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# 2021-12-27 - Self-control by Swami Abhedānanda | |
Every religion can be divided into two parts, one of which may be | |
called the non-essential [exoteric] and the other the essential | |
[esoteric]. Doctrines, dogmas, rituals, ceremonies, and mythologies | |
of all the organized religious creeds come under the head of the | |
non-essential. It is not meant by this that they are useless; on the | |
contrary, the very fact of their existence proves that they are | |
helpful and necessary at certain stages of progress. What I mean is, | |
that it cannot be said that they are absolutely necessary for making | |
one live a purely spiritual life. A man or a woman may be highly | |
spiritual without performing any of the rituals and ceremonies | |
ordained, either by the scriptures of the world, or by any religious | |
hierarchy. A man or a woman may be truly religious without believing | |
in any creed, doctrine, dogma, or mythology. Those who think that | |
these non-essentials are indispensable for attaining to the ultimate | |
goal of religion, have not yet grasped the fundamental principles | |
that underlie all religions; they mistake the non-essential for the | |
essential; they cannot discriminate the one from the other; they lack | |
the insight of spiritual illumination. Those who understand the | |
essentials of religion and strictly follow them in their every-day | |
life do not disturb themselves about the non-essentials, these simple | |
and sincere souls alone reach the goal of religion by the shortest | |
way possible. | |
The essentials of religion are principally two: Self-knowledge and | |
Self-control. Self-knowledge means knowledge of the higher Self, the | |
divine nature of man; and self-control is the restraint of the lower | |
self or selfish nature. True knowledge of the divine Self comes when | |
the lower self is subdued. In ancient times, Greek philosophers | |
understood these two as the essentials of religion, therefore over | |
the temple entrance at Delphi the phrase "Know Thyself" was so | |
conspicuously engraven. Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher, | |
interpreted this motto, saving: "It behooves all men to know | |
themselves and to exercise self-control" | |
In India, the ancient Seers of Truth understood the essential part of | |
religion so well that they tried their best to keep it separate from | |
the non-essential part of the popular religion of the masses. The | |
result of such attempts was the discovery of the system of Yoga. The | |
system of Yoga deals entirely with the essentials of religion; it | |
does not teach any dogma, creed, ritual, ceremony, or mythology. Its | |
main object is to teach mankind the different methods of attaining | |
the knowledge of the true Self, and the practice of self-control. A | |
true Yogi is one who has perfect control over himself [or herself], | |
and who has acquired self-knowledge. The science of Yoga explains | |
what self-control is, how it can be acquired, and what is the nature | |
of self-knowledge. A Yogi therefore reaches the ultimate goal of | |
religion and spiritual perfection without wasting his [or her] energy | |
in the practice of non-essentials. | |
The non-essentials of religion are like a huge heap of husks, under | |
which lies hidden the kernel of the essential truth: wherever there | |
is too much of non-essentials, there prevail religious corruption, | |
superstition, and false theology, the main object of which is to | |
convince the ignorant masses that the heap of non-essential dogmas, | |
doctrines, ceremonies, and rituals must be observed by all who wish | |
to be religious. But the science of Yoga, being free from dogmas, | |
ceremonies, and rituals, suffers neither from corruption, nor from | |
superstition, nor does it need any theology. It is pure and simple. | |
It welcomes to its fold all sincere and earnest souls who are | |
searching for higher truth and spiritual life, and seeks to make them | |
spiritual by giving the essentials of religion as their highest | |
ideal. It teaches them the method by which self-control and | |
knowledge of the supreme self can be acquired. | |
Self-control means the control of the lower self, or the animal | |
nature of man, by developing the higher powers that are latent in the | |
individual soul. Having ascended the grades of evolution from the | |
lower animals, man lives at first on the animal plane; then as he [or | |
she] rises higher and higher, the latent powers of the soul gradually | |
begin to manifest and overcome his [or her] animal tendencies. | |
Self-control is not manifested in the character of any man who | |
ignorantly obeys the dictates of the senses, and blindly serves the | |
internal masters of passion, anger, greed, self-delusion, pride, and | |
egotism. Those who can control themselves, or check the mad rush of | |
the mind toward sense objects, and who cease to obey those animal | |
impulses which are standing like fierce enemies in the path of | |
spiritual progress, enjoy undisturbed peace as long as they live, | |
thus reaching the highest goal of freedom; but those who are | |
constantly guided by sudden waves of passion, anger, pride, jealousy, | |
and hatred, are always disturbed in their minds; they are restless | |
