The Laws Governing our Wishes

The Fourth Law of Wishes, the Most Important Law of Knowing our Wishes

Have you ever craved for “Baqula-va-beij”?[1] If you are not from Gilan Province in Iran or have never tasted this food before, you have definitely never had such a craving. The reason is quite simple. You were completely unaware of the existence of such a dish; therefore, you could not have craved it.

How many times have you decided to visit the “Scream (Jigh) Jungle”[2] or “The Village of Twins”?[3] Again, never, because these tourist attractions in Iran are not well known, and most likely you have never heard of them.

How many times have you wished to have a pot of the “happy alien”[4] plant on your balcony? Again, never, because it probably never came into your mind that such a plant could exist in the world. Therefore, it is quite clear that the desire to have it has never crossed you mind because

• It is not possible to want or desire something that we do not know at all.

So far, we have become familiar with three laws of wishes. First, we learned that if we desire something, then the object of our desire definitely exists. Second, there must be compatibility between us and our desires. Third, if we desire something, we must have the capacity to receive it. Now we are going to explain the fourth law of wishes:

• “It is impossible to desire the absolute unknown.”

A Description of the Object of Desire

We all have many desires and aspirations. As our desires become more sincere, and our aspirations more fervent, the level of our desires goes up, and we want them more fervently. This phenomenon exists in all human beings without exception, and no one can deny it. We all live under the rule and power of the wishes which control the path of our lives, choices, thoughts, behaviors, and destiny; most often our achievements or failures are the product of our right, wrong, or plentiful wishes.

We may have thought that desires are the most unattainable goals, but the fourth law of wishes says that we desire things that we know. In fact, if we do not have knowledge about something, even if limited, we cannot want it at all.

For example, a child who has never tasted chocolate will never ask you for it, because she is completely unaware of its existence. But once she becomes familiar with it in any way, she will start to desire and demand it.

This familiarity is gained by tasting a real piece of chocolate or having someone describe it to her as a sweet food with a particular flavor, known as chocolate.

Therefore, if a person desires something, she must have some knowledge, even if limited, about it. For example, hearing the words “guava”[5] and “prickly pear”[6] will not create a desire in you, and you do not feel any inclination towards them, unless you get a description or a picture of them. But as soon as you gain some general knowledge about them, and you know that these are the names of fruits found in Latin America and Lebanon, the desire arises. The intensity of this desire usually depends on the level of knowledge you have gained; the more you know, the stronger the desire.

You Will not Wish until You Know!

According to the fourth law of wishes, it is impossible and illogical to wish for something that we have no knowledge about. We cannot desire something that is totally unknown to us. In other words, no one can desire the absolute unknown. Before desiring or wishing for something, there must be some knowledge of it in our minds, even if only in a general sense.

On the other hand, if we desire something that we have no knowledge about, how can we know that what we obtain is what we have desired? Maybe we have reached something else, not what we have been looking for! Therefore, desiring something shows we have a relative knowledge about it. In fact, humans have knowledge and awareness of what they desire.

It often happens that we hear of people who have no interest in a particular profession or field of study, but after doing or studying it, they become interested in it. Therefore, we see that gaining knowledge can easily create desire. So whatever we familiarize our soul with and the doors we open to it can provide the grounds for our future longings and desires. On the other hand, whenever we do not have the desire or tendency to do something, we can spark our desire and interest by increasing our knowledge. However, it is important to note that this only works if we have already met the previous requirements of desiring.

In this article, we discussed the fourth law of wishes or principle of desiring. We stated that in order to desire something, we need to have some knowledge about it, however general. We mentioned that we cannot desire something that is completely unknown to us. In the end, we also pointed out that greater knowledge of something can create desire for and interest in it.

Only one law from the five-fold laws of wishes remains. After discussing the fifth law in the next article, we will draw conclusions based on our previous discussions about wishes and desires.

[1]. A local food of Gilan, Iran, made from beans and dills

[2]. An amazing forest in Sarborj village, Mashhad City, Iran

[3]. It is located in Shahrabad Village, Abarkuh, Yazd Province, Iran

[4]. Calceolaria uniflora

[5]. A type of tropical plant with sweet fruit like pear

[6]. A Mediterranean fruit from cactus family