Fire is present everywhere, even inside us. This is the gastric fire. Some people have an urge to acquire knowledge, and this urge too is like a fire. Elements of fire are there in the sky too, in the form of the Moon and the Sun. Fire is beneficial, but it can also harm. Kama (desire) is a fire that hurts and burns. In other words, kama destroys. But jnana is a fire too, and this helps us exit the samsaric cycle. The fire that destroys is an undesirable fire, but the fire that grants us liberation is a desirable fire, said M.A.Manickavelu in a discourse. Kama is a fire that destroys silently, which is why it is dangerous. We are not even aware of the dimensions of this ever-present danger. And before we become aware that it is leading us in all the wrong directions, it would have done its mischief, resulting in misery for us.
For a jnani, what he experiences is not a fire that harms, but a fire that saves. After his marriage, Gnanasambandar, along with his wife, his father, his father-in-law, and other devotees like Tiruneelakanta Yazhpanar, merged into a glow that appeared in the temple. So here the glow was one that saved. Jnana is a light that saves. This jnana comes only when the senses have been controlled. Indra lusted after Ahalya, wife of sage Gautama, and he was, therefore, cursed. He is an example of what happens to a person with uncontrolled desires.
So what is the way to get rid of desire? Thiruvalluvar says that the only way is to have love towards God, the One who is without desire. God- love will turn us away from harmful attachments. Thiruvalluvar also says that those who turn their thoughts towards His feet will cross the ocean of samsara. Others will not be able to achieve this. The battle against desire can be won only with His help.
