Question: When we have desires, should we sometimes yield to them so we will see that they don't fulfil us and thus overcome them in this way?

Sri Chinmoy: No! If you yield to the power of ignorance, at that time ignorance only increases. If one desire comes and you surrender to it, then another desire will come and say, “You have surrendered to my brother; now you have also to surrender to me.” Then a third one comes, and it goes on like this. But if you don’t listen to the first desire, a second desire will come and say, “You didn’t listen to my brother, how can I expect you to listen to me?”

To surrender to the desire is absolutely wrong. Some people say, “Now I am twenty. Let me enjoy the desire-life for ten or fifteen years, and then I will come back to the aspiration-life.” But every day the power of ignorance increases and people who leave the spiritual life usually do not come back. So please do not yield to desires. Always fight against desires, like a divine soldier.