Is Desire the cause of all Suffering?

For millennia there has been a considerable discussion among a great many spiritual leaders that Life is an Illusion (Maya). It is a never-ending merry-go-round of pain and joy, happiness and suffering, birth and death. And it all starts with desire. An intense desire to experience life as a human. To enjoy all the riches that earth has to offer. Thus, it is said that desire is the cause of all human suffering. And the only way to get out of this rate race is by letting go of all your wants and aspirations. By living a minimalistic life in devotion to God. All a human should strive for is salvation by getting rid of his earthly bonds. And, that is the true purpose of life; to attain moksha by transcending one’s humanness. Numerous sacred texts outline this, including the Bhagwad Gita. 

Mystics throughout the globe vouched for this philosophy. Monks devoted their entire lives to spiritual pursuits by meditating in the Himalayas to awaken their kundalini energy. 

Sounds intriguing, right? 

No matter how esoteric this sounds, it is believed by many, consciously or unconsciously. 

Long before my Spiritual Awakening, I would have perpetual thoughts of renouncing this material world and becoming a female monk. I would imagine sitting atop the Himalayan mountains and meditating till I somehow become like Buddha! I still laugh a lot when I think about this!  

Till then I religiously believed that desire was the root of all suffering. I persuaded my brain into believing that if I let go of my desires, then my sufferings would also disappear! And I tried a lot to live up to that. Being an ambitious person, it was very difficult for me. Every time I did have a desire, I would convince myself that it is not right, in fact, how wrong I am to even think about that desire in the first place. I held myself back from fulfilling my dreams and wishes. I was frustrated. I felt suffocated. 

I couldn’t wallow in the idea of abstaining from my desires and spending my entire life being miserable that too for some borrowed philosophy that I have no first-person experience of.

So, I started questioning my belief system. If God is love, then why would he want us to be in pain? If God is a loving parent then why wouldn’t he want us to have whatever it is that we want? And things alike. I felt a great sense of liberation when I started asking these questions. I looked up the answers everywhere, in the sacred texts, books, videos, podcasts, and audiobooks but I was not satisfied. 

I dug deeper and deeper and started listening to my heart, my inner voice. I soon realized that whatever it is that made me happy, joyful and peaceful is what I should be always doing no matter who says what. 

And this is what I have figured out as of now. 

Desire is not the root of all human suffering rather not having those desires fulfilled is what causes pain and misery. 

Do you wanna know why?

Because we chose to incarnate in this physical form on planet Earth for the very reason of fulfilling our desires. This is what Shree Krishna also says in the Bhagwad Gita. You cannot get rid of your desires even if you want to. In fact, the desire to not have a desire is also a desire! That is the main reason why we keep incarnating on this planet because of unfulfilled dreams, wishes, hopes and aspirations. 

If we give in to the idea of letting go of our desires especially when we feel terrible doing so then we are doomed. The Universe will show no mercy in shattering your mirage. And I’ll tell you why. 

The following may sound a bit weird because the human mind cannot comprehend it as it operates only as per the third-dimensional reality that we call life on planet Earth and that is what the mind is designed for. So fasten your mental seat belts, keep an open mind and stay with me.

Before the beginning of the beginning, the thought “I” occurred in the consciousness (mind) of God. And that created a huge spilt resulting in millions of billions of fractals. And each fractal is what we call the soul. This thought of “who am I” gave rise to desire. A never-ending desire to discover the real answer. After the split, each and every single fractal (soul) were curious to know the answer to this question. So each of them decided to go on a self-exploration journey in pursuit of not just knowing but most importantly experiencing the truth. And that is what this whole expedition of life is all about, apparently! All of this is very similar to the philosophy of Aham Bramhasmi also known as the law of cause and effect. 

So, if the whole purpose of coming down on earth is to live your desires by fulfilling your dreams and aspirations but instead you abandon them by holding on to this belief that “Desire is the cause of human suffering” and act accordingly. Would the universe agree to it? It is as if you went to the supermarket to buy carrots but what you did buy is an apple! Because everyone around was buying them! Do you really think the universe would applaud it? You can definitely add the apple to the cart if you wish to but was that your original intention for stepping out of the house in the first place? You are not just the sole governor of your life. And if you didn’t know this let me tell you. Life on planet earth is co-creation between You and the Universe. Yes, there are infinite energies working behind the scenes, mystical spirits to assist you, cosmic laws, and underestimated rhythm of universal intelligence that many have no clue about! Which are obediently working in the favour of your subconscious patterns and beliefs. 

Now addressing the elephant in the room. We live in a Universe governed by many laws. The biggest one is the Law of Attraction. This law states that “Ask and you shall receive”.  Which translates into what you think is what you’ll get. Like attracts like, is the whole gist of this incredibly powerful law. It doesn’t actually matter whether what you think is a negative or a positive thought. It is bound to manifest! In smaller or larger ways, all depending upon the intensity of your thought in unison with your beliefs.  

So, it clearly means if you adopt this negative belief that desire is the root of human suffering then guess what, you are going to see the physical proof for it reflected in your day-to-day experiences! Because that is what you’re holding on to. And honestly, this belief is such a spoiled sport! In a Universe based on the law of attraction, this sounds like a terrible idea! 

So is there any truth to this age-old wisdom of Desire = Suffering?

Of course, there is! This philosophy is a double-edged sword. 

We also live in a universe of polarity. Everything has a set contrast. A light and shadow aspect. Just like there are two sides to a coin; heads and tails. 

What great gurus and sages meant in regards to desire equals suffering is over-indulgence. To the extent of losing a sense of self by being slaves to our desires. 

Also, this philosophy was quoted by yogis, monks, gurus and mystics. They lived in a time when the energies of our planet were quite high, natural resources were abundant. Unlike today’s hustle culture. Their consciousness and spiritual aptitude were invincible. Most of these souls practised spiritual living and did intense sadhana in many of their past lives as well. And then came to this conclusion. By experiencing it throughout the timeline of their many lives. It was by first experiencing the riches of this material world that could they make a statement that bold. 

The philosophy of desire being the root of human suffering is Spirituality 2.0. I don’t mean to sound rude but an average man in today’s world doesn’t even have the faintest idea of what spirituality is, to begin with. 

So, in short, this philosophy of desire means suffering doesn’t apply to a layman. Until and unless your soul has truly enjoyed the riches of this material world emotionally, mentally, physically, financially and sexually you cannot deem this to be true spiritually. If so, you are just lying to yourself. And if “moksha” is what you dream to achieve by abandoning your desires then my friend it is far fetched reality. 

Lastly, I would like to say, 

Desire is not the root of all suffering.

Desire is the cause of expansion in the Universe.

Desire is what fuels life. 

It gives life its purpose.

And purpose is what adds meaning to life! 

So, joyously go live all your desires and the ones who tell you otherwise, share this blog post with them!