Desire: Good Or Bad?

Is it really necessary to understand if the desire is good or bad? I mean, the purpose of everything is to enjoy. Isn’t it? Let’s find out!

How can one live a peaceful, happy life every day? People who can afford luxury - are they happy every day? Or are people who are struggling to meet their daily needs happy every day? Or people who fall in the middle of the “RICHNESS SPECTRUM” - the middle class; Are they happy every day? We don’t know. Honestly, nobody cares, but at least once it crossed our minds. Isn’t it?

It crossed our minds because we tried to compare our lifestyle habits and earning potential with someone better than us. In fact, we cared for ourselves, not them. If we would have cared about them, we would have been happy. Now, let’s not get judgmental. Let’s decode it together, shall we? ;)

Behind every action, usually referred as karm, there is a purpose. You breath to be alive. You walk to reach a particular destination or a goal. You eat to nourish your body with essential nutrients. And so on…

Emotionally, you seek love from someone you care for and develop attachment. You agree to their demands even if you don’t like them with a hope that it brings you and the other the joy, eventually.

Personally, you do things to satisfy your desires. It could be monetarily, physically, mentally, and emotionally. HARDLY spiritually.

Now… Everything starts with YOU. It’s always about you - directly or indirectly. We make compromises for a fair deal. We sacrifice for a greater good. We buy things to satisfy our materialistic desires. We indulge in external stimulating things for pleasure. Our minds and actions often swing from selfish karm to pleasuring karm to selfless karm and back. Well... the TAMAS, RAJAS, and SATTVA Gunas.

Isn’t it getting obvious that despite the intention behind our every action, there is a desire? Let’s not bother if it’s a good or bad desire for this article. Let’s just focus if the desire is good or bad!

Some believe that our environment reflects our deep thoughts, which are often transformed into our personal auras. They reflect and attract what we truly wish for. Even if there’s a tiny possibility that it’s true - aren’t our happiness, sadness, fulfillment, greed, care, envy, prosperity, and jealousy aren’t the outcome of our deep thoughts?

Ummm… Let’s ask ourselves, did we subconsciously allow ourselves to be jealous that someone prospered quickly than us, or are we using jealousy as a medium to desire more for ourselves? It’s tricky!

It’s not wrong to wish for something more… Our life cycle often looks for something better every moment. Our breath looks for good oxygen. Our tongue looks for food that challenges the taste buds. Our eyes search for something beautiful. Our mind looks for something challenging but easy and so on.

It’s all good desire if it’s helping your body and mind prosper. It is beneficial if it’s developing pleasant emotions within you. It is prosperous if it’s creating a sense of happiness and accomplishment in you. If the desire followed by an appropriate action creates a sense of balance and harmony in your body, mind, and soul (if there’s any), it indeed is a good desire. By the way, it is easily noticeable.

If it’s creating a ruckus, it’s a bad desire. Usually, it is not easily noticeable. It’s like stage 0 cancer - the symptoms are often intentionally ignored, assuming it to be a minute inconvenience. When it grows to a significant level, it first affects our environment, then it burns us rapidly and quickly. What do some “experienced minds” do? - They blame the situation and the environment. There you go!

That’s why… it’s essential that we often keep a check on our desires. An introspection is necessary to prevent and safeguard ourselves from a havoc that we could create for ourselves, eventually. Nothing’s easy. At first, you may find it difficult and useless because you haven’t trained your mind that way. It’s natural. With consistent efforts and good intentions, things will be easier. Just hang in there!

Remember, if you think you can do it, you really can do it! :)

That’s it for now! Thank you for your time. I will see you soon. Until then, take care! Please like and share this article to reach more audience to create a better future for ourselves and others.

If you’d like to explore more: Read my book: Contemplate, Act, Flourish.