and unhappy. How can persons who are slaves of their senses expect | |
happiness? Happiness comes in the state of perfect freedom, and not | |
in slavery; that freedom again can be acquired only through the | |
practice of self-control, therefore those who desire to enjoy | |
unbounded happiness and peace of mind on this earth should struggle | |
for freedom by learning to practise self-control. | |
The attainment of self-control is easy for those who have learned to | |
study their own minds, and who, after discovering their weaknesses, | |
try to reform their own characters. Like the lower animals, the | |
natural tendency of human beings is to seek pleasure and to avoid | |
pain. As long as [one] lives in the darkness of ignorance, and | |
cannot trace the causes which make [one] happy or unhappy, and as | |
long as [one] does not understand whether happiness and pleasure come | |
from external objects or from within, so long [one] fails to be | |
master of [one's self]. Right discrimination of the conditions which | |
make one happy or unhappy is the surest guide in the path which leads | |
to the attainment of self-control. | |
Now let us examine the present conditions of our minds. They are | |
naturally attracted by the objects which are pleasing to the senses, | |
or which help in fulfilling the purposes and desires that are | |
extremely strong in us. The majority of mankind are attached to | |
those objects which give pleasure, both sensuous and mental. They | |
are never attached to anything or anybody where they do not find | |
pleasure. In the same manner it can be shown that the natural | |
tendency of the mind is also to get away from pain. The eyes are | |
pleased to look at the beautiful colour which attracts them, the ears | |
are pleased to hear sweet words, melodious notes, and good music. We | |
like to smell sweet fragrance, and to taste the things pleasing to | |
the palate. | |
Yet that which is pleasing to the senses of one man may give pain to | |
another. [So many of our tastes are relative to our culture.] ... | |
The same colour or same sound or taste which is pleasing to one, may | |
be a source of intense discomfort to another. This shows that | |
pleasure and pain are not the inherent properties of the objects of | |
senses, but that they depend upon the conditions of the mind and body | |
which come in direct contact with those objects. | |
Mind has tremendous power over the body. If a certain idea gets | |
possession of the mind it affects the body and produces corresponding | |
changes in the whole system. The same mind which found pleasure in a | |
certain thing at one time, dislikes the very sight of that thing if | |
new ideas happen to get a hold upon it. [Thus our taste for food can | |
change over time. We can get used to a different style and then we | |
say that we have acquired a taste for it. This also seems to be the | |
premise of CBT: that our stress and suffering are caused by our own | |
beliefs and thoughts.] Therefore, it can be said that there is | |
nothing in the universe from which all individuals can derive | |
absolute pleasure or absolute pain, or that can even please the same | |
individual at all times. Those who seek pleasure from the objects of | |
senses cannot stick to one particular enjoyment at the time. If they | |
try to enjoy the same thing day after day, they will soon tire of it; | |
satiety is the inevitable result, and with that comes loss of | |
interest. [Unless they are trapped in addiction.] | |
Suppose a lady who is passionately fond of the opera should | |
constantly hear the same opera day and night, without hearing or | |
doing anything else, she would surely tire of it in a few days. | |
Constant change of the objects of pleasure is absolutely necessary | |
for those people who seek pleasure from the external world. It is | |
for this reason that many people who are too poor to afford much | |
variety in their pleasure delude themselves by thinking that wealth | |
would give them all they desire, and envy those who possess large | |
fortunes, foolishly believing that the rich must be always happy. In | |
this way, they often fail to enjoy the pleasures within their reach, | |
thus making their life a burden. They fail to understand that wealth | |
has its own trials, that are often only little more bearable than the | |
ills of poverty. The truth is that true happiness can only belong to | |
[one] who can control [one's] mind. The practice of self-control | |
would be a great blessing to all these unhappy people; it would make | |
their lives happier and better worth living. | |
Before we can control the natural tendency of the mind to seek | |
pleasure in external objects, we must know that the feeling of | |
pleasure depends upon the feeling of pain. If we do not have any | |
feeling of pain whatever, we cannot enjoy a pleasant feeling. | |
Pleasure is pleasure only when it stands in relation to the feeling | |
of pain. Whenever we compare one sensation or feeling with another, | |
we find one more pleasing than the other; the less pleasing one is | |
ordinarily called painful. The tendency of our mind is to seek | |
objects that are more pleasing than those which we already possess, | |
or happen to enjoy, and the moment we find a thing which we think | |
would produce a more agreeable sensation than the things we now have, | |
