If sense discipline and mind control are the way towards desirelessness, why don’t most people take to it even when the time is ripe for it? Man does not turn to a sense-transcendent spiritual Reality, or God, unless and until he is through with all desires for enjoyment. It is only when he is fed up with worldly enjoyments that he calls on God and God too responds. Till then, God lets him be happy in pursuit of worldly pleasures. In his inimitable way Sri Ramakrishna gives an example from everyday life to illustrate this truth: ‘So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties. But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother. Then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the hearth, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms.’
According to the Gita, only a few among thousands strive for perfection; among such rare ones only a few know God in Reality. A true aspirant towards desirelessness (or desire for the Highest) is not discouraged by this fact. He believes strongly that he is one among the few that strives for perfection and has faith that he is sure to belong to those rare few among them to attain perfection. He does not wait for the right time to arrive, but exercises discrimination and creates the right time for himself. Conscious that mere pious intention do not mean anything unless they are put into action, he is up and doing in his spiritual disciplines.