Types of desire
· Rajasotamasic desires. Desires for pleasures (sex, food, drinks sense pleasures), worldly desires for money, success, possessions, fame and name, harm, exploit, violate and control others..
· Sattvic desires. Desire for knowledge, happiness, sattvic foods, art and activities, for peace, creativity, beauty, harmony, loving and helping others, uniting and cooperating with others
· Desire (intense longing) for liberation and God-realization
The rajasotamasic desires are related with carnal pleasures, selfishness, pride, arrogance, avarice, greed, antagonism, rivalry and see others as a means or obstacle of their realization. Are based on separation, lack, need, unsatisfaction, discontentment, fear, greed, attachment, sensuality, low self-esteem, low self-worth. The rajasotamasic desires maintain people attached and identified to their lower aspects of their existence (instinctive, lower vital-mental[intellectual) and to the lower aspects of material experiences. Rajasotamasic desires are the base of egoistic tendencies known as defects, passions and negative emotions.
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
The sattvic desires are related to harmony, joy, happiness, beauty, creativity, love, unity, sharing, inclusiveness, well-being, health and prosperity of all, inner transformation and development. The sattvic desires are mostly related to the higher aspects of our existence and when related to the instincts then are ingrained by the sattvic qualities and thus they are transformed in sattvic experiences.
For, example desire for sex when is of rajasotamasic nature then sex is made in a brutal, passionate, animalistic or perverted way and with an attitude of taking of others, of using others for our own satisfaction, and when we give to them something we do it only for receiving back something. While when is of sattvic nature then sex is made in love, caring, sharing, giving and in a higher state as means of meditation, self-transformation and development and offering to God.
However, attachment to sattva is also an impediment for Self-realization and transcend bodily existence. In addition, when we don’t aspire for Self-realization rajas and tamas can easily enter in our minds and thus we cannot converse the mind completely sattvic. Hence, we have to suffer from the rajasotamasic qualities which will continue coexist along with the sattvic ones.
Since desire is very powerful, we can get rid of rajasotamasic desires through sattvic desires and with a gradual development of desire for liberation or God-realization and finally get rid of sattvic desires with a very intense desire for liberation.