# Desire and Knowledge - Two Blazing FIRES in Advaita Vedanta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4e6ukS7uDk

[00:01] [Music]
[00:25] fire was of great importance and ancient
[00:29] Hindu culture so it's not surprising
[00:32] that Sanskrit provides many words for
[00:36] fire in addition to the common term Agni
[00:40] some words for fire are highly
[00:43] descriptive like done burning dwellin
[00:48] shining and support you having seven
[00:52] tonnes other words are based on fires
[00:56] many roles roles like pavakah purifier
[01:01] jota vedas the sacrificial fire putana
[01:06] consumer of sacrificial offerings and
[01:09] one he that which conveys blessings in
[01:14] addition to these an important symbolic
[01:17] meaning is expressed in the very first
[01:21] words of the Rig Veda Oh hug me me hail
[01:26] a photo Hickam I worshiped fire Agni as
[01:33] the poro hit'em as the priest or
[01:36] mediator who consumed sacrificial
[01:40] offerings with its flaming mouths and
[01:42] conveys them to the heavens to the
[01:45] deities being worshipped
[01:48] [Music]
[01:51] in the bhagavad-gita fire is given other
[01:55] important symbolic meanings the Gita
[01:59] famously refers to fire as neon Agni the
[02:03] fire of knowledge the blazing spiritual
[02:07] wisdom that burns away or destroys
[02:10] ignorance of one's true nature the Gita
[02:14] also refers to fire as commodity the
[02:18] fire of desire which represents one's
[02:22] passionate craving for pleasurable
[02:25] experiences of all kinds in Chapter
[02:28] three Shri Krishna tells Arjuna of
[02:33] Ramayana mitaina yani no nitya verinha
[02:39] kamo to pain account a new spoon on
[02:45] Elena true knowledge of your true nature
[02:49] is hidden by desire kama the enemy of
[02:54] the wise as insatiable as fire here the
[03:01] word used for fire is an alum alum means
[03:05] enough so an alum means that which never
[03:10] has enough that which is never satisfied
[03:14] an alum is a perfect word to describe
[03:18] fires insatiable appetite for fuel no
[03:24] matter how much wood is thrown in this
[03:27] fire will quickly consume it all and be
[03:30] eager for more our desires are like that
[03:34] no matter how many cravings we satisfy
[03:38] we're always eager for more pleasure new
[03:43] desires arise as quickly as old ones are
[03:47] satisfied
[03:48] for example after eating a splendid
[03:52] lunch at your favorite restaurant you'll
[03:54] feel hungry again in just a few hours
[03:58] the same is true for all desires after
[04:04] satisfying
[04:04] particular desire your appetite for
[04:07] pleasure is only temporarily appeased
[04:11] before long you'll want something else
[04:15] such is the fire of desire a
[04:19] never-ending succession of desires
[04:23] dictates many of our daily activities
[04:26] and molds our lies to a surprising
[04:30] extent here it's important to
[04:34] distinguish such desires from others
[04:37] that lack the power to compel us
[04:40] consider a little girl who goes to the
[04:43] kitchen at breakfast I'm looking forward
[04:46] to enjoying a bowl of her favorite
[04:49] cereal fruit loops inside the pantry she
[04:55] finds many other boxes of cereal but no
[04:59] fruit loops she cries because she
[05:02] couldn't fulfill her desire but suppose
[05:07] her mother also wants fruit loops for
[05:10] breakfast when she finds none in the
[05:14] pantry
[05:14] she'll simply choose another box of
[05:17] cereal she won't feel upset because her
[05:22] desire for fruit loops was completely
[05:25] different from her daughters
[05:27] [Music]
[05:30] she merely wanted the Froot Loops
[05:33] whereas her daughter felt a need for
[05:37] them this difference between wanting and
[05:41] needing helps us distinguish simple
[05:44] preferences from compelling desires when
[05:49] a preference goes unfulfilled there's no
[05:52] problem but when a compelling desire
[05:55] goes unfulfilled it's a different matter
[05:58] altogether
[06:00] we are driven to fulfill our desires in
[06:04] some sense were like slaves to them so
[06:10] how can we break free from being
[06:13] compelled by our desires is there any
[06:17] way to satiate them all suppose I try to
