"Some say the desire-nature is a substance, placed in the body,
similar to the soul. Others say it is a quality of the body,
similar to life. But all take it as the source of evil qualities &
acts. These evils are grouped into: (a) sins, (b) qualities, for
example pride, envy, anger. The former pertain more to the outer
man, the latter more to the inner man. The former are purified by
ascetic practices, the latter by (turning, repentance)."
"There is no help against the desire-nature save in ascetic
practices. ... the desire-nature leads one to hell, being its
image." "Pain and torture destroy all things, but they simply aid
(the) growth (of the desire-nature). It said: 'This is due to the
fact of my constitution being the other way: what is pain for
others is pleasure for me.'" p82-83
"These (hog, fox, snake, dog)
stories go to show that the desire-nature is a corporeal being --
not a quality -- albeit it is endowed with qualities. It should be
subdued by ascetic practices, but it cannot be completely destroyed
in its essential nature." "Desires are twofold: (a) those
connected with the senses & sex; (b) ambition of power & fame. The
victims of the former resort to brothels without seriously affecting
the well-being of others. The victims of the latter resort to holy
places, and become the pests of the world. ... The desire-nature
constantly puts on many a semblance of divinity, and invites man to
his ruin."
"The desire-nature is the worst foe. It is very difficult to be
armed against it, since, firstly, it is an internal foe, and it is
almost impossible to guard the house against a thief co-tenant; and
secondly, it is a lovely foe, and a man is blind to the defects of
his beloved, whose shortcomings take on the appearance of merits.
Such being the case, the desire-nature may ere long hurl a man
unawares to the lowest depth of degradation. If you ponder well.
you will find it at the root of all the troubles that beset man in
the past or may beset him in the future." p84-85
"It is improper to overcome it all at once, as it is a vehicle of
the soul; nor is it proper to let it go wholly unbridled, in view of
the probable dangers. ... You should strengthen it to the extent
of enabling it to perform its duties; you should weaken it to the
measure of preventing the chance of its leading you astray.
Anything besides this rule is objectionable." There are three ways
of thus subduing it: ..." p86
"The goal is unattainable save through the destruction of the
desire-nature. Either be ready to kill it out & tread the Path, or
withdraw from the rank of the seekers -- so that others may pass on
(unimpeded by your presence)." p90-91 Sharfuddin Maneri
a student's notes
1. How can it behave? What behaviour
does it exhibit? What can it do?
* It expresses a desire for self-benefit:
1) as security, self-preservation
2) as pleasure
3) as power
4) as energy
* It has a tendency to do injustice
* It is capable, until stopped, of
overpowering one's reason
* It possesses & demonstrates instincts
of:
1) self-defence
2) taking advantage of others
3) intimidation, intrigue, manipulation & deception based on:
a) implicit value judgements & thoughts
b) prejudices
c) a negative belief system
* It can & does, promote & justify
profoundly selfish and socially
disruptive actions as being:
1) fair
2) right
3) responsible
4) moral
5) meritorious
6) respectable
7) virtuous
8) ones duty
9) praiseworthy
10) in good taste
11) kind, gentle & true
12) brotherly & theosophical
all according to its memories, which
are your memories, whether or not you
are conscious of them.
* It can & does compulsively resist your
spiritual progress. In just one of its
defensive maneuvers, it masquerades as
the spiritual, pretending to be the
impersonal self, the higher self, the
silent watcher, the compassionate, kind,
gentle, considerate, thoughtful,
truthful, intimate self, putting on and
maintaining many a semblance, many a
facade of divinity.
It is in fact defending the separate
personality, while advocating
brotherhood, encouraging study, &
supporting the investigation of
everything unexplained & latent, save
itself
* It takes. It invests for gain, giving-to-get. It does not sacrifice, as it has
no understanding of the sacred.
* It stirs, strikes, buffets and prompts
its host with unaccountable impulses-to-action, (and impulses to inhibit
action), obscurely motivated passions,
fancies, superstitions, whims,
persuasions, convictions, dogmas, and in
some cases with obsessive ideas and
hallucinations.
* It is the source of timidity & faint-hearted refusal to
take The Path seriously. It is the source of irrational haste to
rush down The Path, ambition disguised as aspiration.
* It projects values (positive &
negative) onto anything that seems able
to serve as a screen; onto things,
people, ideas, feelings, institutions,
races, religions, causes.
* It can detect fear. It can suffer
fear. It can deliver fear.
* It seems to be able to conspire,
without the knowledge of the human
hosts, with others of its kind, for
common ends, around collective, semi-conscious, goals.
* It competes for social energy, for
interpersonal energy, for family energy,
for institutional energy, in habitually
deceitful ways of interacting, out of
fear & ignorance, unconsciously to its
host.
2. What is it?
* A lower portion of the human mind,
which itself is a dual power. A portion
is voluntary & conscious, another
portion is involuntary, instinctual, &
unconscious
* Half-animal, it is powerless to
discern the voice or the presence of the
Higher Self
* It is fed by the suppressed thought
and suppressed emotion of its host. It
is a mischief maker, and its raw
materials are every conflict and problem
and interpersonal challenge which we are
unwilling to face & resolve
* Living, though not intelligent, it has
a kind of cunning instinct. It seeks
ends, furthers its interests, is
therefore goal seeking, i.e. potentially
dangerous.
3. Why would it receive a diet of
suppressed thought & emotion? Who would
feed something so opposed to the
interests of mankind?
* We may suppress those things which
distress & frighten us. We bury, censor,
deny, dissociate, hide, mis-understand,
project outwards, and repress those
aspects of non-material exchange, beha-
vior, feelings & thoughts, which appear
to threaten that which this thing is
defending. We have, albeit
unconsciously, taken its interests to be
our interests.
4. What can we do? How can we cope with
it?
* Fundamentally this depends on your
purpose.
* For the new aspirant there is plenty
to be found in the advice & precepts
contained in the theosophical manuals:
Light on the Path, Voice of the Silence,
& At the Feet of the Master.
* For those who already have a
background of study and application, the
following three points may be of
interest:
1) The only successful approach will
involve direct recognition of it in
action, at the point of contact with
experience. This is a euphemistic way of
saying it will likely involve an
intimacy of self-knowledge that may not
be altogether pleasant, but there is no
other way.
2) One can try an experiment. We can
choose a small portion of our defences &
just cease to defend at that point, and
observe what happens.
3) All impulses-to-action and thoughts
that are prompted by (it) share two
characteristic features: (A) they cannot
be thought through logically -- that is,
thinking can penetrate them only up to a
certain limit -- and (B) they give the
sensation of an overwhelming persuasive
power that covers up the fact that we
cannot really think them through.
(Therefore) we have good reason to
assume a subconscious origin for every
impenetrable, incomprehensible thought,
or train of thought.
5. The Case of HPB
* One may wonder whether "HPB" herself
suffered from 'unconscious urges',
relics which she had perhaps not yet
cleared. Consider the following quote:
"Her impulsive nature ... is always
ready to carry her beyond the boundaries
of truth, into the region of
exaggeration; nevertheless without a
shadow of suspicion that she is thereby
deceiving her friends, or abusing their
great trust in her." p307 " ... most
undeniably she is given to exaggeration
in general ..." p308-9 (Letter No. 54
Oct 1882 KH to APS)