The Nature of desires

The astral body or desire-body transforms the vibrations received from the physical plane through sense organs into sensations. The sense organs capture vibrations and transfer them to the brain. From there the vibrations go on to the etheric double, and then to the corresponding astral brain centres where they appear as sensations. The centres in the astral body, in which these vibrations are transformed into sensations, are special organs not directly connected with the senses of the astral body.

There are two types of sensations: mental perceptions and feelings. Physical vibrations coming up to the consciousness are reflected on the mental plane as mental perceptions. The sensations, whose qualities are perceived by the mind as pleasant or unpleasant, we call feelings.

The pleasant sensations are transformed into feelings of joy, while unpleasant ones into feelings of pain. On this level it is possible to reach the first fundamental changes in consciousness. When we feel joy, a desire can arise in us pressing for repetition of joy and vice versa - to avoid pain. It is a desire in its simplest form. That change entails attraction or repulsion associated with the astral and mental bodies which have memory - remembrance of that change of consciousness.

When in between feelings and thoughts there appear many such mental factors of memory, the desires become ever more complex and begin to play the dominant role in our lives. One should understand the nature of the desires and clearly know where to press the brake and not let the changes in our consciousness happen, so that we could control desires. For example, we eat something, food comes in contact with our sense of taste. It sets in motion physical vibrations which ultimately appear as a separate sensation in the astral body. If the food is tasty, the resulting sensation is pleasant. When we finish eating, the sensation disappears. There remains memory and when we see that dish again or think about it, it will create a desire for it. When we walk along someone's garden, we feel the fragrance of some flowers. We desire to possess such flowers in order to enjoy its fragrance more often.

To get ourselves free from our desires, we should be mindful of all changes taking place in our consciousness and prevent the feeling of attraction or repulsion - the desire to re-experience what is pleasant, and to avoid what is unpleasant. Movement causes vibrations, and these cause pleasant or unpleasant sensations. Most of our visual or auditory sensations are neither pleasant nor unpleasant, it is only that the mind's perceptions are neutral. If we do not know the nature of desires and are not prepared to control them, we shall find ourselves enslaved between the attraction and the repulsion. The desires will create attachments, confining us to the lower worlds. When we go through experiences of pleasure or repulsion, if we do not allow the mind to establish connections, we shall remain free. There is nothing bad in going through the pleasant experiences of joy, because it is a natural result of the contacts between the body and the objects which bring us joy. The difficulties arise when we allow to be attached to any object with the ties of attraction or repulsion. Man should not be moved either by joy or suffering as long as he lives among objects bringing pain or joy. If, out of fear, we keep a distance between ourselves and desires - joys and sorrows, it does not mean that we are without desires. We shall not conquer desire until we are able to move untouched among objects causing desires in us.

The essential nature of desire is that it is pulling us towards the things that are pleasant and repelling us from those causing pain. Certain strength is present here which is similar to the power possessed by will.

There is a great difference between the desire and will. The desire is only a reflection of the will on the astral plane. The will and the desire carry with them the strength of execution. Everything we desire, we can achieve. In the moment when we desire some object, it will begin approaching us, and the attraction is commensurate with the intensity of the desire. If the desire is strong and the situation favourable, we can immediately reach for the thing desired. There are desires which we can attain only with persistent and time-consuming effort. In that case, the attraction begins in the moment when we desired the thing and it is only a matter of time when that desire will be fulfilled. If a man dies, then in his next life he will be born with greater predispositions in that directions and under favourable circumstances to attain his desired goal. If we desire enlightenment, through many lives and much effort, we shall build pure life and strong character to perfect our lower nature and develop our Divine capabilities. Assuming that we have a strong desire and perseverance, one day we shall become free and enlightened.

Both in desire and in will we can see the irresistible force of execution. The desire fuses with the will only after we have purified it from our personal self. When the outside things attract the energy of our personal self, then we can talk about desires. When a desire is impersonal and sent to carry out a Divine purpose, then it is a pure Spiritual will. Energy purified from personal elements gets closer to the pure will. The dregs of the personal self transforms the will into desire and when those dregs have burned down, pure gold remains - will.

The strong current of desires hides in its spring of selfishness pure water of the Spiritual will. It is necessary to purify the spring and come to the immense power of the Spiritual will. With the appearance of reasoning power of higher consciousness, personal elements from our individual lives are gradually removed. Further purification makes our actions ever more impersonal and ever more an expression of the Divine will. The will becomes the motive power of action. The action is transformed into offerings to the Most High.