Vedas have described desires elaborately. There are two kinds of desires one is fundamental desire, the other topical desire. Topical desires arise in us more often than the fundamental desires. What are they?
We like to eat sweets, watch movies, gossip with friends…These are topical desires.
Now let us take a look at fundamental desires. Basically there are three desires under this category.
If we were to learn that today would be the last day in our lives, every one would expect 'Can we not live for a day more?' This is the first desire.
'Every one wishes to live a day more. This desire as per the Vedas is called `Sat.' But we also wish that extra day should be spent happily---this is the second desire, called 'Ananda.' When one attains permanent bliss, no one would wish to die.
The third fundamental desire is to gain as much knowledge as possible during one's lifetime. This is called hunger for knowledge.
One may not have any interest in the lessons taught in the school, but that does not mean that one has no interest in gaining any kind of knowledge.
Just for fun, try telling this to someone 'This is an important secret. I will reveal it to you tomorrow!'-he would not be able to even wait till the next day to find out what that secret is! We are not happy being ignorant. So I say, wishing to gain knowledge, wanting to learn new things, is third desire. This, the Vedas refer to as `Chit.' Hence, 'Sat' means the desire to live, "Ananda' means the desire that life should be happy, `Chit' the desire to acquire knowledge. The Vedas call them together as `Sat Chit Ananda.'
Sat, Chit and Ananda-are the three desires that we seek, a sea diver searching for pearls in the deep ocean holding his breath!
Not knowing this basic truth, we live our lives lost in the un-essentials.
Reflect on this story.
An Octroi officer was posted on a particular check post. He observed every day, a cyclist passing the check post carrying sandbags with him. This continued every day for years. There was no tax on sand and the Octroi officer allowed sand bags to pass.
Only after retirement did the Octroi officer find a big cycle shop near the place he used to work. To his surprise, he came to know that the cyclist, who used to carry sand bags, was the owner of the shop. On enquiry, it came to light that the cyclist, all along smuggled one cycle a day under the pretext of carrying sand bags.....
The Octroi officer to his dismay found that during his tenure, he had only checked the sand bags... missing the essential.
So often, we get lost in the unessential and miss what is essential.
Therefore, the commitment of a spiritual person should be to fulfil the fundamental desire and not get lost in the unessential desires.
Spiritual desires uplift you and not drown you
Life is not measured by the time span we live but by the quality built into it.
We get lost in the unessential and miss what is essential.
- Swami Sukhabodhananda, Oh Life Relax Please!
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