Everyone has desires, and desires can lead to misery. The story of Yayati shows us that even the old have inappropriate desires, said Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse. Yayati was worried that he was ageing. Ageing is a natural process and a right-thinking person would not worry over something like this. But Yayati was concerned about his age. He wanted to enjoy the pleasures of youth. So, he asked his sons to exchange their youth with his (Yayati’s) old age. One after the other, his sons refused to heed him.
But one of his sons, called Puru, was ready to do as his father wanted. So Puru exchanged his youth for Yayati’s old age. Eventually, Yayati realised how wrong it was to have hankered after the enjoyments of the senses. He sent for Puru and told him that he regretted what he had done. He said that desire was like a fire. If you pour ghee into a fire, it burns more brightly. Likewise, you may think that once you have fulfilled a desire, then you will experience a sense of satisfaction. But desires do not operate like that. Once a desire is fulfilled, you want something else. So, the fire of desire is kept alive always.
Even if we have vairagya, if we are in the company of the those who are constantly seeking something, then we too are affected by their behaviour, and we are tempted to give up our vairagya. A person who does not get what he wants, becomes envious, is filled with anger, and may even commit unpardonable acts of sin. It would help if we could consult someone when we want something. Wise advice helps a lot. But even then, whether we listen to such advice is up to us. Dhritarashtra asked Vidura for advice, but he did not follow the advice. He was so fond of his son Duryodhana, that he could not be reasonable.