Desire - EVIL OR URGE?

What exactly is 'desire'? Let's take a look at the definition of the word 'desire' taken directly from Merriam-Webster's website. (copied and pasted; modified by Neha)

DESIRE

(transitive verb)
1: to long or hope for : exhibit or feel desire for <desire success>
2 a: to express a wish for : request desire an immediate answer>
b: : to express a wish to : ask
(noun)
1: conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment
2 a: longing, craving b: sexual urge or appetite

So, now that we know the meaning of the word 'desire', we can move on.
In the teachings of Buddhism, 'desire' is the root cause of all sufferings. By eliminating these desires or cravings, one can attain ultimate happiness, or so called Nirvana (the state of being free from sufferings and cycle of rebirth). The 'Four Noble Truth' were the first teachings of Gautam Buddha, and they relate to Nirvana. These are:

1. Life, as we know it, ultimately is or leads to suffering in one way or another.
2. Sufferings are caused by desires - which we think will lead us to happiness
3. Suffering ends when desires end - which is achieved when all delusions are eliminated.
4. Reaching this liberated state leads to happiness.

Desire, from the perspective of the philosopher Thomas Hobbs, is the fundamental motivation to all human actions. Yes, the tiger's name in 'Calvin and Hobbs' was named after Thomas Hobbs. How funny, I didn't know this. And Calvin's name was taken from theologian John Calvin's name.
Anyways, so Thomas Hobbs wrote a book called Leviathan (no, I haven't read it...jeeez!), in which he says:

Desire, to know why, and how, CURIOSITY; such as is in no living creature but Man; so that Man is distinguished, not only by his Reason; but also by this singular Passion from other Animals; in whom the appetite of food, and other pleasures of Sense, by predominance, take away the care of knowing causes; which is a Lust of the mind, that by a perseverance of delight in the continual and indefatigable generation of Knowledge, exceedeth the short vehemence of any carnal Pleasure.

If you get the above quote, then great! And if you don't get it, then go read the book to understand the meaning of it! hahahaha!...just kidding! Well, I haven't read it either, but from my perspective, it simply means that when a person desires something or someone, his/her sense of longing is excited by the enjoyment of the thought of the item or person, and he/she wants to take actions to obtain his/her goal.

Obviously, there are other theories and philosophies to explain, one being the Psychological perspective from Sigmund Freud. But I wanted to explain only two, as they totally oppose each other!
I do believe that desires are an actual good motivators, but at the same time, some desires can be the cause of sufferings. For e.g. In Buddhism, Monks and priests should have desires only for the sake of making skillful qualities in themselves, and neglect any unskillful ones. But, what about the general public? Maybe I'm being too ignorant, since I have not read any Buddhist scriptures, leave alone any of Hinduism ones (yes, Neha's ashamed of herself!)

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BLOGGER'S LAST REMARKS/ P.S.

• Right now, I have a desire to eat food! (this desire is explained by Psychologists....read at your own time to attain knowledge about Dopamine and desires!...)
• Yes, desires do cause pain, but they also motivate or urge us....errr, let's say, to do things! (feel free to extract any meaning out of that! hahahaha!)
• I should be studying for my Entrepreneurship final exam (on Tuesday) and here I am, writing a blog about Desires. Clearly, it means I have no desire to study at the moment! hahahaha! :)
• Going home on the 2nd! yippee!!!!!!
• I've been wasting some1's time A LOT these days by keeping that person awake in the night until 4am. I'M TRULY VERY VERY VERY SORRY! :(
• Please overlook all the semantic errors because I have not had time to reread this to edit it properly! ^_^
• Please, do leave a comment! Thanks! :)
  
• ADIOZ!