T Ram Sewak

TRISHNA ISHNA

While exploring the spiritual diagnosis of the afflictions of the mind, Kakabhushundiji now concludes their enumeration in Shri Ramcharitmanas 7.121. He states:

Trishna . bhari Tribidhi Ishna. tijari

Kahan ..aneka

"Insatiable sensual cravings (Trishna) are akin to oedema in the body, unquenchable and exhausting. The threefold yearnings (Ishna)for wealth, progeny, and fameare like the fever that recurs every third day (tijari). These inner afflictions are countless".

While both Trishna and Ishna are synonymously used for desire (Kaam), they carry a philosophical nuance. Trishna is the explicit craving for sensory pleasures. Insatiable and driven by uncontrolled indulgence of the senses, it is restless, immediate, and motivated by the desire for sense objects. Shri Krishna also mentions the insatiable nature of desire in Gita 3.39.

Ishna, on the other hand, is much deeper and binds the mind and intellect. It is more subtle and rooted in ego (Ahankar), manifesting as the ever-renewing, persistent desire for immortality through lineage, wealth, and fame. Ishna is the ego's shadow. Where ego walks, desire follows. Where desire grows, ego thrives.

Desire is consistently highlighted in Vedanta as the root obstacle to liberation a relentless, inextinguishable force that distorts discernment, depletes wisdom and traps the being in a cycle of frustration and craving that leads to Krodh (anger) and Lobh (greed).

In Gita 2.62-63, Shri Krishna emphasises desire as a seed of a downward spiral leading to destruction. Furthermore, in response to Arjun's question in Gita 3.36-37 regarding what drives a person to commit sin, Shri Krishna emphatically answers desire! However, HE also offers the remedy, which is to control the senses and master desire through any of the three paths: action without attachment (Karma Yoga), Self-Knowledge (Gyan Yoga), or complete surrender to HIM (Bhakti Yoga).

Thus, the path to Moksh (liberation) unfolds as Trishna diminishes through discipline (sanyam, abhyas) and detachment (vairagya), as Ishna dissolves in the light of Self-knowledge and surrender to the Supreme! / DAILY WORLD /

The author is a former electrical Engineer and resides in the Himalayas. He can be occasionally reached at ramam.namami@gmail.com