If a desire comes and you fulfill it, the Samskara which
caused that desire gets strengthened. Therefore, this great truth has to be
kept in mind by the aspirant that by fulfilling a desire the desire never ends.
You can never put an end to desires by fulfilling them. Just as the hungry
flames will not subside by any amount of ghee poured into them, similarly, the
desires get strengthened by fulfillment.
Do not cooperate with the mind. Do not fulfill desires when
they arise in the mind. It is the nature of the mind to desire. We may say that
mind and desire are synonymous terms. To try our best not to fulfill desire is
the only way of attaining mastery over the mind.
Countless desires may arise, but be indifferent and be
silent. Do not say, ‘Come along, I will fulfill’. Just as a dog which is
troublesome outside is kept in a room, similarly you should lock the mind
inside. Only when the mind is purified, it becomes your guide. Till then
non-cooperation with it is the best remedy. The mind will then cease to be the
mover of man; on the contrary man will become the mover of the mind. That is
what an aspirant’s aim should be — a conqueror of the mind and senses.
We have seen that desires never perish by merely fulfilling
them. If on the other hand you withdraw the fuel, the fire will be
automatically put out, and the more you study and get at the root of the
lurking desires, the better you will be in a position to root them out.
Swami Chidananda Saraswati (1916 – 2008) was the
president of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh – associated with the Swami
Sivananda Ashram