As long as some desires linger in your mind, you cannot be at total rest. Every desire or ambition is like a sand particle in the eye! You cannot shut your eyes nor keep them open with a sand particle inside — it is uncomfortable either way. Dispassion is removing this sand particle so you can open and shut your eyes freely! The other way is to expand your desire, or make it so big — then also it will not bother you. It is a tiny sand particle that irritates your eyes — a big rock can never get into your eyes!
If you have a desire coming into your mind right now, at this very moment what do you do? You work to fulfill that desire. After it gets fulfilled, do you know where you will be? It will lead you to the very same place where you were before the desire rose in you.
So let us understand, what is this quest all about. A teenage girl sees an expensive dress and immediately falls in love with it. But like all beautiful things, this one is too expensive for her to buy. She tries to convince her father to let her buy the dress and tries every possible way to make him understand that the dress is worth the price and maybe even more. The father refuses despite of everything. The young girl gets so upset that every party and function she goes to, she feels incomplete without the dress. Each time she sees the dress in the window sill of the showroom, her heart tugs from inside. After a lot of tears, bickering and ranting, the father finally gives in, and buys her the dress. The girl is delighted. She wears it to every possible party and function, but after two years, the same dress lies in a heap of clothes that are being discarded. So you see desire taking a life form and finally being turned into nothing.
How to deal with desires? Just do not give too much weight to the fulfilment of desires. Don’t fight it off. You have no control over them. Desires come up. Instead of holding on to them, or daydreaming, just surrender. What is surrender? It simply means that when a desire arises, just offer it to the divine or higher power and say: “If it is good for me, let it happen.” And then let go of it. When you offer everything, then nothing can take you away from your centre.
Life teaches you the art of letting go in every event. The more you have learnt to let go, the happier you are and as you start being joyful, more will be given to you. Taking a good look at desires and realising that they are futile, is maturity or discrimination.
But surrender doesn’t mean the absence of action. Don’t just make an affirmation and say “Okay, I shall have a good job” and let go of it and do nothing about it. You need to do whatever is necessary. Act, surrender and be free.
With dispassion, you can enjoy the world freely and relax. Dispassion can bring so much joy in your life. Do not think that dispassion is a state of apathy. Dispassion is full of enthusiasm — it brings all joy to your life and allows you to rest so well.