I think that non-desire is more of a Buddhist than a Hindu thing, although there’s no doubt that the philosophical underpinnings of the type of yoga I do stresses the importance of detachment from one’s mental states, especially those that have to do with things we’re grasping for.
It’s puzzling, though, since so much of the yoga practice involves striving; we’re always trying to go deeper into each pose and/or acquire the next one in whatever series we’re working on; no doubt it’s one of those paradigmatic paradoxes where we come to be liberated (in some sense) by exploring our bondage (in another.)
And off the mat, it’s no different: we’re constantly driven by what we want and don’t want, by our attractions and repulsions, by what we’re drawn to and what we’re trying to get away from. As I was strolling through downtown Mysore today, this was readily apparent as I sought, with some degree of interest, to purchase a new pair of pants, while simultaneously trying to extricate myself from an interaction with a fairly aggressive rickshaw driver who wanted to take me for a ride, show me how incense is made, and/or sell me some marijuana—that he assured me, oddly enough, was legal.
But even after I got away from him, there was no escaping the pull of desire, as I passed by the Bahusar Cycle and Watch Company
and saw out front a brand-new Atlas Gold Line Super bicycle and found myself coveting it way more than I probably should, given that I have a perfectly serviceable used one that’s getting me around town just fine—although at the staggering cost of 3500 rupees (about 80 bucks) for the new model, it hardly seems worth the psychic energy of not indulging myself.
It all comes down, in the end, to that old “wants vs. needs” question: should we refrain from fulfilling desires for stuff we only crave but don’t require?
It’s a bedeviling conundrum, especially since it might also be the case that we only want to fulfill our needs but may also need to fulfill our wants. And unfortunately, doing yoga doesn’t answer this riddle; it only illustrates it.
This is really a fascinating topic: whats the role of "desire" in a philosphy which has detachment as a main centerpoint.
ReplyDeleteAt the last conference (which you and I were both at) someone asked Sharath something like: "is it ok to want money". And he answered something like. "Do yoga". Then he said, "if you have a lot of money. Do yoga. If you don't have a lot of money. Do yoga." I thought that was an interesting answer to the question. Getting the best watch is fine. Then do yoga.