Our desires often obstruct us in our efforts to improve ourselves; for example, we may resolve to regulate our diet, but may be sabotaged by the desire to eat unhealthy food. Due to such experiences, we may infer that our desires are our enemies that we need to fight against.
Actually, such an inference is imprecise because our desires are not monolithic or homogenous; we don’t have just one kind of desire. Craving for fatty food is a desire, and aspiring for a regulated diet is also a desire. We can differentiate between these two desires by classifying them as first-order and second-order desires. First-order desires are the desires that usually come first within us — these are usually the unhealthy desires that arise almost involuntarily whenever we perceive or recollect tempting objects. Second-order desires are the desires that usually come second within us — these are usually the relatively healthier desires that arise when we reflect on our first-order desires and recognize that those desires are not so desirable. The Bhagavad-gita points to these two kinds of desires when it urges us to not become a default desirer of our desires (02.70: na kama-kami)
Instead of focusing on fighting against our first-order desires, we can focus on strengthening our second-order desires. How? By training ourselves to become more reflective. We can invest time daily to reflect why our second-order desires are more desirable than our first-order desires; to reinforce that conviction about the superiority of our second-order desires, we can write down key points from our reflections; to remind ourselves of those points, we can carry them with us through physical or digital notepads. When we thus provide ourselves with sufficient stimuli for triggering our second-order desires, those desires will arise, gain strength and defend us from our first-order desires.
One-sentence summary:
Self-improvement doesn’t center on fighting against our desires; it centers on empowering our second-order desires to fight against our first-order desires.
Think it over:
- Self-improvement centers on fighting against our desires — why is such an inference imprecise?
- How can we differentiate between our desires?
- How can we strengthen our second-order desires?
***
02.70: A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
Leave A Comment