When we desire something is it the soul desiring or is it simply the mind desiring?

Podcast:

Question: Do desires come from the soul or from the mind? When you use the metaphor of the soul watching a movie on the screen of the mind, does that mean the soul has no part in desire? For example, when we desire to eat or when we fantasize, is the soul involved or not?

Answer: When we use the word source, it depends a lot on what we mean by source.

With respect to desire, we can differentiate between the capacity to desire and the actual desiring or between the capacity for desire and a specific desire. For example, consider light. Where does light come from? Does it come from the tube light or from the electric board through the electricity pipeline? The answer is both. If we had electricity coming through the pipeline but no tube light, we wouldn’t get any light. And depending on the kind of tube light or bulb, the light may have different colors, brightness, and spread.

Similarly, the soul is the source of our capacity to desire. The soul is the source of consciousness—consciousness is like electricity coming through the wires, and the mind is like the particular bulb. Without the soul’s presence, the mind would not have any desires. There would be no consciousness, and therefore no desires. At the same time, the mind is not capable of desiring on its own.

When we talk about desires, we often use the word in multiple senses. If desire is understood as the capacity to want, then this capacity comes from the soul. But the options or particular desires we experience are presented by the mind, usually influenced by our past habits, impressions (samskaras), and current circumstances.

For instance, when we desire to eat food, if a person’s body is alive but the soul is absent (such as in a dead body), there is absolutely no desire to eat. The body alone cannot desire. Normally, our desire to eat arises when the biological need of hunger arises in the body. This biological need signals a deficiency that requires food.

However, when we feel hungry, it is not merely a generic need to put something in the body. It also includes specific desires for certain kinds of food. The mind plays a critical role here by providing options based on our cultural background and past experiences. For example, a South Indian may crave dosa or idlis, while a North Indian Punjabi may think of parathas. The underlying biological hunger is common, but the mind shapes the specific desires.

So, at one level, there is the soul (source of consciousness and capacity to desire), at another level, there is the body (which signals hunger), and in between is the mind (which formulates specific desires).

Without consciousness, there would not even be the sensation of hunger. The capacity to sense that there is a lack or need comes from the soul. When the body sends the hunger signal, the mind translates this into a specific desire for particular foods.

Of course, the desired food might not always be available, and we might accept alternatives which we may or may not like. But overall, the soul is the source of the capacity to desire, and the mind provides an array of possible desires.

When we fantasize, there is no physical input involved. In that case, the soul provides consciousness and desiring capacity, while the mind’s fantasizing capacity generates various options of enjoyment or experience.

So, is the soul desiring? Yes, in a way, the soul chooses among the options presented by the mind.

Often, because we are not aware of the difference between the soul and the mind, we act out of habit, impulse, or reflexive response to whatever ideas arise. This unconscious consenting moves us in certain directions without conscious choice.

Thus, the soul is involved but often passively. The soul is sometimes called a non-doer. The Bhagavad Gita’s 13th chapter describes how the soul is the doer, but material nature (Prakriti) brings up propositions in the mind, and the soul passively goes along with one of them.

Because the soul is not actively choosing, it might be called a karta (doer) only in a limited sense. However, consenting to a choice is also a form of doership.

This is why the Bhagavatam encourages us to become more conscious of our doership and use it consciously.

At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: “Do as you desire,” and Arjuna responds: “I will do what you desire, Krishna; I will do your will.” This shows the soul is not absolutely a non-doer; rather, we often act without knowing what we are doing—going along with the mind.

By studying the Bhagavad Gita, we become more conscious that we are the choosers and doers. We don’t have to accept or act on every proposal the mind puts forth. We can consciously choose and act.