Desires will become extinct with the rise of discrimination. When desires cease, the mind becomes silent and stands still in perfect equipoise. A sincere aspirant must make every effort to control desires the moment they arise. Think deeply again and again whether the new desire will give more happiness or more spiritual gain. Viveka will guide you to call on your willpower and drive away the desire immediately. On the path of samatvam, equanimity, discrimination and willpower are two potent weapons to help destroy temptations, and remove major and minor impediments. When a desire arises in the mind, a worldling welcomes it and tries to fulfil it, but a sincere aspirant renounces it immediately through discrimination. Wise men consider even a spark of desire to be a great evil. They remain ever delighted in the atman only. Their mind becomes steady. Every action is poised and harmonious.
One who has found out the real worth of this world, who yearns for liberation, who has understood that beyond the names and forms there is one eternal, everlasting atman, and who practises self-discipline, he alone can have peace. Such a person is the king of kings, not he who is simply carried away by a little colour, a touch and a little titillation. He who does not discriminate between the eternal and the non-eternal, between the real and the unreal, is forever miserable with an unsteady, passionate mind. Whenever a desire arises in the mind, always consult your power of discrimination.
The first essential requisite for acquiring an equipoised mind is viveka, discrimination between the real and the un-real. One in whom right reason has developed will be able to discriminate and enjoy peace and bliss. Most people are swayed by emotions, passions and impulses and thus run wildly after every object they come in contact with. The moment they possess the objects, they find the satisfaction of the senses lasts for a few seconds only, and they must then seek for pleasures elsewhere to give them some peace of mind. Their lives are constantly mixed with pain and anxiety from fear of losing the pleasurable objects.
Dear aspirant, awaken from your hallucinations. Seek peace of mind! There is no pleasure or pain for a discriminating mind. Learn to discriminate between the real and the unreal. The yoga of equanimity can be had only by one who has understood the worthlessness of perishable objects. The world is nothing to a viveki, a man of discrimination. He never becomes entangled in anything. Discrimination gives inner strength and mental peace.