Determination (part 2)

[Guest guest]

" R D " <jaguarxox

<ramakrishna >

Wednesday, August 07, 2002 01:37

Rays from the Light Fountain

 

By Sri Swami Chidananda

 

Contd....... (determination part 2)

 

The master who narrated this incident to the disciples

said, " Such should be your determination, my child,

such indeed should be your spirit, if you would plumb

the depths of the ocean of Satchidananda. " So remember

the perseverance of Lord Buddha. Perseverance is a

abhyasa. Abhyasa is persistent effort.

 

In Patanjali’s Raja Yoga, there is a sutra which says,

" If you want to be established in perfect

concentration, you must apply yourself persistently,

not allowing yourself even a single break. " Only by

practicing ceaselessly with keen, unflagging interest

over a protracted period of time will you ever become

established in deep concentration.

 

Lord Krishna also said to Arjuna that perseverance

would be absolutely necessary for him to bring the

mind under control. He first told Arjuna to fix it,

how to make it sharp and one-pointed in order to still

the thoughts. And Arjuna listened carefully. " This is

all very well for you to say, Krishna. But for me it

seems impossible. You tell me to still the thoughts.

But stilling the thoughts is very difficult. Tell me

to capture the wind, and put it into a net bag. That

may be possible. But to capture the mind, and

completely stop its movements is utterly impossible. "

Lord Krishna said, " I agree with you, Arjuna, that it

is very difficult to control the mind. Difficult

indeed. But not impossible. It is possible. How? By

constant effort. By persevering in your struggle to

control it. The mind is constantly restless. It is

blazing with fire. Why? Because it is filled with

desires. Do not add fuel to the fire. Remove the fuel.

Then the fire will die down by itself. You must

control the senses, develop dispassion, resolutely

turn away from sensual pursuits. If you persevere in

this effort, then the mind will become under your

control.

 

In all your endeavors, cheerfulness is of great

importance. You should be in a positive frame of mind.

You should be contented, serene and calm, never

depressed, never dejected. If, in following the path

of virtue you are easily dejected and depressed, then

you are anticipating failure, " asking for it " as it

were. You must enjoy what you are doing. If you don’t

enjoy your ideal endeavor, then don’t do it; you are

not yet ready for it. Engage yourself in something

else, something good. Plunge yourself into social

work, or volunteer philanthropic work, or selfless

service of some sort. But let yoga wait. You will not

succeed in it. By the mind, you must be able to raise

up the mind. You must be able to make it transcend all

desires. The practice of virtue should fill you with

joy, self-control should bring you happiness,

spiritual effort should fill you with cheerfulness and

contentment. If you are leading the spiritual life,

doing sadhana, practicing yoga, trying to attain

God-consciousness, while at the same time you are

moody, irritable and unhappy, then success will not be

felt. Spiritual bliss and mental depression don’t mix.

Deep inner sorrow you may have. On the path of bhakti,

for instance, the devotee experiences sorrow, this

pain is something so secret and so deep, that it does

not appear outwardly. In his daily activities the

devotee is radiant; he is calm and balanced. This

spiritual pain, this deep inner sorrow is of the soul.

It is concealed within. It is a languishing of the

spirit. It is never known to any save himself and his

God. The divine principle is always at work in him and

the true devotee is always radiating peace calm.

Dedicate yourself to the path of purity. With

determination follow the path of virtue and the path

of good character, and the path of good conduct.

Resolve firmly to remember God, to pray, to study, to

contemplate, to serve. Build up inwardly a mighty and

dynamic wave, a strong and steady movement towards the

Supreme Being. Let every day be filled with selfless

activity, dedicated to a noble cause and a grand

ideal.

 

Whatever leads one towards the supreme goal is rightly

referred to as Yoga. Whatever may be your religion,

whatever may be your spiritual discipline or practice,

if it be done for the attainment of God-realization,

then it is real Yoga. And Yoga in this sense, is the

" only way. "

 

So all those people who have been trying to attain

God-realization through prayer, for instance, no

matter what their religion may have been, have been

practicing Yoga. They may have practicing Hatha Yoga,

or Raja Yoga, or Karma, but they have been meditating.

And meditation is the culmination of all Yogic

practices.

 

Any one who strives to attain divine consciousness

ultimately is drawn into the state of calm silent

inward meditation. In this calm silent inward

meditative state alone is God-vision ultimately

obtained and illumination achieved. Meditation is the

common universal process which all souls have to pass

on their ascent into divinity. In order to transcend

the individual consciousness, in order to attain the

infinite divine consciousness, Sufis, Christians,

Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, aboriginal mystics, American

Indians, sooner or later, all enter the meditative

state.

 

Now let me close, urging you to push on, to walk along

the shining path of good conduct and good character,

to move towards the Divine. Do this with great

cheerfulness. Be happy. Have hope. Never give up,

never despair. Keep on until you attain the glorious

goal and become blessed.!

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

This commentary is an excellent exposition on Gita verses

6:23, and 18:33, and easy to memorise and meditate on.

 

Thanks for posting these.

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

 

 

Ramakrishna, " Vivekananda Centre " <vivekananda@b...>

wrote:

> " R D " <jaguarxox>

> <ramakrishna>

> Wednesday, August 07, 2002 01:37

> Rays from the Light Fountain

>

> By Sri Swami Chidananda

>