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Chapter 3
Nothing in the world, can be acquired by having desire. It is the fruit of effort. People have a desire to become rich, yet they remain poor. All the people, except the liberated souls, have a desire to remain alive, but they die. A man's actions bear fruits, according to his fate or fortune, not because of his desire. Whatever, is allotted cannot be blotted, whether you have desire for it or not. As, a man has to undergo unfavourable circumstances unwillingly, he would also face favourable circumstances. A man may bear pain, blame and dishonour etc., without any desire. Similarly, he may gain pleasure, praise and honour, without desire as a result of his fate.
A man may have a desire for immediate pleasures and prosperity, or for future fruits, for his actions. But a desire is the root of pain, here as well as hereafter, so a man should renounce, desire.
It is out of desire that a man performs actions. When there is an excess of this desire, it forces him to perform forbidden actions. It is because of desire that he is more attached, to the unreal. As soon as, he renounces desire, his affinity for the Unreal is renounced.
'When desire is satisfied, we attain the same state in which we were, before desire was aroused. When desire, say of receiving a hundred rupees, was not aroused in a striver's mind, he was desireless, and again after having received that amount, he becomes desireless. It is because of his attachment to the worldly pleasures, that new desires are born. Thus, desire are never satisfied.
Some people believe that desires cannot be totally renounced. But the fact is, that desires cannot be maintained. These appear and disappear, have a beginning and an end, and constantly decay. If we do not have new desire, the old desire, whether satisfied or not, disappears itself.
Everyone's desires, may not be satisfied forever but these can be renounced forever, because these are transitory. The difficulty in renouncing desire is, that we have a feeling of 'mine'. If we become free from this feeling of 'mine', we shall become, desireless. Desirelessness will lead to detachment. When we become free from the feeling of 'mine', desire and attachment, we attain uniformity, desirelessness and independence automatically.
We must pay attention to this vital fact. We think that it is difficult to renounce desires. But is it easy to satisfy these? It is impossible to satisfy all the desires. Even king Dasaratha, the father of Lord Rama, could not satisfy his desire, of not sending his son into exile. Thus, if satisfaction of desires is impossible, and renunciation is difficult. Which one is easier—satisfaction or renunciation? The answer is clear, that desires can be renounced rather than satisfied. But we commit an error when we try to satisfy desires, but we do not make efforts to renounce them.
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