All of us desire happiness and peace. How can we secure it? Bhagawan mercifully explains to us today.
The equivalent of the English word “happy” in Telugu is Santosham. We shall probe into the implications of the expression ‘San-tosham’.
‘Tosham’ signifies ‘prasannata’, delight. Prefix ‘Sam’ denotes delight won through righteous and honourable means, through ‘detachment’ and ‘sacrifice’. One must give up desires that enslave and imprison, that bring sorrow.
Desires can be grouped under two heads: 1) Desire for an object or experience that no one else has earned, and 2) Desire that the object or experience one has earned should not be earned by anyone else! Both these desires are indeed ridiculous. What is desired is as illusory as one’s shadow! The faster you run towards it, hoping to seize it, the farther it is from your reach! When you pursue desire, it flees; when you scorn its hold, it submits like the shadow that follows you when you turn your back on it.
Desires are born of greed. When greed is weakened more and more, discontent declines in equal measure. And, when discontent disappears, delight is established.
– Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1983.
