The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : Sustained effort necessary

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Monday, Jan 03, 2005

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Sustained effort necessary

CHENNAI, JAN.3 . Persistent effort is the key to achieving spiritual progress. The zeal to uplift oneself from the predicament of bondage, which results in repeated births, must be the individual person's, as each has to work for his own salvation. The Gita says categorically that one should lift oneself by effort and not degrade oneself and that one can be one's friend or enemy. So Self-realisation is in one's hands and is possible in this very birth if it is utilised properly. Then it becomes imperative to know how to achieve it. When the senses, mind and the body are under one's control they become conducive to spiritual evolution but the same faculties can act as enemy when they are not under one's control.

In his discourse, Sri Goda Venketeswara Sastri said Self-realisation was an attainable goal and it was necessary to listen to the exposition of the scriptural texts describing the nature of the Self (Atman) from a competent teacher, as this aided in meditation. The spiritual seeker who adopts the path of Yoga of self-control after achieving mastery of the senses develops dispassion towards worldly pleasures and such a person can then engage in meditation. Lord Krishna describes how to meditate with one-pointed concentration, "Firm in the vow of complete chastity and fearless, keeping himself perfectly calm and with the mind held in restraint and fixed on Me, the vigilant Yogi should sit absorbed in Me."

How is the aspirant to know whether there is progress? The Gita indicates that the mind attains lasting peace and bliss. The disciplined mind of the Yogi is similar to a light that does not flicker in a windless place and it rejoices only in God. Such a Yogi having attained this state will not reckon any other gain as greater than this and established in it can see for himself that he is unaffected by worldly sorrows.

The Gita also guides how to follow this practice. This Yoga is neither for him who overeats, nor for him who observes complete fast; it is neither for him who is given to too much sleep nor even for him who is ceaselessly awake. Only he who is regulated in diet and recreation, regulated in performing action and regulated in sleep and wakefulness can thus be successful in Yoga. Arjuna after listening to this exposition on Yoga expressed the difficulty of adopting this saying that the mind was difficult to control like the wind as it was very unsteady, turbulent, tenacious and powerful. Lord Krishna replied that it was possible for one who strived with effort.

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