Reincarnation – Part Four
The Nature of Desire
The driving force of life is the motivation of desire. Life is nothing more or less than the desire for experience, and the search for ever-new ways in which to experience. Desire stirs the waters of experience.
But as every living person learns to discover, it is one thing to desire something, but quite another to experience what it is that one desires. In fact the challenge of life is to learn how to manifest what one desires.
Once again, the Sages of the East explain what is needed to attract the objects of our desires, and why it is that so many of us fail. The power of desire is both mysterious and miraculous, as Nisargadatta Maharaj explains:
“Your mind projects a structure and you identify yourself with it. It is in the nature of desire to prompt the mind to create a world for its fulfilment. Even a small desire can start a long line of action; what about a strong desire? A desire can produce a universe; its powers are miraculous.”
We have the assurance of Maharaj that we can attain whatever our hearts desire.
“When you work for something whole-heartedly and steadily, it happens, for it is the function of the mind to make things happen.”
If what Maharaj says is true, that it is possible for all desires to be attained, then why is it that our desires are not fulfilled? The following questioner speaks for our troubled state.
QUESTION: “I am full of desires and want them fulfilled. How am I to get what I want?
MAHARAJ: Do you deserve what you desire? In some way or other you have to work for the fulfillment of your desires. Put in energy and wait for the results.
QUESTION: Where do I get the energy?
MAHARAJ: The desire itself is energy.
QUESTION: Then why does not every desire get fulfilled?
MAHARAJ: Maybe it was not strong enough and lasting.”
As the Tripura Rahasya points out:
“The desire must be strong and abiding, in order that it may bear fruit. The effects are in proportion to the intensity and duration of the desire.”
As Maharaj explains:
“When your desire is not clear nor strong, it cannot take shape. Besides, if your desires are personal, for your own enjoyment, the energy you give them is necessarily limited; it cannot be more than what you have.”
Ramana Maharshi explains:
MAHARSHI: “The wavering of the mind is a weakness arising from the dissipation of its energy in the shape of thoughts. When one makes the mind stick to one thought the energy is conserved, and the mind becomes stronger.
QUESTION: What is the meaning of the strength of the mind?
MAHARSHI: Its ability to concentrate on one thought without being distracted.
QUESTION: How is that achieved?
MAHARSHI: By practice.”
The Need for Positive Thinking
So contradictory thoughts or doubts, which are negative thoughts, negate the power of the original thought. As Dattatreya explained to his pupil Parasurama:
“The will conceives effectively or ineffectively according as it is uniform or broken up by indecision. One should forget the old associations in order to make one’s new conception effective and this endures only so long as it is not obstructed by the old one.
“A conception is forceful unless obstructed by an antecedent one and thus destroyed. It is effective only when forceful; in that way even great things may be achieved.”
Destiny has its firmest grip on those who are convinced of its immutable power. Maharaj scoffs at these shallow fears:
“Steady faith is stronger than destiny. Destiny is the result of causes mostly accidental and is therefore loosely woven. Confidence and good hope will overcome it easily.”
And to those who claim that the world is simply beyond their power to control, he answers:
“On the contrary, a world of which you are the only source and ground is fully within your power to change. What is created can always be un-created, and re-created. All will happen as you want it, provided you really want it.”
Ramana Maharshi responds in similar fashion to those who believe that their lives are bound by inherited limitations:
QUESTION: “Distractions result from inherited tendencies. Can they be cast off too?
MAHARSHI: Yes. Many have done so. Believe it! They did so because they believed they could.”
For as Maharaj has pointed out:
“What is imagined and willed becomes actuality – here lies the danger as well as the way out.”
Referring to faith, the apostle Paul wrote in the first verse of the eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Speaking of faith, Saint Augustine asked, “What is faith unless it is to believe what you do not see?” Sri Aurobindo, the sage of Pondicherry, wrote of faith:
“Faith is the soul’s witness to something not yet manifested, achieved or realized, but yet the knower within us, even in the absence of all indications, feels to be true or supremely worth following.”
The fact that we are able to alter the circumstances of our lives, finds support in the Book of Job: “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” (Job 22: 28)
Maharaj also gives us the assurance that “whatever deep conviction you hold onto in the core of you will happen.”