we crave to possess it. Having satisfied the craving, if after | |
comparison we discover that the latter is not better than the former, | |
we remain as unsatisfied as before, and may even wish to go back to | |
the former condition. Thus we can understand that although pleasures | |
and pain may arise in different individuals from their contact with | |
the same objects of senses, the natural tendency of mind is to seek | |
pleasure and avoid pain. We are attached to those objects from | |
relation with which we derive pleasure, but the moment these cease to | |
yield us gratification, we become indifferent to the very things we | |
so eagerly desired; sometimes we grow to hate them and wish to get | |
away from them. | |
Our minds are constantly seeking new objects of pleasure through the | |
gates of the senses, and attach themselves to every fresh object that | |
promises to give us a pleasant feeling or sensation While this | |
attachment lasts, the mind becomes a slave to it. If anything | |
happens to come in the way and prevent the mind from enjoying a | |
particular pleasure, the mind tries to overcome the obstacle. The | |
stronger the opposing power, the greater is the mental struggle to | |
subdue it. If the desire be very strong and we cannot succeed in | |
gratifying it by ordinary means, we often get enraged and adopt more | |
violent measures, thus losing all possibility of a peaceful state of | |
mind. | |
That simple desire for enjoyment takes the form of a ruling passion, | |
agitates the whole mind, and manifests in the form of anger and | |
unrest. In that agitated state of the mind, we lose the sense of | |
right and wrong, memory grows dull, understanding gets confused, we | |
lose foresight and act like brutes. Passion is the stronger form of | |
desire, the same strong desire, when acting under opposition, takes | |
the form of anger. Desire is the first stage, passion is the second | |
stage, and the third stage is anger. | |
Passion and anger, again, lead to hatred, jealousy, and many other | |
wicked feelings which are expressed outwardly in the form of vicious | |
acts. [One] who can control [one's] mind from being disturbed by | |
passion and anger, has obtained self-control. The control of | |
passions and anger comes when the mind does not seek pleasure from | |
external objects, but learns by experience that pleasure which can be | |
derived through the senses, is very transient; it lasts for a few | |
seconds only, and its true source is not in the object itself, but | |
depends mostly upon the mental and physical conditions of the enjoyer. | |
We have seen that passion and anger are the second and third stages | |
of desire, these desires, according to the Yogis, remain in the | |
subconscious plane of our minds. Here a question arises: What is the | |
cause of these desires? A Yogi, trying to trace the cause of | |
desires, says that they are the outcome of the dormant impressions in | |
our minds, or the awakened state of these impressions. [A Yogi] | |
further says that when we enjoy any external object through our | |
senses, our minds are impressed with certain changes which are | |
produced while we are in direct contact with the thing. When we eat | |
an apple, the impression of its taste is left in the mind. When we | |
hear a musical note, an impression of the note, pleasant or | |
unpleasant, remains in the mind. Similarly, all the impressions | |
which the external objects leave in the mind, will remain there in a | |
seed form or dormant state, by the law of persistence of force. None | |
of them will be lost; whatever things we have enjoyed or suffered in | |
our lives are stored up in that seed form, or in the form of dormant | |
impressions. These dormant impressions are the causes of our desires. | |
[In my experience these impressions are symbols, or thought-forms in | |
my mind. They are different than sensations and English words. They | |
are like a private language. They are the substance of dreams and | |
imagination.] | |
Some of the Western psychologists have supported this theory of the | |
Yogis. Professor Beneke says in his Elementary Psychology: "What has | |
once been produced in the soul continues still to exist, even when it | |
has ceased to be excited. That which was conscious merely becomes | |
unconscious, or lives in the internal substance of the soul." Sir | |
William Hamilton admits the existence of the latent impressions when | |
he says: "The whole we are conscious of, is constructed out of what | |
we are not conscious of." He explains the psychic activity of the | |
subconscious plane by comparing the chain of impressions or thoughts | |
with a row of billiard balls, of which, if struck at one end, only | |
the last one moves, the vibration being merely transmitted through | |
the rest. But a Yogi says that these dormant impressions are the | |
seeds or real cause of desires. | |
Let us suppose that the mind substance is like a sea, that the | |
surface is the conscious plane, and that the dormant impressions lie | |
deep below surface. Here we should remember that anything that | |
remains in a dormant state, is bound to manifest when the conditions | |
become favourable. Forced by their inward nature, when the dormant | |
impressions begin to manifest, they may be said to rise up slowly | |
from the bottom of the sea of mind in the form of minute bubbles. We | |
