Annihilation of Desire
In chapter 24 of Shri Sai Satcharita, Baba told to Hemadpant: “It is true that you give (share your food) to the persons present; but if no one is near-by, what could you or I do? But do you remember Me before eating? Am I not always with you? Then do you offer Me anything before you eat?”
The moral of channa leela and Baba’s remark is as follows:
Before senses, mind and intellect enjoy their objects, one should remember Baba, and if this be done, it is in a way an offering to Him. The senses can never remain without their objects, but if those objects are first offered to the Guru, the attachment for them will naturally vanish. In this way, all thoughts of desire, anger, avarice, etc should first be offered and directed to the Guru and if this practice be followed, the Lord will help us in eradicating those.
Thinking about Baba before enjoyment of objects will make us realize whether the object is fit to be enjoyed or not. By doing this, those objects that are not fit to be enjoyed will be shunned, our vicious habits or vices will disappear and our character will improve. Next, love for Guru will grow and pure knowledge will sprout. With the growth of knowledge, the bondage of body-consciousness (we are the body) will snap and our intellect will be merged in spirit-consciousness (we are the spirit). Then we shall receive bliss and contentment.
There is no difference between Guru and God. So leaving aside all ideas of difference, we should regard Guru and God as one, and if we serve our Guru as stated above, Lord (God) will be certainly pleased. He will purify our mind and bestow us with self-realization.
As quoted in Shri Guru Bhagavat Vol. 2:
Narara mana saagarare || Urmi uthe kete prakaare
Asankhya laharee ichhaara || Ashaanta kare baarambaara
Many types of thought waves arise in the ocean of the human mind. Innumerable desires like the waves continuously disturbs the human beings.
Ichhaaru muktira sakaashe || Gurunka prayaasa bisheshe
Gurunka saamarthya najaani || Khyudra krupaa maage agyaanee
The Guru especially tries to annihilate the (base) desires (of the devotees). However, without being aware of the greatness of the Guru, the naive devotee prays for His compassion for petty things.
Gurunka krupaa jebe hue || Ichhaara ichhaa mari jaae
Ichhaara beeja hele nashta || Na bhoge saansaarika kashta
When the Guru becomes compassionate, the very desire to have a desire ends. When the very seed of desire gets destroyed, the devotee does not suffer from the worldly miseries any more.
