An Overview
Desire is defined as, “a longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment.”
Desires are like luggage which is a heavy burden in the journey of life
Less luggage more comfort makes travel a pleasure. Therefore, gradually reduce your desires. if you have less luggage, you will be more peaceful -Bhagavan Baba
Desires tend to mislead us into believing that,
- They will disappear if once fulfilled.
- Satisfaction can be gained through their fulfillment.
Swami insists that both of these beliefs are false:
“Men do not realise that as their desires increase, their happiness diminishes. There is no limit to desires. They multiply like ants in an anthill. There is no sense of satisfaction, however much one may possess or enjoy.”
“Who is the poorest man? He who has much desires is the poorest man in the world. Who is the richest man? He who has much satisfaction is the richest man in the world.” -Baba
There is a limit for everything in the world. There is a limit to the human body temperature, i.e., 98.4 F. Beyond this limit, one suffers from fever. When blood pressure /blood sugar levels cross the limit, our health is affected.
When your eyes happen to see a flash of lightning or a flash light while taking photographs, they automatically close because they can’t withstand such high illumination. Ear drums also cannot tolerate hearing beyond a certain volume and we close our ears or keep cotton inside the ears. From these we see that our life is a limited company! Similarly our desires also should be limited. [Divine Discourse – 1983]
Ceiling on desires (COD) is essential for healthy and happy life. Unlimited desires lead to sorrow. These act as handicaps to one’s spiritual progress. Limitless desires destroy one’s happiness and health. Reducing the number of desires is the means of achieving COD. If we fry the seed of desires, it won’t sprout again.
Epics and Puranas stress the utmost importance of COD. Desire multiplies desires. If a desire is fulfilled, it results in greed. If a desire is not fulfilled, it leads to anger and jealousy. Finally it causes the downfall of human values.
How to eradicate the unlimited and unethical desires? Baba gives the following injunctions:
- ABC – Always Be Careful. Avoid Bad Company.
- See no evil, See what is good.
Hear no evil, Hear what is good.
Talk no evil, Talk what is good.
Think no evil, Think what is good.
Do no evil, Do what is good.
Ceiling on Desires is a tool to help reduce desires by placing limits on the usage of 4 key resources
- Money
- Food
- Time
- Energy
Time, Energy, Money And Food are the resources given to man as gifts. The resources are sacred since these are the embodiment of God.
1. Time is God. Time wasted is life wasted.
“Don’t waste time. Time waste is Life waste. God is exalted as ‘Kalaya namah, Kalakalaya namah, Kalathithaya namah, Kala swaroopaya namah.’ Spend the time by using sanctifying words. Do not waste time.”
– Bhagavan Baba – Summer Showers 1993
2. Energy is God
Anger, desires and bad thoughts deplete physical, mental and spiritual energy.
“Don’t waste Energy.” People waste their energy by indulging in bad thoughts, bad looks, bad hearing and bad action.”
– Summer Showers 1993
3. Money is God
“God is wealth.” Since God is wealth, misuse of money is evil. Practice charity by gifting away money, food, clothes, houses etc instead of misusing it in extravagance. Misuse of money is not only evil but a sin as well.”
– Summer Showers 1993
4. Food is God
Food wasted by one person can alleviate the hunger of a starving child.
“Don’t waste Food. Food is God.” Your body is made of food and you are the result of the food eaten by the parents. ‘Anna Brahma’ (Food is God). Mitha thindi, athi hayi.’ Moderate food gives immense ease” says Swami. Eat as much as it is necessary to eat. But do not throw away food by taking too much in your plate.”
– Summer Showers 1993
Swami Karunyananda :“Swami, You are God incarnate and right now present here bodily. And there, behind the wall, children are fighting with street dogs for picking up mean crumbs of food from the garbage. How come, Swami?”
Bhagawan to Swami Karunyananda: They had spent their earlier lives in ease and luxury. They disdainfully ate from tables laden heavily with every kind of rich food, pecking a little from this and a little from that plate. They threw away much more than they ever ate, contemptuously discarding precious food. In this birth, they are picking up what they had earlier so recklessly wasted and consigned to the garbage heap.
Economical use of resources, selflessness, sharing and caring and concern for others are the values needed for sustaining COD. Parents, teachers and Bal Vikas Gurus should select suitable moral stories in order to inculcate COD in the mind of children.