I recently read that Milkha Singh lost the Bronze Medal in the 400m event at Rome Olympics Games 1960 by just 0.1 seconds. “Such was his mental state”, it said, “that he cried for days after the agonizing defeat”. This set me thinking. I am not at all good at running, and have never even dreamt of taking part in the Olympics; so I am not agonized by that fact. A bright student who misses admission into a top-tier premier educational institution might be disappointed and depressed, whereas an average student who just makes it to the same second tier institution that the afore mentioned student gets admission to will be overjoyed and excited. They both got the same result. The first student is more gifted than the other. But he undergoes suffering whereas his less gifted classmate does not. In both these cases, we see that the one who has more abilities is the one who suffers. Of what use are our abilities if they bring us agony? And does that mean our suffering is caused by abilities?
No, that would be an incorrect inference, even if we were to forgive the uninformed generalization that those with abilities suffer more. What is clear, however, is that suffering is not caused by our lack of ability or lack of achievements. It is caused by unfulfilled desires. So desire is the root cause of suffering, and not having any desire would prevent us from being dejected or disheartened. Since abilities make us consider the possibility of achieving a certain objective, it also makes us desirous of it. If I think it is possible, even remotely, for me to win a medal in the Olympics, I might desire it. Thus, the origin of desire is in the recognition or consideration of a possibility.
काम जानामि ते मूलं संकल्पात् त्वम् हि जायसे
नाहं संकल्पयिष्यामि समूलस्त्वं विनङ्क्ष्यसि
Desire, I know your roots. You do arise out of sankalpam (imagination / suggestion / expectation / identification of a possibility). I refuse to imagine, and you are destroyed along with your roots.
Suffering is the fruit of the tree of desires, and sankalp is its root. This is easy to note in our own life, especially in children. A child may be happily playing till the time he catches the fragrance of a delicious dish that his mother is cooking. Till that instant, he did not imagine the taste of that dish and so did not feel any desire. But the moment the possibility dawns on him (or the thought comes to him), his (possibly latent) desire is awakened. Take another example. Let us say there is a particular movie which I want to see because I have watched its trailer and liked it, or some of my friends have recommended it. Watching the trailer or recommendation of my friends sparks the sankalp which lights the flame of desire in me. But if the movie is no longer shown in my city, the possibility becomes bleak and my desire subsides. If, after a year, this movie comes on TV and I come to know about it, but have a prior appointment at that time which I cannot cancel, I’d be very disappointed. Now consider the case that this movie was shown, but I did not know about it at all. Then the “sankalp” itself will not take root, and I wouldn’t feel bad about missing that movie again.
This is the the chain of “sankalp” leading to desire (“kaama”) which in turn causes suffering. To free ourselves of suffering, we have to rid ourselves of desire. To do do this, we have to burn the roots of sankalp. Nothing like an example, you say? Take a person who’s addicted to drinking, causing suffering to himself and his family. For him to break free, he would best keep away from anything that reminds him of alcohol – friends who invite him for a drink, parties that offer alcohol, hotels that serve wine – everything, so that the sankalp does get a chance to germinate. Once it takes root, it would require super-human will power to override its current. A wise man uses his good habits, circumstances and friends as an ally in his battle against desire. If we rely on will power alone, there is a good chance we’ll lose to the overwhelming force of circumstance-reinforced, sankalp-born desires. And with each loss, our will power weakens, making further victories even more difficult.
So, in spite of our talents or how close we come to achieving certain results, let us refuse to desire those results. If we deserve those with our karma, nothing can stop us from getting them – if we do not deserve, then our talents or getting close to it cannot make a difference. So the best course is to not expect or desire anything and to move on doing what we ought to do in each stage of life. This path of disinterested action with even-mindedness is a painless path to enlightenment and supreme joy.
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everything except the last para, i cant agree more.
I am surprised! If you agree with the all except the last paragraph, don't they lead us to the conclusion given in the last paragraph? Is there an alternate conclusion which we can draw, that I am missing?
By the way, did you ever see the movie, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag"? If not, what a pity! Go watch. And Gautam Buddha already said that "Desire is the root cause of all suffering." Nothing new there. About not imagining things (in your word's burning the roots of Sankalp); What the world would come to be if people didn't imagine? So lifeless and dull and uncreative. Like Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." However, I agree to your last para. KARMA is indeed, a bitch!
Regarding the movie, I have no opinion. I have nothing against Milkha Singh either!
And yes, Gautama Buddha did say desire is the root cause of suffering, though he was not the first one to say so. In texts much older, the same truth is stated. The sloka I have in this post, I think, is from Mahabharatam which would be much before Buddha. In fact, most of the ideas that you would find on Avalokanam are taken from India's vast cultural heritage. It is so all-encompassing that there is very little of consequence that has not been already said! The goal of Avalokanam is to take a few jewels out of that vast treasure and make them accessible.
Sankalp here is not exactly imagination in the sense Einstein would have meant – nor is it the imagination that is required for creativity. I am not sure if there is an exact English word that would serve our purpose, that that is why I gave it as the meaning collectively hinted by (imagination / suggestion / expectation / identification of a possibility).
As for the last sentence in your comment, I don't think I understand what you meant
You mean kill the desires and enjoy the life….is it? That's really great but in this world now its not easy…so can you give some possible ways? And what's your imagination if everyone lack desires?
Yes, something like that. It's not easy, but what other option is there in which lack of suffering is guaranteed? The key, I think, is to depend less and less on external sources of happiness and gradually learn to be content. Not expecting any results is actually one way in which we can weaken our desires (as explained in this post). To do this also is not easy, and requires conscientious effort in that direction. Thanks for reading and commenting!
You welcome….how can we make people realise the happyness of life.
It's difficult. The best we can do is to realize the happiness of our own life. But then, happiness is contagious and so those we interact with will also come to know it! 🙂
rama, i agree with the practical ways of abstinence you mentioned. but working hard for a tangible and universally accepted result is just normal. when u couldnt achieve what you really worked hard will essentially bring lot of grief. we are not talking about life long agony here. i see nothing wrong in longing for things which matter a lot for you. and once you commit, you could be hearbroken if it didnt work out. this imagination, determination and desires are all part of the package. you possibly cant progress much without lot of desires and heartbreaks in any field. (we are not talking about good and evil or difference of desire and greed). somebody who just does his duty quitely and wish for nothing more could be so cold and full of apathy too. yes we need such people also as they could balance the equation and be useful for arbitration. but whats life without some palpitation, tears, and wicked satisfaction. afterall its not just seeking happiness in life. pursuing excellence and spilling lot of inspiration may involve lot of suffering too.i see nothing wrong with that order of life.
i do not believe in the mysterious karma bringing results (or lack of). and i have no doubt about your conviction too. i am not with you neither against you. 🙂
You have put down your perspective very beautifully, my friend, though I do not agree with it completely 🙂