Acharya Prashant (AP): (reads question) "Only a soul free of desire can taste eternity." She is saying, “Had there been no desires, there would have been no inventions and discoveries, which ultimately led to a better life for all of us. According to an average person", she says, “living a comfortable life is far better than tasting eternity. So, why should one be free of desires?"
You get the result according to the status of your desire. Small desires fetch you small results. A little bigger desires fetch you results that are a little bigger. And great, mammoth, infinite desires bring you the infinite. So, somebody desired something petty, so at the most, he got something petty. Then, somebody desired something bigger, he got something bigger.
The question is: how much will satisfy you? The little obviously does not satisfy you. Even that which is relatively bigger does not satisfy you. The proof of that is that you don’t stop, your desires don't stop, even at that which is relatively bigger. And that is why those who knew had to talk of eternity. Eternity is the same as infinity. When you use space as the reference, then you say infinity. When you use time as the reference, then you say eternity. In either case, space and time are being negated. Eternity, infinity, immensity – they are all the same thing.
Inventions, discoveries are alright. They are products of relatively bigger desires, but there is something beyond the relatively big. The relatively big appears big only when compared to the relatively small. But the relatively big does not suffice. There has been no discovery or invention so far that has becalmed man’s tumultuous mind.
In fact, all discoveries and inventions have been co-opted by man’s tumultuous mind. Show me one invention, show me one discovery that has not become an accessory of war. Whatever man discovers ultimately comes to a violent use as well. It may have peaceful uses, yes, but because your restlessness has not been assuaged by the discovery, so, the discovery itself becomes an appendage of the restlessness.
