Worldly Desires Versus Desire for God
Hislop: One very strong tendency is in the tongue, the problem of taste, which gives rise to craving for more. How do we overcome that?
Sai: The body is like a boil. Water is for cleansing the wound. Food is the medicine. Clothing is the bandage. Consid-ering the body so, reduces the strength of taste. But what is taken in by seeing, hearing, and talking is the more important food. Gross food for the body is like digging a well. Whereas pure and subtle impressions taken in by the other senses is like building a wall high into the heavens. It is building of the wall high that should have the major emphasis.
Hislop: Swami says that when the senses leave their place and mix with worldly objects, pain and pleasure are produced. What is the proper place of the senses?
Sai: It is all the play of desire. Desire for worldly objects produces pleasure and pain, whereas desire for God confers bliss and does not produce pain.
Hislop: But Swami, most of our actions arise from worldly desires. We see, hear, think, feel, and smell. Then there is some desire and that leads to action.
Sai: God works through you as desire.
Hislop: Swami! Does God prompt even the bad desire?
Sai: There is the strong thrust of life force, the desire to live. If it goes into action in a favorable field, it becomes love; otherwise, it remains as desire. If desire is expressed in a favorable field, it is expressed as love. Then knowledge arises; then bliss. The force, the strength, the energy, the motivation in desire is God. Whether the desire is good or bad is related to time, place, and person. In early years, a desire for worldly achievement might be good. In later years, the same desire might be bad. Fruit that is good one day may be rotten several days later. One side of an apple may become good, the other side rotten. Discrimination says eat the good side and discard the bad. There is another force in you through which God works, and that is discrimination. That force must be used to put aside wrong action. The power of discrimination knows what is right and what is wrong. The wrong desire is God overshadowed by maya [illusion], whereas discrimination is God less overshadowed by maya.
Hislop: Swami! This really explains the whole problem of good and evil.
Sai: Yes. The story of Valmiki is an illustration. He was a ruthless killer and robber without any doubt about his actions. He, at one time, listened to the five sages, and started repeating ‘Rama.’ The same strength and force that made him a terrible criminal was turned to Godly desire and action, and he gained God-realization. As Valmiki gained speed in repeating the name ‘Rama,’ it became jumbled up with ‘Ma’ and ‘Mara.’ In this he lost body sense and transcended the senses. Losing body sense should be like that, natural and not forced.
Source: Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
