Crave for a thing, you will get it. Renounce the craving, the

Hear, O seeker of wisdom, the words of Swami Sivananda, sage of India, who declared: “Crave for a thing, you will get it. Renounce the craving, the object will follow you by itself.” This is no simple saying, but a teaching forged in the furnace of spiritual truth. For it reveals the paradox of desire: that when we grasp too tightly, the object flees, but when we release our hunger, it comes to us of its own accord. In this, Sivananda echoes the ancient law—that detachment is the true magnet of the universe, and mastery of self is greater than mastery of the world.

To crave for a thing is to set your whole being upon it with burning thirst. Yes, often such craving leads to attainment, for the will is mighty when it is single. But in this victory hides a shadow: the heart that craves can never rest, for once one object is attained, another hunger awakens. The soul becomes like a man drinking salt water—ever consuming, never satisfied. Desire is a chain, and the one who craves is its prisoner.

But to renounce the craving is not to despise the object, nor to cast away ambition. It is to hold it lightly, to walk in freedom whether it comes or goes. And in that freedom, the object often draws nearer, not because you chase it, but because you no longer repel it with restless attachment. The universe bends toward balance; what we cease to cling to often flows naturally into our lives, like a bird alighting on an open palm rather than one that clutches.

Behold the story of Mahatma Gandhi. In his youth, he craved recognition, wealth, and status. He studied law, sought success, and chased the life of honor. Yet the deeper he craved, the more hollow his victories seemed. It was only when he renounced craving—when he laid down ambition, embraced simplicity, and sought truth rather than gain—that greatness followed him unbidden. The world crowned him not because he desired power, but because he surrendered desire. His life is living witness that renunciation draws more than craving ever can.

The wisdom of Sivananda runs counter to the teachings of the world, which proclaim: “Grasp, hoard, pursue, and all will be yours.” But the saints knew otherwise. They saw that craving binds and blinds, while renunciation liberates and clarifies. To renounce craving is to stand free, unchained by outcomes, content in the present. And from that inner freedom flows an energy so radiant that men, women, and opportunities are drawn as moths to a flame.

O listener, take this teaching into your own life. When you long for wealth, love, or recognition, pursue it with honest work, but do not chain your soul to its possession. Say to yourself, “If it comes, I will use it well; if it departs, I remain whole.” Cultivate diligence, but release clinging. Crave not, and you will find yourself pursued by the very things you once chased in vain. For the world honors those who are free within, and treasures flow most easily to the hands that do not clutch.

Therefore remember: Crave for a thing, you will get it. Renounce the craving, the object will follow you by itself. Live with effort, but also with detachment. Desire may bring you small victories, but renunciation will bring you peace, and often far more than peace—it will bring you the very blessings you once sought, arriving not as chains but as gifts. This is the higher path, the path of freedom, the path of mastery over both the self and the world.