“He who banishes all bad desires arising in his mind may be described as a sthita-prajna — one who is situated in perfect knowledge, one who is steadfast in action. Though, of course, ultimately we all should arrive at a stage when we should banish all desires, even the desire to see God; to a person in that stage all action becomes spontaneous. After one has seen God face to face, how can the desire to see Him still remain? When you have already jumped into the river, the desire to do so will no longer be there. Our desire to see God ceases when we are lost in Him, have become one with Him.”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Gandhi, 'The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi' (Gita commentary/discourses) — on the sthita-prajna and shedding all desire, even the desire to see God.
About this quote
Desire is really the gap between you and a goal; the wanting exists only while you remain apart from it. Reach the thing fully and the craving has nowhere left to point. In that state effort stops feeling like straining and simply flows, because there's no separate result still to chase.
When to use it
- A musician who once craved recognition, now lost in the playing itself, no longer thinks about the applause at all.
- Someone who long yearned to belong stops wanting it the moment they are genuinely part of the group; the ache dissolves.
- A learner obsessed with mastering a skill finds that once it's second nature, the striving gives way to easy, unforced doing.