may call this bubble the subtle state of desire, or the awakened | |
impression. Then it gradually rises to the surface and appears | |
larger and larger in size. Let us call this bubble state of the | |
awakened impression, desire, then the bubble of desire, after playing | |
on the surface of the mental sea for some time, bursts there and | |
takes the form of a wave, and agitates the whole sea of mind, | |
transforming it into one mass of impulse. The mind becomes restless, | |
peace is disturbed, power of discrimination becomes dull, we do not | |
know whether good or bad results will follow should we yield to the | |
impelling impulse, we are forcibly driven headlong toward the object | |
of desire, whatever it be, mental (like ambition, pride, etc.), or | |
merely sensuous. In fact, our controlling power having been overcome | |
by that wave of desire, we can no longer call it desire. It | |
temporarily takes the form of a ruling passion, or strong impulse. | |
That tremendous impulse controls our nerves, muscles, and the whole | |
body, struggle to gratify this longing, only to find, when we have | |
attained the thing and gratified the longing, that the satisfaction | |
is but brief. The tempest that wrecked our self-control gradually | |
subsides, and the particular desire that provoked it returns again to | |
its dormant state; then a temporary peace of mind is regained and we | |
remain happy for a time. | |
In the meanwhile another dormant impression gets ready to appear in | |
the form of a bubble. Slowly it rises up from the subconscious to | |
the conscious plane, and the same process is repeated. This | |
ever-recurring series of desires and their temporary gratification | |
forms the daily life of all such persons as have not learned to | |
control their minds. When this fleeting peace of mind, or so-called | |
happiness, has been secured, the desire subsides into a dormant state | |
for a longer or shorter period. This process is continuously going | |
on in each mind at every moment. Suppose a person is invited to a | |
dinner party, where [one] partakes of something very delicious which | |
[one] never tasted before and which [one] likes immensely. Do you | |
think that the impression of that taste will be lost as soon as the | |
dinner is over? Certainly not; it will remain in the mind and | |
engender a desire for the same thing again; the memory will recall | |
that impression and it will become the cause of a fresh desire. In | |
this manner it can be shown that every new impression is the cause or | |
seed of a new desire. | |
When [someone] begins to drink intoxicating liquors [one] feels a | |
peculiar sensation; it drives away [one's] dullness, exhilarates | |
[one], excites [one's] nervous system, and makes [one] happy for the | |
time being. After the effect of the stimulant is over, the | |
impression of the agreeable feeling it produced is left in [one's] | |
mind; for some time it remains latent, then it rises up in the form | |
of a desire, or bubble, to the surface of [one's] mental sea. Rising | |
to the surface, it bursts and produces a wave, or impulse, which | |
intensifies the desire and leads [one] to drink again. The fresh | |
exhilaration creates another impression, which stamps itself upon the | |
former, and the process goes on with increasing frequency With every | |
fresh yielding to desire, the old impression is deepened, until the | |
series of stored-up impressions becomes so strong that it forms a | |
part of [one's] nature and becomes what we call habit. Similar | |
processes have produced all varieties of habits, good and bad, which | |
we find in different people in different countries. A kindred | |
process produces what we call instinct in the lower animals. | |
The stored-up impressions of one life are not lost by the death of | |
the body, but will remain latent for some time and will become the | |
causes of future desires in another life. Each one of us is born | |
with the stored-up impressions of [our] past birth, which will | |
re-appear in the form of various tendencies, desires, and habits. | |
This is the explanation of the wide variations we see in members of | |
the same family, for which heredity alone, or even heredity plus | |
environment, fails to account. As the number of impressions | |
increases, desires also increase, as has been said; if we allow the | |
desires to rise up and play in our minds, they will take the forms of | |
passion and anger, disturb mental peace, create new impressions, and | |
be in turn the causes of fresh desires. Thus, there is no hope of | |
controlling the mind by mere gratification of desires. There is no | |
hope of satiating the craving for enjoyment by getting the objects of | |
pleasures, this is simply putting fuel on fire, or oil on flames. | |
The more we enjoy, the more will desires increase. Foolish people, | |
who have never analyzed their minds, indulge their desires and seek | |
pleasure from outside objects. No one has succeeded in attaining | |
self-control by being a slave to desires, nor has any one become free | |
from desires by gratifying them. Therefore, a Yogi says: "As fire is | |
not quenched by butter, so the fire of desire will never be put out | |
by the objects of pleasure. The more butter is poured on a fire, the | |
