7 Steps to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. Step 5 - Fulfilling your Heart's Desire.

Everybody's got a hungry heart.*

In Ayurveda, the third goal of life is kama, a Sanskrit word meaning, “seeking pleasure.”  Always moving toward balance, Ayurveda believes that sensory pleasure is a necessary component of good health.  If our pursuit of pleasure is unregulated or becomes an end in itself, it is considered wrong action capable of producing physical and mental disease.  On the other hand, if we repress our sensory experiences, we will be unable to fully express our gifts, our dharma.

Kama comes from living our dharma.  When our attention is focused on our dharma, our life’s purpose, the other goals in life (artha-creating prosperity; kama-fulfillment of desires; moksha-spiritual freedom) become a natural extension of pursuing our dharmic foundation.  Sexual love is only the most basic form of kama.  Kama is enjoyment.

Kama is the emotional aspect of our lives, our heart and feelings.  It also includes our aspirations, the desire to accomplish what we came here to do.  While enjoyment is the primary goal of the senses, there is also the desire to procreate and experience joy.  Kama is more than the pursuit of sensual pleasures:  the ancient Ayurvedic texts refer to it also as the desire for health and wellness.

The spiritual dimension of kama is not to be overlooked.  All of our desires, both sensory and otherwise, play an important role as the soul witnesses the play of karma during this lifetime.  In opening our heart, we move closer to spiritual truth.  We become aware of the divinity in every living creature. 

By opening our heart, we experience kama on different levels, not just the physical.  Awakening our desire for truth is essential for spiritual growth.  Our sensory experiences become sacred.  Kama is a vehicle for us to return home to our true essence, our Divine Self.  Kama ultimately leads us to moksha, spiritual freedom.

Kama is a powerful force.  Ayurveda advises us to use it in a productive, positive and balanced manner.  It also reminds us that everything we experience is food and by ingesting nourishing sensory experiences, we accelerate our spiritual progress.

Source: Yoga Baba Prem, Kama - Desire and Spirituality, American Institute of Vedic Studies

* Song lyrics:  Hungry Heart (Bruce Springstein)