Desire v/s Longing

Just a couple of days ago, I got an sms from Hemant (our light hearted, jovial and dynamic YES!+ teacher from Nagpur) in which he asked me a question:

What is the difference between longing and desire?


It set me thinking for a few moments and so I did not immediately reply and subsequently forgot about it.


In my YES!+ courses I take great pride in introducing to my students, Guruji's precision and succinctness in giving knowledge when I read out his words in the knowledge sheet about difference between love and lust and the students not only just love it, their concepts of love taken largely from Bollywood actually get thrashed like a dynamite blasts a mine and clarity dawns.


Here I am making a modest attempt, by Guruji's grace, let me know if it helps to bring some clarity:

• Desire is for some end result; longing doesn't seek a completion.

• Desire for something arises when we see or hear about it, it comes from the senses; longing springs from love which is beyond the senses.

• Desire is for some pleasure, comfort, convenience; longing cares for neither.

• Desire seeks fulfillment, longing seeks merger.

• Desire may mature into an intention or ambition; longing makes the love more mature.

• A desire leads to more desires; longing keeps you focussed.

• In desire you want more and more, you want to grow, you want to become bigger; in longing you let go and dissolve.

• Desire, while yet unfulfilled, may lead to 'feverishness to fulfill'; longing leads to surrender.

• Desire, when fulfilled, gives short term pleasure or joy, longing when fulfilled restricts the growth of love.

• Desire, if unfulfilled, leads to frustration; longing if unfulfilled transforms into unconditional love.

• Desire makes you rigid and insensitive; longing makes you delicate and sensitive.

• Too many desires can give rise to intestinal disorders; longing gives rise to heart aches - am afraid, not heart attacks!

• Wanting to achieve what you desire challenges the ego; the more you long, the more it dissolves your ego.

• The discomfort in desire takes away the joy of the present moment; the pain in longing sweetens the present moment.

• In desire there is a hankering for some joy in the future; in longing you enjoy the pain (caused by separation) in the present moment.

• You have a choice whether to drop the desire or harbour it; in longing you are choiceless and helpless.

• Desire is the cry of the mind; longing is the yearning of the soul.

• Fulfillment of your desire can boost your ego; fulfillment of your longing makes you grateful.

• With a desire in your mind, meditation can't happen; with longing in your heart prayer happens.

• Meditation helps to loosen the grip of desire on the mind; longing gets ripened and refined with meditation.

• In desire you can become 'pagal'; in longing you become a 'deewaanaa'.

• In desire you become a slave or fan of the person you desire; in longing you become a sevak or devotee.

By writing this post, I have fulfilled my desire of answering Hemant's question; on reading this post I am sure he will long for more;-).