The body has five thieves which are plundering the nectar and burying us deep into the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Desire is the prime fault that gives birth to other faults. If a desire is not fulfilled, we become Angry. If that same desire is fulfilled, we become puffed up with pride and become Attached to the object that fulfilled our desire. Then we become Greedy and want more and more. When greed takes over, we do everything to feed the Ego; that prevents us from knowing our true Selves. So, let's dive into the details of these thieves:
Desire
Desire (Kama) is the primary emotion of the Mind from which all other desires arise. It is the impulse towards an object. It is the root cause of all problems. There is a difference between need, want, wish, and desire. Our days are laden with wants and nights with desires. Thus we remain disturbed all the time and blame God, saying, “I suffer thus, because of the Lord. It’s He who makes me suffer.” We don't understand that the problem of our pains is our desires. A wish always contains an element of doubt; we are not sure that we may have what we wish for. A want includes an urge; a feeling of compulsion is behind them. Want is the offspring of craving that has its roots in the subtle impressions we carry with us from the past.
If we desire to achieve something, the secret is to let it go. Let go of the desire, even for salvation/liberation; work selflessly and skillfully. A day will come when we will get everything, including God. Powers come naturally to us from God when we have made ourselves harmless and caring under all circumstances. As we walk our path, we should let our daily affirmation or prayer to the Infinite ONE be, “Your will be done, not mine, in me and through me.”
e.g. [When you run towards the shadow while turning back towards the Sun, you cannot hold the shadow. But if you stop and let it go, face towards Sun and back towards the shadow, now the shadow will start following you. ]
e.g. [Once a seeker asked for a blessing from his Guru to help the world via Music. But his teacher ordered him never to touch the guitar and instructed him to start dishwashing. The student started dishwashing, thinking it was just a test and that he would be allowed to play music after it. But after a few weeks, the student realized that it was not a test but actual work. The student started doing slowly and unsatisfactory results. He was thinking of running, he wanted to do something for the world, but instead, he is doing dishwashing. He was freaked out. Then he felt that he came to his teacher to learn something, yet he had not attained that, so he decided that even if it meant to do dishwashing all his life, he would do it. He decided to let go; As soon as he made that real internal choice, an irreversible commitment, the heavy burden he was suffering lifted from him. Instantly, he felt happy again. His attitude towards dishwashing changed; he turned his dishwashing into a flow meditation. Then, his teacher said that you don't have to do dishwashing and he should start helping the world via his Music. But now, it did not matter what he was doing to the student. But as the teacher asked, the student started music and noticed that he could play a lot better than previously, to which his teacher replied that now, Universal Conscious is playing through him. So, the bottom line is to continue with what GOD has for us or continue with your normal abilities, and once you do that, GOD will promote you. So, do meditation with everything, and finally, when GOD thinks you're prepared for the next level, he will do that. Do whatever work, but do it while enjoying and not just doing it as a duty. ]
Attachment
"What you own today was not yours yesterday and will not be yours tomorrow. It does not and will not belong to anyone. You consider it your own and rejoice. This happiness of possession leads you to utter grief. Don't seek to possess things."
Attachment is the mother of all miseries. It arises when one has achieved something of his desire, and he becomes attached to it by identifying himself with it. Possessing anything is very dangerous because it creates attachment. There is nothing that is ours. We become attached to things and people and think they are ours, but they never belong to us. Ignorance-driven attachment is the cause of birth, death, and rebirth. Attachment is the source of our pains. If a man is not attached to the object/person, he won't feel the pain when that object/person has lost. Objects have two characteristics: Discontentment (Atprasthi) and Attachment-Hatred (Raag-Dvash). That is why there is no happiness in things, only dissatisfaction, and unrest.
If you want to enjoy life and be happy, learn to practice and understand the philosophy of non-attachment. There is a difference between attachment and love. Attachment is selfish; love is selfless. Attachment brings bondage; love gives freedom. When Spiritual people ask about getting rid of attachment, they are not asking to stop loving or caring; they ask for unselfish love. The greatest happiness in life comes from giving. All the things of the world belong to Providence; use them but do not try to own them.
e.g. [A man feels pain when their pet dies, while a man is happy when he kills termites (non-pet). It proves that the pain/problem doesn't lie with death, it lies with the attachment. ]
e.g [When we travel on a luxury train, we met certain people and with some of them we develop good relationships and we also enjoy the luxury seats. But when our station came, we have to step off the train; at that point, we cannot develop an attachment for the people met on the train or with the luxury seat. We cannot take the seat with us. If we develop attachment, then we will invite pain.]
e.g [The problem is not in enjoying the things of the world but when we start owning them, that’s a serious problem. You are not enjoying the house, beautiful house in which you live. But you possess it, “My house, my house, my house.” And then becoming proud, you get intoxicated and then you get attached.]
Anger
It is the expression of frustration for a desire which finds obstruction in its fulfillment. If we get angry, sit down and analyze why we get mad in the first place and examine which wishes were not fulfilled. Anger destroys the mind and body. When we are angry, then anger takes over our minds and body. All the nerves in our body suffer during rage.
Train the buddhi/intellect in controlling anger by deciding which desires are helpful for growth and which are not.
e.g. [Once Buddha and Ananda (his disciple) went out begging. They went to one house, and a lady said, "You're a healthy man; you should do hard work and earn. " After that, the lady picked up the filth and wanted to give it to Buddha, saying - this is what you deserve." To this, Buddha smiled and said, "Mother, you can keep it. I don't need it." His disciple was very angry, to which Buddha said: "Stop, She wants to give me something, but if I don't need it, I don't take it, so why are you angry." Why do we accept that when people try to give us their anger or negative feedback? Usually, we react before we have fully experienced it; what we see or hear immediately pushes a button; we interpret that according to our expectations, fears, prejudices, or resistances. ]
Ego
It is the greatest of all barriers to going to the source of light (God), life, and wisdom in attaining intuitive knowledge. It is the source of all of our problems. It is the sense of "I-am-ness," the individual Ego, which feels it to be a distinct, separate entity. It provides identity to our functioning but also creates feelings of separation, pain, and alienation. The purpose of the ego is to hold and retain our body, to retain our individuality. But unfortunately, the ego gets involved with other things and tries to get involved with others' individuality as well. Even while practicing the great virtues of truthfulness and nonviolence, a person can feed the ego. The ego related to the realm of spirituality is more subtle and injurious than the ego related to one’s worldly success.
A human being is miserable if he fails to unfold and use his inner potential. In order to unfold his inner potential, he must purify the ego or surrender it to the higher Reality. After renouncing slavery to the ego, he can emerge from the confines of body, senses, and mind. Try to say, “Your will be done God (whatever name for God you choose), not mine, in me and through me; show me what I must do this day, and let me be a channel of your blessings to all.”
e.g. [A seed can become a garden only if it allows itself to be part of the soil. The seed has to lose its individuality.]
Greed
It is a powerful cultural desire which comes through competition and insecurity. It makes one narrow, selfish, and self-centered. Greedy people do not share the object of their attachment with others; they want to preserve it.