Sept. 4, 2025
Understanding and Addressing Desire, Hunger and Food
reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pp. 165-166This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/understanding-and-addressing-desire-hunger-and-food/
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are allavailable on the YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@santoshkrinsky871
More information about Sri Aurobindo can be found at www.aurobindo.net
The US editions and links to e-book editions of SriAurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com
1
00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:05,520
Sri Aurobindo translates Brihad
Aranyaka Upanishad, Chapter 1,
2
00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:11,320
Section 2, verse one quote.
Formerly there was nothing here.
3
00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:17,400
This was concealed by death, by
hunger, for it is hunger that is
4
00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:22,040
death that created mind.
And he said, Let me have
5
00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,960
substance.
He moved about working, and as
6
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:30,120
he worked the waters were born.
And he said Felicity was born to
7
00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,720
me as I worked.
This, verily, is the activity in
8
00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,760
action.
Therefore Felicity cometh to him
9
00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,720
who thus knoweth this soul of
activity in action.
10
00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,240
End Quote.
Hunger is death.
11
00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:51,480
In this case, the Upanishad is
not referring directly to the
12
00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:55,600
physical hunger for food, but to
the much deeper and broader
13
00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,360
issue of desire, and how the
individual fulfilling the desire
14
00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,160
in his attempt to consume the
object of its desires is
15
00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:11,480
eventually itself consumed.
A wise man, anecdotally
16
00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,520
considered to be the Buddha,
once indicated that a bird,
17
00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:20,960
while it is alive and satisfying
its hunger, may eat ants.
18
00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,800
When it dies, however, ants eat
the bird.
19
00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:32,000
Everything that eats, everything
that consumes, is part of the
20
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,920
cycle of eating.
Concisely stated, the eater
21
00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:43,680
eating is eaten.
The Titiriopunishad states quote
22
00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,280
I am food.
I am the eater of food.
23
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:54,160
He who giveth me, verily he
preserveth me, for I being food
24
00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,160
eat him that eateth.
End Quote.
25
00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,960
Titiri Upanishad Brugu Valley
Chapter 10 translated by Sri
26
00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,880
Aurobindo.
Sri Aurobindo clarifies this in
27
00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,880
his discussion of the Upanishads
quote.
28
00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,400
If God is everywhere, he must be
in the food we eat.
29
00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,720
Not only is God the Eaton, but
he is the eater.
30
00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,800
And eventually, says the
Vedanta, when you'd come to the
31
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:29,800
bottom fact of existence, there
is neither eaten or eater, but
32
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,200
all is God.
End Quote.
33
00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,040
It is one thing to address these
issues on a philosophical level,
34
00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,040
but when the seeker is called
upon to address the force of
35
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,640
desire which he experiences in
his life, he comes up against
36
00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:50,720
the reality that desire is
embedded deeply in the mind,
37
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:56,600
life body complex and he
experiences desire, cravings,
38
00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,720
unsatisfied yearnings, and
hungers of various sorts.
39
00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,680
The desire for food is
illustrative but not exclusive.
40
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,920
Triorrobindo advises that the
seeker should shift his
41
00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:15,360
standpoint to one of the witness
and experience hunger or craving
42
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,920
for a specific food as something
external to his true being.
43
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,120
It may be helpful to reflect
that the human being is not a
44
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:30,080
unified whole, but an
amalgamation of parts, and not
45
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,800
all of these parts are actually
the human being himself.
46
00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:39,400
For example, our digestive
system is populated by a
47
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,800
symbiotic colony of bacteria,
without which we would have a
48
00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:49,360
hard time digesting anything.
The question arises, whose
49
00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,840
hunger is it when we experience
the sensation or the impulse to
50
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,400
hunger or a craving for a
particular food?
51
00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:04,240
Is it our own habit of response
to the force of desire, or is it
52
00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,440
indeed the prompting of the
bacterial colony seeking to
53
00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:14,120
satisfy its hunger?
Either way, this is part of the
54
00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:18,120
process of understanding,
addressing and transcending
55
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:24,720
desire as the motive force of
life and action, Sri Aurobindo
56
00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,200
notes quote.
It is certainly not very yogic
57
00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,040
to be so harassed by the
importunity of the palate.
58
00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,720
In this as in many other
matters.
59
00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,160
If you want to do yoga, you must
take more and more in all
60
00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:46,840
matters small or great.
The yogic attitude in our path.
61
00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:50,840
That attitude is not one of
forceful suppression, but of
62
00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:55,400
detachment and equality with
regard to the objects of desire.
63
00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,320
Forceful suppression, fasting
comes under the head.
64
00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,160
It is of no use for this
purpose.
65
00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,480
Abandoned.
That idea altogether stands on
66
00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,760
the same level as free
indulgence.
67
00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,560
In both cases the desire
remains.
68
00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:19,040
In the one it is fed by
indulgence, in the other it lies
69
00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,800
latent and exasperated by
suppression.
70
00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:27,160
It is only when one stands back,
separates oneself from the lower
71
00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,720
vital, refusing to regard its
desires and clamors as one's
72
00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,520
own, and cultivate an entire
equality and equanimity in the
73
00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,280
consciousness with respect to
them, that the lower vital
74
00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:45,600
itself becomes gradually
purified in itself also calm and
75
00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,280
equal.
Each wave of desire as it comes
76
00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:54,880
must be observed as quietly and
with as much unmoved detachment
77
00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,240
as you would observe something
going on outside you, and
78
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:04,280
allowed to pass, rejected from
the consciousness and the true
79
00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:08,440
movement, the true consciousness
steadily put in its place.
