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Eschew extremes

CHENNAI : Spiritual aspirants are advised to eschew extremes in life as moderation is the byword for spiritual progress. Neither indulgence nor deprivation is conducive to spiritual life. The middle way propagated by the Buddha immediately comes to mind. Gautama lived in the lap of luxury in his childhood and youth as he was born into a royal family. In his quest for truth he renounced all comforts and embraced a life of extreme poverty but he only grew weak and emaciated without any sign of enlightenment.

One day as he passed by a house he happened to overhear a mother teaching her child to play a musical instrument. As the string was taut it had snapped and the child started crying. Its mother then showed how the string had to be tuned just right as the right note could not be struck if it was loose and it would break if stretched too tight. Gautama applied this piece of advice to his life and found the middle path, which paved the way to his enlightenment.

In his discourse, Br. Gagan Chaitanya said the Bhagavad Gita advocated moderation as the key to experiencing the bliss of the Self (Atman). