Wednesday, May 19, 2021

The nature of desire - Swami Sivananda


The nature of  desire

- Swami Sivananda  (extract from The philosophy of desire by Swami Sivananda

Desire is the first child of Maya. The whole Lila of this objective world is kept up by the force of desires.

The river of worldly life flows on account of desires.

Human life consists of procession of desires and in this procession man is immersed; he does not know how to come out of this procession.

Man is a helpless toy in the hand of desire.

Mans environments and circumstances are the materialization of his own desires. The world experience rise or falls in accordance with his desires.

All that you are all that you have and all that you shall be, is the result of your desires. Your destiny is mapped out by own desires.

The objective universe is nothing but a wheel of desire, and momentum is given by the individual mind.

Perception causes desires in immature mind.


Desire is the externalization of the mind towards objects due to a sense of want or incompleteness.

Desire is the movement of the mind towards objects because of its belief that the objects will satisfy its inherent thirst for happiness.

Desire is a projection of thought due to a feeling of limitation.

Desire is the dynamic force behind the manifestation of all objects in the world.

Desire is the mode of the emotive mind.

Desire is deeply implanted in human nature.

Desire 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.

Desire, thought and egoism form one vicious circle.

Desire enhances the nature of self-assertion, self-expansion and self-love.

Desires are incentive to actions.

Desire is the greatest impurity of the mind.

Desire is never satiated even though one possesses the Wealth of the whole world. 

Desire is as fickle as monkey. It is never satisfied with the object which is already in the hand, but jumps to other unattained one. The more it is satisfied the more intense it grows.

Desire keeps the mind in motion.

When desire is produced in individual consciousness it becomes mind and hence it is bound. Mind has got an object to think upon but consciousness is beyond thinking.

Desire generates a thought, and thought in turn develops into an act.


In spite of living in the ocean of the Absolute and in reality being identical with it, you imagine yourself to be different from it due to your desires.