[06:21] satiate this fires appetite for fuel by
[06:25] throwing in a huge heap of wood as a
[06:28] result the fire will grow larger and
[06:32] gorged by all that fuel and it'll
[06:36] consume the wood even more ravenously
[06:39] than before this describes what happens
[06:44] when we overindulge our desires when we
[06:48] pamper ourselves to excess
[06:52] overindulgence can turn luxuries into
[06:55] necessities for example an occasional
[06:59] luxury like a special coffee from
[07:02] Starbucks here's a nice treat you might
[07:05] enjoy now and then but if you indulge in
[07:10] this treat too frequently it can become
[07:13] a necessity that compels you to drive to
[07:16] Starbucks every single morning for that
[07:19] coffee
[07:21] [Music]
[07:26] so what's the solution to the problem of
[07:31] desire since satiation won't work
[07:35] abstinence is sometimes suggested as a
[07:38] solution
[07:40] unfortunately abstinence doesn't work
[07:43] either consider a person who drives to
[07:47] Starbucks every single morning compelled
[07:50] by the desire for his favorite kind of
[07:53] coffee if he wants to overcome that
[07:56] desire and break free from its
[07:59] compulsion he might simply refrain from
[08:02] going to Starbucks the next morning but
[08:06] how will that affect him what will he be
[08:10] thinking about all day long coffee he
[08:16] can abstain from drinking coffee but
[08:19] that won't remove his desire for it if
[08:24] no more wood is added to this fire it
[08:27] won't simply go out its burning embers
[08:31] will continue to smolder for a very long
[08:35] time in the same way if you merely
[08:39] abstain from satisfying desires they
[08:43] won't simply disappear they too will
[08:47] continue to smolder for a very long time
[08:51] and long before the fire of desire
[08:55] finally dies out you're likely to
[08:58] succumb to its insistent demands and
[09:02] Kindle it again
[09:04] [Music]
[09:13] so how can this burning fire of desire
[09:17] be extinguished once and for all the
[09:22] solution is found by going to the root
[09:25] of the problem the root cause for desire
[09:29] as taught by Vedanta is ignorance
[09:34] specifically ignorance of your true
[09:37] nature
[09:38] if you truly knew your divine inner self
[09:43] to be innately full and complete then
[09:47] you'd always feel content and compulsive
[09:51] desires wouldn't bother you any more but
[09:55] failing to recognize your innate fulness
[10:00] you'll naturally feel like something is
[10:03] missing
[10:04] you'll feel insufficient incomplete
[10:09] inadequate and as a result you'll desire
[10:14] anything that can help you feel better
[10:17] in this way desires arise because your
[10:23] divine nature is covered by a veil of
[10:26] ignorance that prevents you from
[10:30] recognizing it as the true source of
[10:33] happiness contentment and peace to
[10:38] remove that veil of ignorance knowledge
[10:40] is required knowledge of your true
[10:44] nature knowledge that can burn away the
[10:47] veil of ignorance and reveal the vast
[10:51] fullness within that very knowledge can
[10:57] be gained through the teachings of
[10:59] Vedanta in Chapter four of the
[11:03] bhagavad-gita Shri Krishna refers to
[11:06] this knowledge as yon Agni the fire of
[11:10] knowledge
[11:12] yet I'd handsome ed Hogue near Bosma
[11:17] Sadhguru tear Jonah Yan Ignace sarva
[11:23] cutter money bus Mossad guru tatata o
[11:28] Arjuna like blazing fire reduces wood to
[11:33] ash so to the fire of knowledge destroys
[11:38] all actions specifically actions that
[11:42] are compelled by our desires the fire of
[11:47] knowledge kindled by the teachings of
[11:49] Vedanta can eliminate the fire of desire
[11:52] by burning away the ignorant that causes
[11:57] desires to flare up in the first place
[12:00] when the ignorance covering your true
[12:04] divine nature is removed you'll
[12:07] recognize your innate fulness and you'll
[12:10] feel perfectly content you will have
[12:14] broken free from being compelled by
[12:17] desires so Vedanta fights fire with fire
[12:22] in a manner of speaking the fire of
[12:26] desire
[12:26] Kimani is reduced to ashes in the fire
[12:31] of knowledge non-ag knee
[12:34] [Music]
