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What happens when there are no desires?
Understanding the nature of desires
Between us and reality lie the world of desires. They are of our making and are the last of the mountains left to climb before we see things the way they are. The mind cannot exist unless there is a thought of a future, and desires form a bridge to future experiences. When we look toward desires, it implies we are not fulfilled in the present. Through desires, we hold onto the hope of a better future. Desires burn the present, the reality that is easy to overlook. Contentment and non-expectation are two keys to remaining in the present. The mind can continue to harbor desires, but if we are content and happy at this moment without expectation or fear of the future, desires will have no hold over us. Desires by themselves are not the problem. It is our identification with them and the expectation of an experience related to them that creates unease in the mind.
Between us and reality lie the world of desires. They are of our making and are the last of the mountains left to climb before we see things the way they are.
As newborns, we come into the world free of desires. The body has its needs, but there is immense joy and playful innocence while the mind is yet to wake up. The moment we become aware of the “I,” desires begin. They may be simple or complex, but the underlying mechanism is the same. Desires need a point of reference. They are always in relation to the individualized self or the ego. Even if we desire that only good things should happen to us or others, it comes from the reference point of the ego. The “I” who wishes become the ‘subject’ and the fulfillment of a desire become the ‘object.’
The moment we become aware of the “I,” desires begin.
All desires require this subject-object differentiation. This creates space and separation between the present, the now and the future. The subjective “I” remains the same, and it is always in the present. It never changes. Change happens in the objects of our desires, or in our relationship with those objects as time moves forward. Awareness is somewhere between the changeless “I” and the changing…