Since beliefs are the shaping forces of our experiences in life, if we wish to alter the circumstances of our lives, we need only alter the nature of our beliefs.
The energy with which we invest our desires determines the speed with which they come about, and the potency of our desires hinges on our faith that they will be fulfilled. The greater the number of people who come to share a common desire, the greater becomes the energy that is available for its fulfilment.
Those who wish to change society, therefore, can do this by utilizing the forces of energy unleashed by large numbers of people, if they can be persuaded to adopt a common pattern of belief.
All effective leaders of society learn to focus the energies of their followers into particular channels of belief. The greater the emotional energy which can be allied to these beliefs, the more dramatic will be the results, and the quicker these beliefs will manifest in the world of experience.
Adolf Hitler
Societies are always vulnerable to leaders who are able to direct the energy of the group into certain selected patterns of belief.
Examples abound throughout history of men and women who have successfully utilised these methods to mould society to their wishes. One of the most effective men to do so in recent times was Adolf Hitler.
Hitler was a man possessed with a lust for power. Now there was nothing particularly unusual about that. Thousands of people before him had entertained similar desires.
But Hitler did not simply wish to rule a clan, a city, or a sovereign state. His ambition was to rule the world, and to set up a reign of power so glorious and so complete that it would last for a thousand years.
Yet Hitler was a man of insignificant origin. He did not come from a family noted for its conspicuous wealth and influence. He was not trained in a great military tradition.
He did not have powerful friends. He was not the confidant of Kings. All he had was that single, overriding desire to rule the world. There was little that occurred in his early life that seemed to offer any hope for the fulfilment of this dream.
As a young man in Vienna, Hitler was a dropout from society. He was described at that time as “lazy, moody and so contemptuous of any form of work that he would pawn his books and a few personal belongings rather than go out to work to earn a few miserable hellers“.
When the first world war began, Hitler joined the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry regiment and served as Meldeganger, an orderly-cum-runner who carried messages between headquarters and the front lines.
Although he distinguished himself through his personal bravery and was subsequently awarded the Iron Cross, Hitler remained a common Corporal in the German Army for the duration of the war.
It was hardly the sort of auspicious beginning that would have been expected to single him out for future military leadership.
Yet within the space of twenty years, Hitler had successfully gained control of the defeated German nation, and had transformed it to such a level of power that it took the combined forces of the better part of the rest of the world to prevent him from attaining his goal of global domination.
How could such a thing have happened? How was it possible for Hitler to resurrect the German nation as swiftly as he did? Where did Hitler get the power to fulfill his autocratic desire?
Hitler began with a simple idea – the idea of world domination.
But what singled him out as a man to be reckoned with was his indomitable will. Hitler believed in himself totally, and was utterly convinced that he would achieve his goal.
Imbued with such intense faith in his own inherent power, and bolstered by his will, Hitler soon began to attract favourable opportunities which were the direct result of his initial desire. He was quick to seize upon these favourable circumstances, and to use them to carry him closer to his goal.
Hitler nevertheless realised that in order to revolutionise Germany so soon after it had suffered a shattering military defeat, he would need to arouse the emotional resources of his people.
Being a naturally gifted orator, Hitler used his demagogic ability to galvanise the German people. He did this by means of nationwide broadcasts, but also by means of carefully staged ceremonies.
Vast numbers of people were assembled together to attend Hitler’s torch-lit rallies. These ceremonies were attended by blaring martial music which served to stimulate the public mood.
At these vast assemblies, concealed loudspeakers would broadcast pulsed vibrations at a predetermined rate of fourteen cycles per second, which had the effect of generating a high degree of emotional tension.
When Hitler finally appeared on the podium high above the gathered throng, the spotlights that were focused on him were reflected by means of strategically placed mirrors back into the crowd, forming a mesmerising sight.
As Hitler began to speak, so his hypnotic cadences of speech quickly stirred the crowd. As his fervour rose, so the pitch of his voice escalated, until his words poured forth in a frenzied torrent.
The emotional excitement of the crowd was systematically raised to ever higher levels, until it culminated in a crashing fusillade of Sig Heils, professing total allegiance to the Fuhrer.
