Human beings are driven by longing. Desire sets us in motion, makes us reach out. We want to emerge as we are at our deepest, as a plant grows and spreads its flowers. Human beings want to share their inner richness, not live in and for ourselves. We multiply ourselves through sharing. That, in all our goodness, is the intention behind our connection with the world.
Unfortunately, life is more than this idyllic sketch. Although the purity of that original desire remains undiminished, it becomes buried under many entanglements with the world. Some people get caught up or identified in the entanglements and lose sight of the greater purpose. This creates a void in their lives. The meaning is lost or buried. Without a living, breathing inner connection, it is difficult to connect to our purpose and meaning.
The more we are disconnected from our purpose, the more we suffer. In Indian philosophy, however, suffering is seen as an important motivator. We want to free ourselves from pain, misfortune and imperfections, whether they are within, or inflicted by someone else.
Thus there are two poles of desire from which we move, the one from our natural inner beauty and the one driven by our suffering. The former seeks fulfillment and the latter seeks destruction. Together these two sources determine our actions towards hope for a good life.
Hope follows our desires. Sometimes hope is vain and futile. Sometimes she is cheerful, expectant, and rises from an overflowing heart. Then she gives panoramas of a world in which good is leading; paradise on earth is possible. What changes would you experience? What would the relationships between people be like? What would we build together? What would we eliminate or leave behind?
In the seventh chapter of Chāndogya Upaniṣad, Nārada asks Sanatkumāra about the teaching of Self. He seeks salvation from suffering and wants to cross over to “the other shore,” beyond sorrow. Sanatkumāra asks him what he already knows. Nārada’s knowledge falls short. Initially, even the teaching of Sanatkumāra does not provide the knowledge Nārada needs for his salvation. In his learning process, Nārada develops a series of abilities. Each power, as it develops, is transcended by a greater power. Nārada takes possession of Speech, Speech is transcended by the power to Think. Thinking is transcended by Will, which in turn is transcended by Meditation, Insight, Strength, and so on.
In this series of superlatives, there is also Hope, but that hope is encompassed by something greater. Finally, Sanatkumāra asks Nārada to descend even deeper into himself and focus on ‘the Infinite’. For “there is no happiness in anything small.” Only in the Infinite is happiness. Therefore, he must first fathom the Infinite. And a little further: “Here in this world, people define greatness by their possessions: cattle, gold, land and houses. And yet, there is another, much more authentic way to define greatness.
The kind of hope that we could define as wishful thinking, based on desiring something we don’t have, leads to disappointment. It is coming from lack. Seeing through lack creates space for fulfillment, and connection with the hidden wholeness that is our greater potential. Are we looking for satisfaction in outer things such as our possessions or social status? Or are we connected with our true self, the ‘Infinite’, our natural state, our noble desire?
The Upaniṣads invite us to discover our widest view. Everything is about the Ultimate, the Self. That is where everything is at rest – hope, desire, goodness, salvation, freedom. And when that knowledge drives our behaviour, it leads to true fulfillment and purpose.
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