Tom: Liberation is total destruction of habitual egoic desires or vasanas. Only then does suffering end and ethical behaviour naturally arise. Only then do the vedic teachings come to fruition.
Vasanas naturally start to fall away once the illusion of a separate limited ‘me’ is seen through, and life becomes correspondingly easier as the freedom of no-self is seen, but just that seeing alone is not the full liberation until the vasanas have completely dropped off. Until then suffering and egoic behaviour will continue despite the realisation of freedom.
Even after the ‘Truth has been realised’, remain as the Self to root out ignorance and vasanas.
Tom Das 
Tom,
Who is being rooted of vasanas? The light is ON…. but is there anyone home to worry about?
Also Tom… when I am pondering a situation and my response… I often make this sound… sometimes out loud before responding… ummmm.. oh yeah this and that and so and so. Is this my body centering itself with the primordial sound OM… before answering??
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1. The vasanas are you when believed in. In reality there is nobody home
2. Not sure aboutbthe second question, but who knows, perhaps!
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Hi Tom,
Thank you for your wonderful posts, and teachings. I came across your work several months ago via BATGAP, and I quite enjoy them. I’ve also watched your satsangs with Roger Castillo – I’ve found both of your teachings very helpful.
I find this post very poignant for a question I have…
I have a question on desirelessness (which is a term that has been repeated in your posts, but without definition or description):
In some traditions, there is an emphasis on not being attached to any desires. In my experience, when cravings arise – it is apparent that the craving itself is the suffering. Yet it is just what is arising in the moment.
Assuming that “Truth” has been realized, both experientially as Awareness, and ‘seeing’ through that there is no ‘doer’ nor ‘self’ of any action… yet cravings still arise, and the only thing that seems sensible is a constant letting go, without feeding the desire/craving. Is there anything else that I’m missing?
Also, more importantly, how do you differentiate between the desires between, for example, being a father or husband and providing for yourself and your family, and say, the desire for worldly possessions, having physical relationship with a partner, attending to desires of others, etc.
What makes one ‘desire’ more worthwhile, wholesome, or ethical or than another? This seems dependent on cultural and social contexts.
Thank you kindly.
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Hi John, I’m glad you have found benefit in ‘my’ words. In terms of the way I talk about this, you are asking about purification post-awakening, or post-awakening sadhana.
There are several ways by which one can resolve one’s apparent vasanas (apparent, because they are a part of what appears).
The exact method varies from person to person, and essentially involves letting go and knowing that they do not fundamentally affect you or affect Freedom.
Another method involves entering into a deep meditative state, known as samadhi, which is an especially good way of purification.
Other methods may involve therapies, such as psychological therapies, physical techniques such as yoga, etc.
The exact method varies from person to person, depending on how strong the vasanas are, and what the energy of the vasana is.
Your question has actually led me to write a much longer answer than this which, I hope you do not mind, I will post as a separate blog post soon.
Best wishes
Tom
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The fuller answer is here: https://tomdas.com/2019/01/17/q-i-genuinely-understand-the-teachings-but-still-egoic-tendencies-arise-what-can-i-do/
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Thank you Tom – I’m looking forward to your new post!
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Here it is! https://tomdas.com/2019/01/17/q-i-genuinely-understand-the-teachings-but-still-egoic-tendencies-arise-what-can-i-do/
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