80
00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:14,600
End Quote Reference Sri Oro
Bindu and the Mother Looking
81
00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:20,720
from Within, Chapter 5,
Attitudes on the Path, pages 165
82
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:22,120
to 166.
00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:05,520
Sri Aurobindo translates Brihad
Aranyaka Upanishad, Chapter 1,
2
00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:11,320
Section 2, verse one quote.
Formerly there was nothing here.
3
00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:17,400
This was concealed by death, by
hunger, for it is hunger that is
4
00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:22,040
death that created mind.
And he said, Let me have
5
00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,960
substance.
He moved about working, and as
6
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:30,120
he worked the waters were born.
And he said Felicity was born to
7
00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,720
me as I worked.
This, verily, is the activity in
8
00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,760
action.
Therefore Felicity cometh to him
9
00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,720
who thus knoweth this soul of
activity in action.
10
00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,240
End Quote.
Hunger is death.
11
00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:51,480
In this case, the Upanishad is
not referring directly to the
12
00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:55,600
physical hunger for food, but to
the much deeper and broader
13
00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,360
issue of desire, and how the
individual fulfilling the desire
14
00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,160
in his attempt to consume the
object of its desires is
15
00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:11,480
eventually itself consumed.
A wise man, anecdotally
16
00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,520
considered to be the Buddha,
once indicated that a bird,
17
00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:20,960
while it is alive and satisfying
its hunger, may eat ants.
18
00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,800
When it dies, however, ants eat
the bird.
19
00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:32,000
Everything that eats, everything
that consumes, is part of the
20
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,920
cycle of eating.
Concisely stated, the eater
21
00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:43,680
eating is eaten.
The Titiriopunishad states quote
22
00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,280
I am food.
I am the eater of food.
23
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:54,160
He who giveth me, verily he
preserveth me, for I being food
24
00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,160
eat him that eateth.
End Quote.
25
00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,960
Titiri Upanishad Brugu Valley
Chapter 10 translated by Sri
26
00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,880
Aurobindo.
Sri Aurobindo clarifies this in
27
00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,880
his discussion of the Upanishads
quote.
28
00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,400
If God is everywhere, he must be
in the food we eat.
29
00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,720
Not only is God the Eaton, but
he is the eater.
30
00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,800
And eventually, says the
Vedanta, when you'd come to the
31
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:29,800
bottom fact of existence, there
is neither eaten or eater, but
32
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,200
all is God.
End Quote.
33
00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,040
It is one thing to address these
issues on a philosophical level,
34
00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,040
but when the seeker is called
upon to address the force of
35
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,640
desire which he experiences in
his life, he comes up against
36
00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:50,720
the reality that desire is
embedded deeply in the mind,
37
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:56,600
life body complex and he
experiences desire, cravings,
38
00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,720
unsatisfied yearnings, and
hungers of various sorts.
39
00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,680
The desire for food is
illustrative but not exclusive.
40
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,920
Triorrobindo advises that the
seeker should shift his
41
00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:15,360
standpoint to one of the witness
and experience hunger or craving
42
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,920
for a specific food as something
external to his true being.
43
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,120
It may be helpful to reflect
that the human being is not a
44
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:30,080
unified whole, but an
amalgamation of parts, and not
45
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,800
all of these parts are actually
the human being himself.
46
00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:39,400
For example, our digestive
system is populated by a
47
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,800
symbiotic colony of bacteria,
without which we would have a
48
00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:49,360
hard time digesting anything.
The question arises, whose
49
00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,840
hunger is it when we experience
the sensation or the impulse to
50
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,400
hunger or a craving for a
particular food?
51
00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:04,240
Is it our own habit of response
to the force of desire, or is it
52
00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,440
indeed the prompting of the
bacterial colony seeking to
53
00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:14,120
satisfy its hunger?
Either way, this is part of the
54
00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:18,120
process of understanding,
addressing and transcending
55
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:24,720
desire as the motive force of
life and action, Sri Aurobindo
56
00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,200
notes quote.
It is certainly not very yogic
57
00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,040
to be so harassed by the
importunity of the palate.
58
00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,720
In this as in many other
matters.
59
00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,160
If you want to do yoga, you must
take more and more in all
60
00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:46,840
matters small or great.
The yogic attitude in our path.
61
00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:50,840
That attitude is not one of
forceful suppression, but of
62
00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:55,400
detachment and equality with
regard to the objects of desire.
63
00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,320
Forceful suppression, fasting
comes under the head.
64
00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,160
It is of no use for this
purpose.
65
00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,480
Abandoned.
That idea altogether stands on
66
00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,760
the same level as free
indulgence.
67
00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,560
In both cases the desire
remains.
68
00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:19,040
In the one it is fed by
indulgence, in the other it lies
69
00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,800
latent and exasperated by
suppression.
70
00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:27,160
It is only when one stands back,
separates oneself from the lower
71
00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,720
vital, refusing to regard its
desires and clamors as one's
72
00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,520
own, and cultivate an entire
equality and equanimity in the
73
00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,280
consciousness with respect to
them, that the lower vital
74
00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:45,600
itself becomes gradually
purified in itself also calm and
75
00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,280
equal.
Each wave of desire as it comes
76
00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:54,880
must be observed as quietly and
with as much unmoved detachment
77
00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,240
as you would observe something
going on outside you, and
78
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:04,280
allowed to pass, rejected from
the consciousness and the true
79
00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:08,440
movement, the true consciousness
steadily put in its place.
80
00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:14,600
End Quote Reference Sri Oro
Bindu and the Mother Looking
81
00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:20,720
from Within, Chapter 5,
Attitudes on the Path, pages 165
82
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:22,120
to 166.
