Part 5

Chapter 4 Bandha

4-1 Introduction Bandha means bondage. It manifests in many ways, e.g., insecurity, emotional suffering, anxiety, hatred, and jealousy. Physical suffering is not included. According to Vedanta, behind these manifestations, there is a feeling of limitedness and incompleteness which causes desires. Desire per se is not the cause of suffering. Binding desire causes suffering because a person is so dependent on it that its non-fulfillment imbalances him and he is in the grip of negative emotions and suffers. Desire has three defects. It comes in a mixture of sorrow. It is non-satiable. It makes a person dependent on it. If not fulfilled, it causes sorrow. Even if one desire is satisfied, it is replaced by another desire. Satisfaction is not permanent and if the reason for satisfaction vanishes, it results in sorrow.

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