Inspite of having so much, we generally tend to lose our peace the moment we do not have any one thing that we desire. We remain unhappy because we are not satisfied with what we have; we always have a desire for something more.

 Desire is like a burning fire.

The very nature of desire is such that it torments! It keeps burning within, until the desire gets fulfilled. And the moment one desire gets fulfilled, another one starts, “It would be great if I had that also; and that also,…” Desires keep arising one after another. Hence, we always remain dissatisfied, in the expectation of having our next desire fulfilled, forgetting the things that we already have.

 Expectations too are a form of a desire.

When we eat a mango and it is sweet, there arises a feeling of delight and content within. Consequently, next time, when we again happen to eat a mango, we expect it to be sweet this time too. Now, if the mango turns out to be sour, we feel very unhappy.

This holds true for everything, for every person and for every situation that we are attached to. There builds up an expectation that this time too, things will shape up as we desire. We forget that the outcome is not in our control; things happen according to the law of Nature. If at the moment, it’s time for one of our merit karma to unfold, the fruit shall be sweet, according to our expectations; but if it’s time for one of our demerit karma to unfold instead, then the fruit shall be sour; and thus not to our expectation. Such is the law of Nature!

 Desire is because we are not content from within.

There is an ocean of desires. So, here’s a simple way to initiate nurturing of contentment inside us.

Search within yourself and identify your desires. Prepare a list of what all do you wish to have. Ask yourself, “Do you want this?” If the answer is yes, add it to your wish list. Then ask for another thing, “Do you want this?” If yes, add this thing to your list as well.

Thereafter, every morning, pray heartily, “I have no desire for any transient or temporary thing in this world.” Just say this much and move on. Desires will continue to crop. But every morning, you, on your part, continue to make this resolution, sincerely.

Enjoy whatever comes naturally to you, without any desire or any expectation.

If something does not come our way, so be it; we do not want to have any desire for it. Whatever we’ve got with us, we shall consume that happily without any expectation, and enjoy life peacefully. Sounds like a good beginning?!

As one’s understanding develops, satisfaction comes naturally and spontaneously

One experiences satisfaction only after the right understanding.

The worldly things eg. food, clothes, house, money, business, name, fame, etc. give us happiness. But is this happiness temporary or permanent? Temporary! And the principle is that happiness obtained from temporary things is always temporary. Whatever we can experience through five senses in this world is all temporary. Even our body, mind and speech are temporary. Our relations too are temporary. So, any happiness derived from these is bound to be temporary. When this temporary happiness happens to end, it leaves us in a miserable state. Thus, every such experience leads us to the right knowledge that, “There actually isn’t any happiness in this.”

As we begin to understand this spiritual knowledge, we realize that it is our desires that cause us grief. We indeed own things out of attachment, but we realize how they ultimately cause grief. As that side balances itself out, we feel satisfied. Over many lifetimes, when we have researched, and after due research have concluded that, “There isn’t any happiness in this. There isn’t any happiness in this”, then satisfaction comes naturally.

Therefore, for satisfaction, we need this spiritual knowledge. Once the right understanding arises, the mind will not raise any objection; it is content. Contentment is one type of knowledge, a type of development. The power of contentment is extraordinary!

Our desire for worldly things has obstructed our eternal bliss.

When we have no desires or expectations, we are naturally satisfied with whatever we have, in every situation and in every circumstance that comes our way.

When there is neither any desire that great delicacies be served on our plate, nor any expectation for respect and high impression of ours in the minds and hearts of people; when there is neither any wish that things be done as per our wish only, nor any attachment that our loved ones only must secure the first position; when even a thought of, ‘one must take good care of me, no one should hurt me or insult me’ does not occur in our mind; when there is no craving for any kind of security nor any expectation of one’s own safe-side in life, we become an embodiment of happiness and satisfaction; we experience eternal bliss of the Self. This is when we become independent in the true sense! Wouldn’t that be great?! But how do we attain this state?

Once you realize, ‘I am Soul and I am permanent’, you get to enjoy this eternal bliss.

All along, we have only craved for objects that gave temporary happiness. In order to live a happy and satisfied life, we ought to realize happiness that is permanent. A permanent thing gives permanent happiness. Soul is a permanent thing. And the Soul is our real Self; that’s what we really are! We all are a Soul, the inherent property of which, is eternal bliss! However, we realize this truth only when we attain Self-Realization from Gnani Purush; when Gnani, with his divine powers, graces us with the awareness of our real Self!!! After Self-Realization, no new desires shall arise, and the old desires too shall unfold at their respective time and exhaust, as we practice equanimity.  

A person who has no desires gets everything naturally.

Things come and fall in the lap of the person who has no desires, although he does not have any wish for it. Such a person is called God! To reach this stage, all that we require to do is, have just one desire, that of meeting Gnani, and with His grace, attaining Self-Realization at the earliest!