We always want something. Be it a toy from the store or a piece of candy, we are always looking towards things that we want to have. While it is okay to have goals, wanting these goods, however, makes us end up focusing on those objects instead of concentrating on our true goal, which is Maharaj and Swami. These worldly things are known as maya. Swamishri has the special trait of being unattached to any worldly objects. This means that maya doesn’t ever distract him from Maharaj and loving us. This characteristic of not being attracted to any worldy desires, or maya, is known as shamaha.

When it comes to dinnertime, we are often very picky with our food. If it has too much salt or not enough flavor, we sometimes refuse to even look at it. This is maya too. Swamishri, however, has no desire of taste at all. In 1990, Swamishri was in England, where the evening thal was being prepared for Harikrishna Maharaj. The sadhus and devotees were in a big rush to prepare the food and finish all of the other chores that needed to be done. Quickly, they made khichdi and kadhi for Swamishri, who had returned for dinner after a long day of visiting the homes of lots of devotees. Swamishri ate the food normally as he listened to another devotee give a report about their satsang activities. However, after a few minutes, another sadhu ran into the room where Swamishri was eating and told the others to make sure that he didn’t drink any more kadhi. The attendant sadhus had just realized that the kadhi had been made using spoiled milk, so it must have tasted really sour! But Swamishri had drunk the kadhi without complaint, reflecting his detachment from worldly pleasures.

Swamishri’s ability to stay away from maya comes from his ability to firmly control his mind from such worldly desires. A great example of his mental control is in his fasting. Until the age of 57, Swamishri used to do dharna-parna every year for Chaturmas, and observe a nirjala upvas, fasting without even water, on every Ekadashi. Once, Swamishri fasted for an entire day with a 102-degree fever after visiting over 122 homes! Swamishri has the ability to control his desires in such a way to make us happy.

We can learn to apply the trait of shamaha to our own lives as well. When we realize that that toys, food, gadgets and other worldly objects will only give us temporary happiness, we will also then realize that the only true happiness comes from controlling these wants and concentrating on our only goal: pleasing Maharaj and Swamishri and attaining Akshardham.