Living unconsciously in this material dimension, one thing is certain, suffering!
Living unconsciously means living in the surface of our existence, identified with body, mind and senses and unaware of our true Self!
And what is the cause of unconscious living and identification with body, mind and senses? The ego!
And what is the ego? Lust and desire, (for sex, sensory pleasures, money, power, fame, name, possessions, comfort). Egoism or selfishness is created by lust and desire. Desire and selfishness are identical.
True freedom is to be free from lust and desire. Desirelessness is freedom!
Quotes about desire:
All suffering is born of desire. Pleasure depends on things, happiness does not”
~ Nisargadatta
“Desire is the root cause of all evil actions. If desire is removed, then the divine power manifests in its full glory and one enjoys peace, bliss, light and freedom.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“The cause of pain is pleasure. The cause of death is love for sensual life. Give up all sensual pleasures, if you do not want pain. Give up sensual life, if you do not want death.”
~ Swami Sivananda
Q: Why should pleasure be the seed of pain?
~ Nisargadatta
“Desire is the root cause of all evil actions. If desire is removed, then the divine power manifests in its full glory and one enjoys peace, bliss, light and freedom.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“The cause of pain is pleasure. The cause of death is love for sensual life. Give up all sensual pleasures, if you do not want pain. Give up sensual life, if you do not want death.”
~ Swami Sivananda
Q: Why should pleasure be the seed of pain?
Nisargadatta: Because for the sake of pleasure you are committing many sins. And the fruits of sin are suffering and death.
~ Nisargadatta
CH. II 62.63 When a man thinks of the objects, attachment to them arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire anger arises. From anger comes delusion; from delusion the loss of memory; from loss of memory the destruction of discrimination; from the destruction of discrimination he perishes.
~Bhagavad Gita
“It is difficult to conquer desire because it is of a highly complex and incomprehensible nature. But a man of discrimination and dispassion, who does constant and intense Sadhana, can conquer it quite easily.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“A man has a thousand and one desires. But the central strong desire is the sexual desire. The fundamental desire is the urge for a mate. All hang on this central basic desire. The desire for money, the desire for a son, the desire for property, the desire for houses, the desire for cattle and other desires come later on.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“Desire is a mode of the emotive mind. It has got a power of externalizing the mind. Desire is the fuel; thought is the fire. The thought-fire is kept up by the desire-fuel.”
“…the endless chain is welded out of three component, desire, thought and activity. A desire stimulates a thought; a thought embodies itself in an act.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“Sensual pleasure is only pain. It is momentary mental excitement, momentary sensation of flesh, momentary itching and scratching of the senses. You can have eternal bliss in your own Inner Atman alone.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“You can find eternal, infinite, supreme peace and bliss only in your Atma (Soul, Consciousness) which shines in all its splendour and glory in the chambers of your heart. It is an embodiment of Bliss (Ananda Swarupa).”
“You are ever free. You are already free. Liberation (Moksha) is not a thing to be attained. You will have to know that you are Atman, that you are free.
Destroy the subtle desires (Vasanas), and cravings. This will lead to the annihilation of the mind. Destruction of the mind will lead to the attainment of Brahma Jnana or wisdom of the Self.”
~ Swami Sivananda
Real happiness abides in Self-knowledge alone.
All else is fleeting. To know one’s Self is to be blissful always.
~Sri Ramana Maharshi
CH. V 26. Absolute freedom (or Brahmic bliss) exists on all sides for those self-controlled who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts and who have realised the Self.
~Bhagavad Gita
~ Nisargadatta
CH. II 62.63 When a man thinks of the objects, attachment to them arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire anger arises. From anger comes delusion; from delusion the loss of memory; from loss of memory the destruction of discrimination; from the destruction of discrimination he perishes.
~Bhagavad Gita
“It is difficult to conquer desire because it is of a highly complex and incomprehensible nature. But a man of discrimination and dispassion, who does constant and intense Sadhana, can conquer it quite easily.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“A man has a thousand and one desires. But the central strong desire is the sexual desire. The fundamental desire is the urge for a mate. All hang on this central basic desire. The desire for money, the desire for a son, the desire for property, the desire for houses, the desire for cattle and other desires come later on.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“Desire is a mode of the emotive mind. It has got a power of externalizing the mind. Desire is the fuel; thought is the fire. The thought-fire is kept up by the desire-fuel.”
“…the endless chain is welded out of three component, desire, thought and activity. A desire stimulates a thought; a thought embodies itself in an act.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“Sensual pleasure is only pain. It is momentary mental excitement, momentary sensation of flesh, momentary itching and scratching of the senses. You can have eternal bliss in your own Inner Atman alone.”
~ Swami Sivananda
“You can find eternal, infinite, supreme peace and bliss only in your Atma (Soul, Consciousness) which shines in all its splendour and glory in the chambers of your heart. It is an embodiment of Bliss (Ananda Swarupa).”
“You are ever free. You are already free. Liberation (Moksha) is not a thing to be attained. You will have to know that you are Atman, that you are free.
Destroy the subtle desires (Vasanas), and cravings. This will lead to the annihilation of the mind. Destruction of the mind will lead to the attainment of Brahma Jnana or wisdom of the Self.”
~ Swami Sivananda
Real happiness abides in Self-knowledge alone.
All else is fleeting. To know one’s Self is to be blissful always.
~Sri Ramana Maharshi
CH. V 26. Absolute freedom (or Brahmic bliss) exists on all sides for those self-controlled who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts and who have realised the Self.
~Bhagavad Gita