more it will flare up; similarly, the more the objects of desire are | |
indulged, the more the desires will increase. If a person were to | |
possess all the objects upon this earth, still [one's] greed would | |
not stop, [one] would seek something more." Do you suppose that a | |
[person] who works hard to become a millionaire will ever be | |
satisfied with [one's] possessions and cease to acquire more? [That | |
person] will go on seeking to add to them as long as [one] will live. | |
A poor [person] desires to be rich, a rich [person] desires to be a | |
millionaire, and a millionaire wants to be a multi-millionaire, and | |
so on; where is there any rest? Where is there happiness? When will | |
[one's] thirst for possessions or enjoyment cease? Will [one] ever | |
acquire control over [one's] mind? Perhaps not in this life. | |
Thirst for enjoyment is the real disease in us; its various symptoms | |
are passions, ambition, pride, hatred, jealousy, anger, etc. | |
Tremendous mental strength and will-power are required to control the | |
restless mind from taking the forms of waves of passion and anger. | |
The perfect restlessness of the mind of an ordinary person who is the | |
slave to [their] desires and passions has been vividly described by a | |
Yogi, the poet could not find a better illustration than to compare | |
it with a monkey, who is restless by nature, then thinking this was | |
not quite enough, [that poet] added drunken monkey, stung by a | |
scorpion. When any one is stung by a scorpion, [one] jumps about | |
from place to place for nearly two days, so you can imagine the | |
restlessness of that poor monkey; still the poet found something | |
lacking in the simile, so [they] completed it by saying: "At last the | |
monkey was possessed by a demon." Is there any expression by which | |
we can describe the wretched state of that poor monkey? Such is the | |
ordinary state of our mind. Naturally it is restless, but it becomes | |
more so when it drinks the wine of ambition, still more when it is | |
stung by the scorpion of jealousy; but the climax is reached when the | |
demon of pride enters the mind and takes possession of it. In such a | |
case, how difficult it is to bring the mind under control. To | |
conquer mind is more difficult than to conquer the whole world. | |
[That person] is the greatest hero and the real conqueror of the | |
world who has conquered [their] own mind. "[The person] that ruleth | |
[their own] spirit is greater than he who taketh a city." A Yogi | |
says: "If one [person] conquers in battle a thousand times a thousand | |
[other people], and if another conquers [their own self, then the | |
latter] is the greatest of conquerors." Therefore we should pay | |
special attention to the study of the mind; we should learn to | |
analyze its nature and constantly watch over its various | |
modifications, trying to develop and strengthen the will-power. | |
A Yogi develops [their] will-power by daily practice; [one] rouses up | |
the higher powers and continues to fight against [one's] greatest | |
enemies with firmness and determination until [one] accomplishes | |
[this] end. Perfect self-control of a Yogi is that state of mind | |
where no desires or passions of any kind disturb the peace and | |
tranquillity of [one's] soul. Such a state can be acquired more | |
easily by removing the bubbles of desires before they take the wave | |
form of passions, that is, by attacking them while they are in their | |
weak state. This can be done either by right discrimination of the | |
nature of desire or by comparing the transitory pleasure which | |
results from our contact with the objects of senses, with the serene, | |
peaceful mind which is undisturbed by desires or passions. We should | |
also remember that the highest ideal of our life is not pleasure of | |
the senses, nor slavery to desires and passions, but the attainment | |
of mastery over the lower self, and the manifestation of the supreme | |
Self. | |
There is another way of obtaining self-control, through concentration | |
and meditation. Concentrate your mind upon the supreme Self and do | |
not let it be disturbed by any other thought or desire at that time. | |
Those who have read the Light of Asia will remember that when Buddha | |
sat in meditation under the Bo tree all the dormant impressions began | |
to rise in his mind. They are described as the attendants of Mara, | |
the personified evil thought. But Buddha said: "It is better to die | |
on the battlefield while fighting with enemy than to be defeated and | |
forced to live like a slave, seeking little bits of sense pleasures | |
and enjoyments." With such a strong determination Buddha became | |
master of himself; whosoever will display similar determination of | |
purpose and strength of character, will surely attain perfect | |
self-control. They alone who have acquired self-control enjoy | |
eternal peace and happiness in this life and attain the goal of all | |
religions, the knowledge of the divine Self. | |
author: Abhedānanda, Swami, 1866-1939 | |
detail: gopher://gopherpedia.com/0/Swami_Abhedananda | |
tags: ebook,non-fiction,spirit,yoga | |
title: The Complete Works of Swami Abhedānanda, Volume 1 | |
source: gopher://tilde.pink/1/~bencollver/ia/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.188738 | |
# Tags | |
ebook | |
non-fiction | |
spirit | |
yoga |