Wednesday, Dec 25 2024  

CEILING ON DESIRES - 16 AUGUST 2004

My humble pranams at the Divine Lotus Feet of Swami.

Sai Ram uncles, aunties, brothers and sisters. I am Sis Nikita from Group 4. My topic for today is ‘Ceiling on Desires’.

Ceiling on desires is Swami’s Ninth Code of Conduct. Swami teaches us that we must put a limit on our desires and the amount of time, money or energy must be used to help others. Swami teaches us that if we do not control our desires, then we will become a slave to our mind, rather than its master.

It is very important for us to distinguish between what we really ‘need’ versus what we ‘want’. We must make an effort to live on the basic necessities and stop ourselves from running everywhere trying to satisfy our desires. As we grow older, our list of “necessities” become longer. As babies, we need food and sleep. As the years go by, we want toys. From toys, we ask for handphones, branded and fancy clothes, dining in restaurants. As you can see, the list just becomes longer and longer. Fulfilling your desires will only lead you to have more and more desires and in that you are never satisfied with what you have. You lose your happiness and peace and sometimes think to yourself ‘I am not at all happy!’

Swami has said that we must practice putting a ceiling on our desires in 5 areas, namely, money, time, food, energy and knowledge.

Take for example you really want a new dress. You save up all your money and buy that dress. You’re satisfied for now and you use that dress a lot. But then one day, you see an even better dress and again you work hard and save up to buy that dress. Now let me ask  a question: What happened to the older dress that u “really”  wanted? Answer: It landed up hidden in one corner of your closet.

Swami says “desires are a prison” and man can only be freed by limiting his wants. How can this be done? We can all start by not wasting the food we eat. Many people take food for granted. Just because we are fortunate enough to find everything we want at “NTUC” does not mean we should waste it as and when we like. Remember food is God, don’t waste it. We should instead be thankful for the food and remember the millions that don’t have enough to eat every day.

As for money, we must spend less on things that we can do without and try to find cheaper alternatives. The money saved should be used to help the needy.

We should use time wisely. Time shouldn’t be wasted on negative conversations like gossiping. Swami says, ‘Time waste is life waste’. By doing this we also end up saving a lot of energy.

I would like to conclude with a quote from Swami,

“Who is the poorest man?
He who has many desires is the poorest man in the world.
Who is the richest man?
He who has much satisfaction is the richest man in the world”

Jai Sai Ram

Sis Nikita
SSEHV Group 4