Desire

"Pen, Ponn, Punn- ivay eavum maayai alla! Aasai than maayai.. maayaiye aasai!!!"
(Woman, Gold, wound- These aren't illusions. It is only our desire that is illusion.)
This is a dialogue from the Rajini starrer, Baba.
A thought provoking one!
It makes me contemplate the reasons for our desires.
Is it the Hormones? the brain? the situations? Or a combination of all these?

Recently, my roommate was looking at a music video in which a 5 year old was doing extreme hip-hops.
He asked me sardonically if I could perform at least a single step in it.
I couldn’t dance like that even in my wildest dreams. Yet, there was something that I could! – to retaliate.
I replied,
"You are able to see him dance as his moves are less than 3x10^8m/s.
I dance faster than the speed of light and so, you aren't able to see me dance. It is your limitation, not mine!"

Though the reply was instantaneous, I felt the urge to think and write something on it.

We, human beings have a lot of limitations.
We cannot capture a thing faster than light, a noise faster than sound.
We can't breathe without Oxygen.
We can't sustain without water and food.
We can't live without gravity and sunlight.
All our actions are restricted to these human limitations.

For instance, a dog can only bark. It cannot sing operas, nor can it cook.
It has to survive on human leftovers and flesh of lesser animals.
If we pelt stones at it, it can only bite or bark (mutually exclusive events!!! :-) ). It cannot pelt them back at us.
Yet, it does not complain about it. It is quite contended doing what it can. Its desires are limited.
This is because of its limited brain, physique and social status.

And so are ours. We have so many limitations ourselves.
Do we usually wish to have wings and fly flapping it? Or swim underwater without supplements like a fish?
If we had such desires, we would know ourselves that it is impossible, atleast for now.
Our desires rather revolve around more achievable things like money, fame, health and sex.
But are they, in real, achievements? Or, are they just being perceived by us so?
Are they worthy to be sought after?

When we are able to accept that our body has a lot of limitations, we must also realize that same is the case with our intelligence. Our perception is based only on our 5 senses and naturally, our desires are also limited to that.

Just like we are amused with the "limitedness" of a dog, the enlightened ones are with us.

Here is that dialogue by one such enlightened character in Baba, again.

"Women, Gold and wound - all are real. It is just the perception and the associated thoughts that is illusion."

It makes some sense now. Doesn't it? :-)

P.S: Don’t brand me a male chauvinist. The “woman..” dialogue is proprietary of Swami Divyananda Bharathi (Baba)! :-)