How To Cease Craving?

Sage Vasishtha

BALI asked:

Lord, tell me, how can the cessation of craving for pleasure be firmly established in my heart?

VIROCANA said:

My son, self-knowledge is the creeper that yields the fruit of cessation of craving for pleasure. It is lnly when the self is seen that the highest form of dispassion becomes firmly rooted in the heart. Hence, one should simultaneously behold the self through intelligent enquiry, and thereby get rid of the craving for pleasure.

When the intelligence is still unawakened, one should fill two quarters of the mind with enjoyment of pleasure, one part with study of scriptures and the other with service of the guru. When it is partially awakened, two parts are given over to the the service of the guru and the others get one part each. When it is fully awakened, two parts are devoted to the service of the guru and the other two to the study of scriptures, with dispassion as the constant companion.

Only when one is filled with goodness is one qualified to listen to the exposition of the highest wisdom. Hence, one should constantly endeavor to educate the mind with purifying knowledge, and nourish the mind with the inner transformation brought about by the study of scriptures. When the mind has thus been transformed, it is able to reflect the truth without distortion. Then without delay one should endeavor to see the self. These two - self realization and cessation of craving - should proceed hand in hands, simultaneously.