chase desires, understand that these are what are waiting for you. These are the only end results desire can offer you. Old age and death are for you to see and understand – that it is not any different. Still if you chase desires, then what you get and calamities and turmoils and disasters.

Desire can suddenly flare up in your mind. You may think that you have attained peace. You have your mind under your control. Just as a quiet peacock suddenly rises up and stands dancing on the approach of rains, desires can suddenly rise up in your mind, even after a long interval. This happens to many people, they think that they are in command. Suddenly something comes up and you are pushed back into your old state. Like how a quietly flowing river turns turbulent after in rains for some time. Unpredictable, desire can take over the mind and turn it turbulent anytime it wants.

Desire is like a hungry and thirsty bird. Once it sees that a particular tree is without fruits, it flies to another one. If one particular desire no longer excites you it will go to another one. A mischievous monkey. It will go to places, where it has no business. It will put its hand on everything. Desires are also like that. There need not be any purpose. It will make you wish for a farm land of your own. You are not an agriculturist. You don’t know abcd of farming. You have no background, no experience. It will show you the image of a successful farmer who won an award, make you hear what he says, that how great it is to do farming, doing what you want and all that stuff. And in no time you are on the internet looking for farm land. This is how desire operates. And you end up being that monkey which puts its hand into things, where it has no business.

Desire will make you start everything showing you an achievable and good goal. Let resign my job and start a business. How much money an employment can generate. You have to take a risk. This is how people achieve in life. The goal is lot of money, improved standard of living. This is the goal that desire shows you at the beginning. But then after three or five years, when you are into debts, feeling miserable, you will not even remember how it all started. Still you will be chasing dreams, unrealistic dreams.

I remember an oil trader, having a small edible oil trading business, a good enough livelihood, but then he wanted to make it big. Wound up his oil business eventually, chasing big dreams. When I heard from him, he was borrowing even for daily needs, but thinking that he was brokering a deal between America and China in a multi billion arms deal. I asked him, have you even gone to America, gone to China, met the concerned people? No I will have to go when the contract will be signed, which could be even next week. This is the kind of lunacy desire can push you into.

I have seen someone, who thinks, who thinks, that he is going to buy a diamond mine in Africa any time and lives off his father’s pension. This is the kind of lunacy desires can push you into.

Desire is like a black bee which moves around the lotus in the heart. Suddenly you will seeing it flying up somewhere and going somewhere. But soon it will come back. With more brilliant ideas, more opportunities.

There are many many enemies of man – lust, greed, arrogance – out of all these, the most long lasting is desire, which is very difficult to end. Even when it ends, it can come back any time. Once ignorance goes away, your arrogance may end. It may never come back. But desire is not like that, it can come back any time.

Desire doesn’t even need to show you something or make you hear about something to start longing for it. It may be even non existent. It may be something impossible. Still desire can make you long for it.

Sun gets blocked by the clouds and it turns gloomy. The sunlight of knowledge, the brightness that comes to the mind when true knowledge dawns – desire acts as the cloud that blocks the sunlight of knowledge.

Are you able to appreciate this – the kind of in depth analysis of the ways and means of the mind. Can any modern text book of psychology come even anywhere close to this?

We will be continuing more on desires.

• Desire is portrayed as a desperate seducer — constantly offering promises, yet incapable of real satisfaction.

• It clings to the mind like a poisonous creeper in a dark forest — flowering into old age and death, and bearing fruits of suffering and chaos.

• Desires never fulfill, they only decorate the path to decay, disaster, and inevitable loss.

• Even after long periods of inner peace, desire can suddenly erupt — like a peacock dancing at the scent of rain or a calm river turning wild.

• The mind is never truly safe from desire; even a small trigger can throw it back into turbulence.

• Desire behaves like a restless monkey or a hungry bird — hopping from one fantasy to another with no logic or restraint.

• Desires often arise without purpose or background — pushing people into roles or paths they are unfit for.

• They use borrowed images of success to spark imitation and envy — leading to reckless decisions.

• The mind begins chasing dreams with no ground under its feet — often ending in failure, debt, and emotional ruin.

• Desire tempts people with visions of success and control — but often delivers anxiety, exhaustion, and regret.

• People forget how their suffering began — lost in the chase of the next fantasy, the next illusion.

• The same desire that started small can grow into full-blown delusion — where people confuse hallucination for ambition.

• Even seemingly intelligent people fall into absurd desires — dreaming of billionaire deals while borrowing for food.

• Desire doesn't care about practicality or reality — it only cares that you're hooked.

• The deeper its grip, the more ridiculous your goals can become — from diamond mines to global conspiracies.

• Desire can vanish, but it always returns — with more sparkle, new packaging, louder promises.

