So long as the craving for worldly enjoyments exists, one cannot be happy. The more we hanker after things, the more unhappy we become; nay, our desires grow as they are fulfilled.
If you are keen to get rid of troubles, give up desires; if you seek to mitigate your suffering, curtail your desires; and, if you want to curtail your desires, give up the inclination to satisfy them. Do not feed the fire of desire by supplying it with the fuel of gratification; quench it altogether by throwing on it the cold water of contentment.
To despair of sensual pleasures is to advance towards the attainment of real happiness. One cannot think of real happiness without giving up thoughts of sensual enjoyments. They are really fortunate who are devoid of sensual pleasures.
The more worldly objects one possesses, the more remote one is from God. A sensual man creates about himself surroundings that do not allow him to get inclined towards God easily. A longing to attain God arises in one’s mind only after one has realized the greatness of God through association with holy men and study of sacred books. Sensually minded persons neither get an opportunity
to enjoy the company of holy men or do they get time to read really good books.
As an instance in point, take the case of a majority of rulers, officers, well to do persons and aristocrats. If you are one of these, look into your innerself and honestly examine your own position. To earn fame, to maintain their influence on others, to indulge in luxuries and sensual pleasures, to be surrounded by flatters and plagued by those who raise subscriptions, to have places and mansions erected, to enjoy pleasure trips and joyrides to attend theatrical performances and cinema shows, to indulge in merry making and amusements to be active in vilifying others, to indulge in idle gossip and listen to the same, to satisfy their carnal desires, to suppress opposition, to outdo rivals,- these and other such seemingly important occupation always keep them busy. From early morning till bedtime the idea of remembering God or studying good books never occurs to the mind. Real saints and holy men never visit the doors of such people, free from avarice as they are. Even if any saint pays a visit to them out of natural compassion, such people do not derive any benefit from his company, suspecting that he might have come with some selfish motive; nay, some even go to the length of insulting him. And it is out of question for them to visit any saint or holy man of their own accord. In the first place, reports of saints and holy men do not read their ears. Even if they do, they are so much observed with a sense of honour, assumed position and status that the fear of losing them does not allow them do approach saints, who look upon the rich and the poor alike and receive everyone kindly.
There have been people who kept their minds occupied with God even though living in affluence, honour and position, and such people are not wanting even at present; but they can be counted on one’s fingers, and it is due to their endeavours made in a previous life that they are able to maintain the level of their spiritual progress and do not lose sight of their goal, even though living in adverse surroundings.
True happiness consists of God realization or attainment of His undivided love, and this can be done only when one’s life is fully occupied with practices stand in direct opposition to love of sensual enjoyments. That is why saints and men of spiritual experiences have exhorted us to give up these pleasures as a deadly poison. One who clings to such pleasures and regards their enjoyment as a declares oneself to be a seeker after God realization is either laboring under some delusion or deliberately practicing dissimulation. So long as one does not renounce everything one does not become eligible for God realization. Such renunciation, to be real, must be mental; but one who cannot even practise outward renunciation on account of attachment is far away from mental renunciation. One should practice both outer and inner renunciation. Those who claim to possess knowledge of God, even though enjoying worldly pleasures and at the same time calling them trivial, are deceiving themselves; while those who have renounced sensual enjoyments outwardly but do not deem it necessary to relinquish them mentally as well, they, too, are laboring under a delusion.
So far as possible, one should not accumulate objects of worldly enjoyments, should not dwell on such enjoyments mentally, should not live in the company of sensually minded people, should not witness scenes stimulating one’s fondness for pleasures, nor hear such talk, or read such books. One should avoid as far as possible surroundings, which create a position for wealth, honour and beauty. No harm will accure to a man if he does not earn honour in this world or increase his wealth. The mission of one’s life is fulfilled if one is able to direct the course of one’s life towards God, even though deprived of all sorts of worldly enjoyments or oppressed by worldly afflictions and sufferings. The life, on the other hand, of one who has a super abundance of wealth, honour and fame, as well as of worldly knowledge and intellectual gifts, but who is devoid of Divine love, is really futile, however high or illustrious it may be in the eyes of worldly minded people. It is not only futile but also proves to be a source of great tribulations in the future life.
So if at all you want to desire for something then a nourish a longing for the blessings of a Divine personality, your Sadgurudev. When you desire to love or be loved pray for his love to be yours. Feel devoted to him and your lust will disappear for all the times. Go to serve him and you will never feel greedy fro worldly possessions. You will feel saturated with incessant showers of Divine Bliss leaving no vacuum for passions and material gains. This parting with desires is so natural, spontaneous and quick that you will wonder as to how surpisingly this has happened. The things that seemed unsurmountable cease to exist. All that was worldly, sensual, evil and sinful in you gets transformed with a divine colour and you no more feel oppressed. The company of Yogi Sadgurudev proves to be a boon for purification of your innerself and makes you ready to embrace peace, harmony, illumination and flood of joy.