[12:44] that's truly wonderful but nyan Agni can
[12:50] often be difficult to Kindle and until
[12:55] it blazes brightly the problem of desire
[12:59] will continue have you ever tried to
[13:03] start a fire in a pile of wet wood dry
[13:07] wood catches fire fairly easily but if
[13:11] wood is wet you can strike match after
[13:14] match to light the wood and yet fail to
[13:19] Kindle a fire we are all a bit like this
[13:23] pile of wet wood especially at the
[13:26] beginning of our spiritual journeys what
[13:31] wood isn't ready to burn and we might
[13:35] not be ready for the teachings of
[13:38] Vedanta even though you listen to
[13:41] Vedanta teachings again and again yawn
[13:45] Agni will not be kindled unless you are
[13:49] fully prepared by undergoing the
[13:52] preliminary training needed to grasp the
[13:56] essence of those teachings a mature
[14:00] prepared student is like dry wood and
[14:04] Yan Agni is easily kindled but most of
[14:10] us begin our studies lacking the full
[14:13] measure of spiritual maturity needed and
[14:17] that prevents the fire of knowledge from
[14:20] being ignited fortunately the teachings
[14:25] of Vedanta themselves help us gain the
[14:29] necessary spiritual maturity and
[14:32] preparation let me explain if you try to
[14:37] light wet wood it won't catch fire but
[14:42] each match helps dry out the wood a
[14:46] little bit by lighting many matches the
[14:51] wood gradually gets dried out and will
[14:54] eventually go up in flames
[15:00] in the same way repeated listening to
[15:04] the teachings of Vedanta helps you gain
[15:07] the necessary degree of spiritual
[15:10] maturity slowly but surely and when you
[15:15] are sufficiently prepared Yan Agni will
[15:19] blaze forth effortlessly destroying
[15:23] ignorance and revealing your true nature
[15:36] fire symbolizes spiritual knowledge in
[15:40] several ways for example these robes
[15:44] traditionally worn by sannyasis ordained
[15:48] monks are dyed orange the color of fire
[15:53] sannyasis cover themselves so to speak
[15:56] with the fire of knowledge and those who
[16:01] burn with a fire of knowledge can ignite
[16:04] others like using one candle to light
[16:08] another just like this flame can be
[16:12] passed from one lamp to the next the
[16:15] fire of knowledge has been passed on
[16:18] from teacher to student for many many
[16:21] generations each pair of lamps
[16:25] represents teacher and student guru and
[16:29] shisha and the entire line of lamps
[16:33] represents our param para our lineage of
[16:37] teachers seeing this you're likely to
[16:41] ask how did the first lamp get lit how
[16:46] did Yan Agni get kindled in the first
[16:49] place as you may know the teachings of
[16:54] Vedanta began with the Rishi's the sages
[16:58] of ancient India who were uniquely
[17:01] blessed with the ability to gain this
[17:04] knowledge independently without being
[17:08] taught they were the first to discover
[17:12] these truths three hundred years ago no
[17:16] one taught Sir Isaac Newton about the
[17:19] principles of motion and gravity he
[17:23] discovered those principles on his own
[17:25] and he passed his knowledge on to later
[17:29] generations of scientists in the same
[17:33] way the truths first discovered by the
[17:37] Rishi's were passed down through the
[17:40] ages the last of these lamps
[17:45] presents those gurus who are alive today
[17:48] and the next lamp to be lit could
[17:53] represent you eager for the fire of
[17:56] knowledge to be ignited
[18:01] for students who are relatively mature
[18:04] just a little spark or flame maybe all
[18:08] that's needed to ignite the fire of
[18:11] knowledge within but for students who
[18:15] lack the complete degree of preparation
[18:18] needed there's a special benefit in
[18:21] studying Vedanta under the guidance of a
[18:25] great teacher who burns especially
[18:28] brightly what wood dries out quickly if
[18:33] it's stacked up right next to a blazing
[18:36] fire in the same way students who
[18:40] associate with the wise skillful caring
[18:44] guru will quickly be prepared for Yan
[18:48] Agni to burst forth in flaming glory
[18:53] [Music]
[18:54] [Applause]
[18:56] [Music]
[18:58] [Applause]
[19:00] [Music]