• Other inner enemies like arrogance fade with knowledge — but desire lies low and waits for a weak moment.

• You don’t need to see, hear, or even believe in a thing for desire to make you crave it — it can even make you long for the impossible.

• Desire blocks the light of truth like a cloud hides the sun — even a glimpse of knowledge gets dimmed when longing takes over.

• It doesn’t need logic, it doesn’t need proof — only your attention.

• Until you see its nature clearly, it will keep returning with newer tricks.

What is the nature of desire according to this teaching?
Desire is like a manipulative force — seductive on the outside, empty on the inside. It constantly promises pleasure but delivers aging, death, and sorrow. It thrives by dangling illusions while hiding the consequences.

Why do we keep falling for desires if they never satisfy?
Because desire always comes dressed in fresh hopes. The same way a gambler keeps betting despite losing, the mind keeps chasing even after repeated letdowns. The charm lies in the 'next time'.

Isn't it too extreme to compare desire with disease and decay?
Not if you see what desire actually leads to — unrest, dissatisfaction, and eventual breakdown. Every pursuit backed by craving ends up in stress, confusion, or loss. That pattern is hard to ignore.

How does desire return even after long calm periods?
Desire waits silently like a storm behind clear skies. Even when the mind feels steady, a small trigger — a sight, memory, or word — can reignite old cravings instantly.

Can’t I train my mind to stop desire from popping up again?
You can train vigilance, but not guarantee freedom. Even the calmest minds are vulnerable. Awareness helps reduce damage, but total immunity is rare.

Why blame desire for every mental disturbance? Isn’t life itself full of ups and downs?
Life’s ups and downs are natural, but desire amplifies them. It distorts reality and multiplies suffering. Without craving, even setbacks feel manageable — with craving, even success feels empty.

Why is desire compared to a monkey or hungry bird?
Because it’s restless, directionless, and always moving. Desire doesn’t need logic — it just wants movement. Like a monkey fiddling or a bird hopping for food, it jumps to whatever is shiny.

What if I channel my desires into meaningful goals?
It works only if you're clear-headed. Otherwise, desire will dress ego and impulse as 'purpose'. Without self-awareness, even noble goals become traps.

Isn’t restlessness a sign of creativity, not danger?
Creativity comes from depth and clarity. Restlessness fueled by craving scatters energy. Desire burns your fuel before you even choose a direction.

How do desires mislead people into things they don’t even understand?
Desire sells borrowed dreams. It shows you someone else's success and makes you believe it can be yours too — ignoring your context, capacity, or interest.

Why do people suddenly want to farm, trade, or become millionaires overnight?
Not because of real plans — but because of imitation and fantasy. Desire taps into comparison, not competence.

Is it wrong to try something new based on inspiration?
No — but there’s a difference between inspiration and impulse. One arises from understanding, the other from fantasy. Desire thrives on fantasy.

What happens when desire turns into obsession?
People lose touch with reality. They start believing they are part of grand plans, international deals, or impossible ventures. The dream gets louder while life falls apart.

Why don’t they stop even when everything is falling apart?
Because desire doesn’t care about outcomes — only about continuation. The longer it runs, the harder it is to wake up.

Isn’t this just about mental illness, not desire?
Delusion is the extreme form, but the root is still craving. Even small unchecked desires can grow into obsessive illusions over time.

Why does desire return even after we think it's gone?
Because it’s deeply wired in the mind. Other impurities may leave permanently, but desire has a tendency to regenerate.

Can knowledge stop desire from coming back?
It can reduce its power, but not erase it. Until there’s complete clarity, desire finds gaps to slip through.

Isn’t this a hopeless cycle? If it always returns, what’s the point?
It’s not hopeless — it’s about awareness. When you know its nature, you stop trusting it. That alone changes the game.

How can desire make you crave the impossible?
Because it doesn’t operate on logic. You don’t need to see or touch something — even imagination can spark longing.

What’s the harm in desiring something unlikely, if it motivates action?
If the motivation is rooted in delusion, the action becomes wasteful or harmful. Desire sells dreams that don't care about feasibility.

Isn’t dreaming big the first step to success?
Only if it's grounded. Big dreams without self-knowledge are just distractions. Desire uses ‘big’ to hide ‘empty’.

How does desire block knowledge?
It acts like a mental cloud — covering clarity with noise. Even when insight is present, desire makes it feel dull or unreachable.

What can I do to protect the clarity I gain?
Stay alert. Notice when desire rises — especially when it comes dressed as opportunity or urgency. Awareness is your umbrella.

Isn’t knowledge strong enough to cut through desire on its own?
Only when it's lived, not just learned. Passive knowledge gets overpowered. Active wisdom stands firm.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi