Fwd: Santosha: Contentment

June 2, 2007

Hare Krsna Santosha: ContentmentContentment, santosha, is the second niyama. How do we practicecontentment? Simply do not harm others by thought, word or deed. As apractitioner of ahimsa, noninjury, you can sleep contentedly at nightandexperience santosha then and through the day. Contentment is a qualitythat everyone wants, and buys things to obtain--"Oh, if I only had myhouse redecorated, I would be content.A new wardrobe would contentme, give me joy and serenity.To be content, I must have a vacationand get away from it all. There I can live the serene life and havejoyous experiences."The dharmic way is to look within and bring out the latent contentmentthat is already there by doing nothing to inhibit its naturalexpression,as santosha, the mood of the soul, permeates out through every cell ofthe physical body. Contentment is one of the most

difficult qualities toobtain, and is well summed up within our food blessing mantra, from theShukla Yajur Veda, Isa Upanishad invocation, "That is fullness. Creationis fullness. From that fullness flows this world's fullness. Thisfullnessissues from that fullness, yet that fullness remains full." This joy weseek is the joy of fullness, lacking nothing.Life is meant to be lived joyously. There is in much of the world thebelief that life is a burden, a feeling of penitence, that it is goodto suffer, good for the soul. In fact, spiritual life is not that wayat all. The existentialist would have you believe that depression,rage, fear and anguish are the foremost qualities of the human temperand expression. The communists used to have us believe that joy andserenity as the outgrowth of religion are just an opiate of the people,a narcotic of unreality. The Semitic religions of the Near East wouldhaveus believe

that suffering is good for the soul, and there is not muchyou can do about it. The Saivite Hindu perspective is that contentmentis a reflection of centeredness, and discontentment is a reflection ofexternalized consciousness and ramified desire.Maintaining joy and serenity in life means being content with yoursurroundings, be they meager or lavish. Be content with your money, beit a small amount or a large amount. Be content with your health. Bearup under ailments and be thankful that they are not worse than theyare. Protect your health if it is good. It is a valuable treasure. Becontent with your friends. Be loyal to those who are your long-time,trusted companions. Basically, contentment, santosha, is freedom fromdesire gained by redirecting the forces of desire and making a beautifullife within what one already has in life.The rich seeking more riches are not content. The famous seeking morefameare not

content. The learned seeking more knowledge are not content.Beingcontent with what you have does not mean you cannot discriminate andseekto progress in life. It doesn't mean you should not use your willpowerand fulfill your plans.It does mean you should not become upset while you are strivingtoward your goals, frustrated or unhappy if you do not get what youwant. The best striving is to keep pushing along the natural unfoldmentof positive trends and events in your life, your family life and yourbusiness. Contentment is working within your means with what isavailableto you, living within your income, being grateful for what you have,and not unhappy over what you lack.There are many frustrated souls on the path who torment themselves noend and walk around with long faces because they estimate they arenot unfolding spiritually fast enough. They have set goals of SelfRealization for themselves far

beyond their abilities to immediatelyobtain. If people say, "I am not going to do anything that will notmake me peaceful or that will threaten my peace of mind," how willthey get anywhere? That is not the idea of santosha. True santosha isseeing all-pervasiveness of the one divine power everywhere. The lightwithin the eyes of each person is that divine power. With this in mind,you can go anywhere and do anything. Contentment is there, inside you,and needs to be brought out. It is a spiritual power. So, yes, do whatmakes you content. But know that contentment really transcends worryingabout the challenges that face you. Santosha is being peaceful in anysituation. The stronger you are in santosha, the greater the challengesyou can face and still remain quiet on the inside, peaceful and content,poised like a hummingbird hovering over a flower.

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