Let's look at desires || Acharya Prashant (2016)

Question: S omething happens and then suddenly a desire related to that arises in me, what should I do?’

Acharya Prashant: Just know that your desire is actually just external stimulus; external stimulus that activates your conditional patterns, which means that you have very little right to call your desire as really your own.

Desire can be provoked in you, and every advertiser knows that.

The world is a great advertisement. This entire world is a hoarding: come and buy!

Its only purpose is to provoke desire in you. And once you have known this, you do not take your desires too seriously. If it arises, then you know that something has happened in the environment to arouse its desire in you. You say, “Without an environmental factor desire couldn’t have come up, and if it is the environment that is inducing desire in me, then how is it my obligation to fulfil that desire.”

You clearly see that you are being taken for a ride, that you are being exploited.

Listener 1: Sir, can it be so that we are destined to desire?

AP: Of course you are destined to desire, but that does not complete the story of destiny. Never forget that there is nothing evil in desire. Since desire is the name of the space-time game, continue to desire, but even when you are desiring, remember the higher destiny – which is Silence, which is Truth.

*Even in the middle of desire, remain Silent*. That is the trick!

I am not talking about dropping desire or renunciation or such holy stuff. As a body, you will have desires. Just remain silent in the very middle of them. Some of them will be fulfilled, some will not be fulfilled; even when some are fulfilled, yet there would be a new set of desires, and this is an old usual game. You just remain silent amid this game.You must understand that I am not talking of criticizing or negating desires.

L2: So are you talking about just observing them and not reacting to them?

AP: Yes, of course. What else can be done!

( A meditative silence overtakes the audience. )

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