Be very careful what you wish for, as you may get it, not in the form you wish but in the nature of the desire and the actions that you set in motion. Do not trust your mind to always desire what is best for you, what brings you lasting happiness, what helps others or benefits the world. David Frawley
In the Upanishads, desire is the root of ignorance and suffering. It is this driving force of the mind that perpetuates the cycle of rebirth (samskara). Desires for material possessions, power, and worldly pleasures lead to attachment and action. These attachments and subsequent actions, in turn, create karmic impressions, causing a person to be reborn again and again to fulfill those same desires. To break free from this cycle and achieve liberation (moksha), one must conquer these desires through self-knowledge and spiritual realization.
As written in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishads —
6 We live in accordance with our deep, driving desire. It is this
desire at the time of death that determines what our next life will be.
We will come back to earth to work out the satisfaction of that
desire.
But not those who are free from desire; they are free because all
their desires have found fulfillment in the Self. They do not die like
the others; but realizing Brahman, they merge in Brahman.
7 So it is said:
When all the desires that surge in the heart
Are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal.
When all the knots that strangle the heart
Are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal,
Here in this very life.
As the skin of a snake is sloughed onto an anthill, so does the mortal
body fall; but the Self, freed from the body, merges in Brahman,
infinite life, eternal light.
In yoga teachings, desires arise from a fundamental ignorance of one’s true, divine nature as being beyond the physical body and mind. Simply stated, we are not our bodies. Furthermore, we are not our thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Our true, divine nature is desireless, that is, without the ego’s desires or the heart’s desires. To be clear, seemingly selfless desires such as “I desire peace on earth” or “I desire enough food for everyone” still lead to attachment and subsequent action. When we are attached to the outcomes of actions, desire leads to dissatisfaction, fear of loss, and the continuous cycle of wanting more.
The Upanishads explain that at death, the desires and karmic impressions of one life carry over to the next until desire is fully conquered, which frees us from the cycle of reincarnation. A person free from desire has their desires fulfilled in the Self (self-realization) and becomes immortal. In other words, one in union with the Self is not aware of what is without or what is within, for all desires are fulfilled. The text describes this state “of living in the kingdom of Brahman” as being inherently free from fear, doubt, and sorrow, and characterized by self-control, patience, contentment, and seeing oneself in everyone.
In essence, we conquer desire by gaining self-knowledge. This knowledge of Self (realizing our true Self) unveils the recognition that everything we require is provided. Knowing Thy Self burns away our ignorance and the unfulfilled desires that fuel the cycle of karma.
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