Ladder Of Religion (step 6)

[Sat1176]

6. Keeping one’s mind untouched by the lure of Worldly Desires

These desires are the cause of our circle of births and deaths; they give us only temporary pleasure for the moment. A person tied in these desires remains drowning for all time in this ocean of the world. The influence of these desires runs so deep that one cannot forget them.

It is narrated in the book Yog Vasishth (Rishi Vasishth was the Guru of Sri Ram Chander) that once saint Vasishth enquired of Ram Chander why he (Ram) had laughed loudly, while sitting in a spiritual meeting. Ram replied thus; I laughed at that broken legged ant, which is trying to climb the wall. I laughed at it mentality. For I was surprised at this ant, which before now had graced the throne of Inder, King of the Gods for 14 times. Bound in the whirl of desires, it is caught in the cycle of 84 lakh births and deaths. Even now, its desire is to be born a man, to pass that life without any obstruction and after that once again to reach the position of Inder. This fool does not posses this knowledge that he can be immersed in happiness for all time, only seeking the company of a divine Guru and by forsaking all his desires.

Many kinds of such desires lie hidden in our subconscious and they remain the biggest obstacles to the jap of Naam; so long as we do not live contented with whatever is the Will of God for us, we will remain bound in the circle of being born and dying again and again. In our consciousness are present different kinds of desires, such as desire for wealth, desire for a son, desire for worldly success, desire for heaven, desire to be learned in scriptures, desire for performing great religious programmes, desire to have all sorts of possessions and successes. Because of these desires, a living being can’t get out of the circle of lives and deaths. So when freed from all these desires, we perform the jap of Gur Mantar, tehn alone our efforts will bear fruit quietly and we will find our residence in the hemisphere of Naam. (we will live in God)