The purpose of desire is to shake up the inert tamasic state in which man may sink and, like the stone, neither seek nor aspire, nor progress. Desire does an admirable job at this stage of humanity that is largely sunk in the physical consciousness and leads a rather mechanical life of fixed custom and routine. Desire makes it move from tamas to rajas which is the principle of kinesis, one step higher.
But then man must go further as entangled in desires he remains tied to the swing of pleasure and pain, he gets caught in the tangle of restless activity with momentary gains followed by frustration, disappointments and sometimes depression and despair. This too has been made by the same Divine to push us out of this restlessness into a still higher mode of living, a life of balance and moderation governed by the principle of Sattwa.
Here we begin to seek for something higher than sensory pleasure because we know they don’t last and, if indulged excessively the very same pleasures begin to hurt. This happens because one wants more and more but the human system is limited. Its capacity, even to enjoy limitlessly is possible only if it moves further up the ladder through Sattwa to the higher spiritual principles. This is what one is trained for during the Sattwic phase of self-restraint, – not a crushing of pleasure but refining it, not a denial of desire but bringing it under the principle of balance and dharma, that is instead of its unbridled chase and exhaustion, to keep it within certain frames of discipline, right enjoyment keeping into mind the place, time and person, according to certain rational principles.
When desire thus learns to submit to Sattwic buddhi then we are ready to evolve further from the sattwic to the spiritual, from the human to the Divine.
So all depends upon the stage of evolution and what one wants from life. It is not a question of right and wrong but of choosing to remain stuck in the endless roller-coaster or progress further and fly towards unlimited horizons of light, peace, harmony and delight.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