Broadcast to the nation, these torchlight Nazi rallies had a profound effect upon the national psyche. Germans came to believe that they were capable of achieving anything.
It was Hitler’s special genius that he was able to manipulate this national reservoir of energy towards the fulfilment of his personal dream of conquest.
All effective leaders use the power of human emotion, or charged thought, to manipulate their followers, whether they do so knowingly or not. Although the objects of their desires may differ widely, their techniques invariably remain the same.
The charismatic evangelists who today win souls for Christ, adopt the same techniques that were used to such devastating effect by Hitler. There is the same use of public rallies, the stirring music, the angelic choirs, the use of lights, and rhythmic oratory that bring the congregation to a fever pitch of emotion.
Emotion is the wellspring of raw power.
Drawing upon this supply of energy, leaders can focus it upon any goal they wish. Their power can become truly awesome, and is capable of astonishing feats. It is the power that can yield the fruition of any desire in our waking world of consciousness.
The power of focused emotion is the voltage which powers the circuit of desire. When sustained by national will, it is capable of bringing the world to the very brink of total domination, as Hitler so ably proved.
We may be inclined to scoff at claims that the force of emotion is capable of transforming the world around us. Yet linked to an impassioned desire its powers are truly miraculous. It does not matter what that desire may be.
The power is neutral, it can be used for good or ill. As Nisargadatta Maharaj has warned:
“Just like a small matchstick can set a huge forest on fire, so does a desire light the fires of manifestation. The very purpose of creation is the fulfilment of desire. The desire may be noble or ignoble; space is neutral – one can fill it with what one likes.”
Donald Trump
What Hitler and Mussolini did before him, Donald Trump aims to do today. Throughout his career, he has steadfastly pursued his goal of gaining control over the American people and imposing his Fascist ideas on the nation.
And in so doing, he hopes to match the achievements of men he claims to admire the most – people like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un. As he explained to reporter Andrea Amilcare in January 2016, some ten months before he was elected President:
“I read Benito Mussolini Memoires every day. The Il Duce was a great man, and he was a strong man. I am inspired by his life and how he changed Italy for the better. This is what I want for America.
“Let’s face it, there will be a period, like Mussolini’s when he was prime minister of Italy, where he ruled constitutionally until 1925, but soon after he thought, screw this, let’s have a full dictatorship.
“I’m not saying we’re going to have an immediate dictatorship in America when I’m president, but I’ll give it a little time, maybe a year or two. Business is business, I gotta do what I gotta do, and I’m going to clean house, whatever it takes. Fascism is great because you don’t have to answer to anyone, you just do it.” (Source)
What separates Trump from other U.S. politicians is his total belief in what he believes to be true. He insists that he never lost the last election, and that he still remains the legitimate president and that the idea that he lost is “the big lie”.
Furthermore, he has never been bothered by facts that run counter to his beliefs. He simply dismisses them as “fake news”. He continues to repeat his false ideas at every opportunity. And when he was once asked why he did this, he replied “I just don’t care”.
Two things define Donald Trump. One is anger. He not only explodes in anger at every perceived threat or criticism, but he constantly exhorts his followers to react with violence against those who challenge his ideas, and promises to avenge all those who are afflicted.
The other is revenge. And if anyone offends him, he never forgets. And he is willing to spend the rest of his life if necessary, to gain his revenge. And the thing he values most in life is loyalty. He demands total loyalty from all those who work for him, yet offers nothing in return.
As the handwriting specialist who analysed his signature that I referred to here commented: “Look at the angles, look how sharp it is. Anyone who gets near Trump will get hurt”.
Like Hitler, Trump has learned the value of emotion in galvanising his followers. But unlike Hitler who used his powers of oratory to stir the crowd, Trump achieves the same effect by arousing anger against whatever target he happens to pick on at the time.
His main targets are, as they have always been, immigrants who he refers to as “vermin” that he claims are “poisoning the blood of the nation”. And the reason why the multitudes continue to follow him blindly is because he projects the image of a strongman who can save them from all the problems that confront the nation. And not only that, but that “he alone can fix it”.
And so the nation stumbles on towards the next election. And when the final results are tallied, let no one doubt Trump’s ability to achieve his dream of total domination. Why?
Because he did it in his last life.
