Desire (Kāmanā)

So long as an aspirant desires his own happiness, ease, respect and greatness etc., his individuality is not destroyed. And without that happening his separation from God continues.

Until after our inner faculty is completely free from desire, we do not need to aspire for God, as He would on His own, be realised.

Worldly desires initiate animal behaviour and with aspiration for God, humanity begins.

Desire is in, "meeting my mind's wish." It is desire that is the cause of sorrow and without renouncing desire, nobody can achieve real happiness.

How to gain happiness? Only in its pursuit, man fails in his duties and degrades himself.

With the birth of his desires, man turns away from his duty, his own self and God and comes face to face, with the perishable world.

Aspirants should neither hope to fulfil worldly desires, nor despair from lack of fulfilment, of godly aspiration.

For the renunciation of desire all are free, rightful, capable and competent, but in the satiation of desires, none is free, rightful, capable and adequate.

As desires are, steadily destroyed, so would saintliness arise, accordingly. And if desires increase, so would piety vanish. The root of unrighteousness is desire itself.

From mere desire, one gets no material benefits and if one gets any, these never stay forever with him, even though it is apparent, desire for material things is a great error.

Life is harsh when allied people desire sensual happiness, death becomes a suffering, if man longs to live.

If the desire for matter gets satisfied, one has to make effort, and if the desire for life can be achieved, man would try to avoid death. But by desire alone neither one gets the things one wishes, nor is he saved from death.

All are free to renounce desire and are not dependent upon others. For satisfying desire, one is subservient upon others and none is free.

The desire for happiness, hope and enjoyment, these three are causes of all miseries.

By giving up liking for ephemeral things, one achieves the eternal truth.

One wills happenings this way or that way, such a dilemma means unhappiness.

To desire respect for ourselves, results in disrespect for us.

To be covetous for a thing in the mind, is wretchedness indeed. The desire for acquisition, always makes one indigent.

The wish for the destructible, is by itself the impurity of our inner-faculty (intellect, instinct and ego).

Man does not have to give up action, but only to renounce desire.

Man is not enslaved by things, but by desire for them.

Should you want peace, give up your desires.

The desire for taking anything, leads to dreaded unhappiness.

One who has desire within him, he somehow, becomes dependent on others.

To seek happiness for oneself, is a demoniac and bedevilled propensity.

Just as, one gets misery without seeking it, so one receives pleasure without desire. An aspirant should never desire for worldly happiness.

Desire for enjoyment and hoarding, both only lead to sin and are of no use. So renounce this desire.

The Desire for self-enjoyment and accumulation degrades man, to worse than animals. Abjuring of this desire, raises one, higher than even the divine (Devas).

What things belong to us, we shall ever receive and none else could take these away. So without seeking anything, do your duty.

'As I desire, so it should be'-so long as we have such a wish, we cannot have peace.

Even though man may be sensible, yet surprisingly he desires things having a beginning and an end. This is strange.

In accepting one's existence through the body, man desires the perishable and because of this, his stake hardens.

By desire, one may or may not get something, but in giving up desires, he gets everything.

We do not like condemnation, as we want appreciation. We seek appreciation, because in reality, we are not fit for the same. For those who deserve it, they do not wish for it.

By desiring to seek appreciation from others, is a great weakness. Therefore, be good and not be called good.

To shun worldly pleasure would be necessary, sometime or the other; so why delay?

As far as possible, try to fulfil the hopes of others, but have no expectations from them.

Ponder, if from whom you seek happiness is he himself quite happy? If he is not unhappy, How could an unhappy person make you happy?

The happiness one gets by forsaking desire, could never be matched by satisfying desires.

If you want fervent yearning for God, then give up craving for the world.

One who desires the ever changing world, and draws happiness from it, he also changes and passes through the cycle of births and deaths.

What we could not keep forever with us, of what use is its desire or acquisition?

The feelings of want are caused by desire and without desire, there could be no shortage.

If we give up desires forever, then essential things would become available, automatically. Such things covet a person who has given up all desires.

One who longs for things for his pleasure, has to face the agony of their want.

One who has no desires within himself, his needs are met by nature (Prakrti), on its own.

What does not stay with us always, nor do we stay with that forever. To desire its acquisition or draw pleasure from it, is foolish and degrading.

By desiring happiness, happiness is not granted. This is a rule.

You may be a saint or remain a householder until you seek desire, (and to acquire things) you will never gain peace.

If you want peace, give up "the desire for acquisition of this or that", "what God wishes that should come true", and welcome the same.

All acts done with desire are unreal, their fruit is perishable.

Seeking (desiring) anything is slavery, and not desiring it, is liberation.

For not getting things, we are not unfortunate. But even with being a fraction of God, to desire perishable things is our misfortune.

By the desire of pleasure, duality arises, and without such desires, there is no duality.

So long as we accept our body as our own, then our desires would not be wiped out.

Reflect upon, that we remain the same, with or without fulfilment of our desires; then what did we gain by realisation of our wish and what loss we suffered, from its non-fulfilment? What differences did it make to us?