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What is possessiveness?
Those who are enslaved by their own desires are enslaved by the whole world.5
When a wave of desire rises in the mind, they are drowned in its current. Those who do not exercise their will to arrest the waves of desire cannot become the leaders of this world. The body and the senses are dependent on the mind for their actions. If the mind is enslaved by these waves of desire, then the flow of life is reversed - it moves backwards. This slavery of the mind is not just limited to this birth. It carries on endlessly, life after life, causing stagnation and even regression at every step.
It often appears as though the spiritual seeker has relinquished his desires and his attachment for his wealth and family. But in truth, his attachments which were visible earlier are now blanketed by his sādhanā. They have not died, but rather have lodged themselves deep within him. Let me explain myself. Those who donate lakhs of rupees in this life, dream of gaining multifold in their afterlife. Whatever they have sacrificed here does not give them peace of mind since they are obsessed with expectations of rewards in their lives to come. Such is the strange nature of sacrifice! Here, they are willing to abstain even from water while fasting, thereby believing that they have conquered their thirst, but deep within they long to drink the celestial wine. An aspirant vows to abstain from other women, and sometimes even renounces his marital pleasures with his own wife, but his mind is constantly hankering after heavenly damsels. This seems as though the aim of adopting the vow of celibacy in the present is to enjoy the rewards through sensual gratification in the future. Obviously, such renunciation is not a genuine one. It is but a gamble - renunciation in exchange for future enjoyment, abstinence from indulgence for eternal rewards. It seems as if the only difference is that some people are enslaved by the enjoyment of present life while others are enslaved by promises of bliss beyond. But whether we are tied to the pole of this world or the next, the soul is always in bondage. The purpose of renunciation is freedom from bondage. But where is 5 āśāyā ye dāsāḥ te dāsāḥ sarva-lokasya, āśā dāsi yeşāṁ, teşāṁ dāsāyate
loka
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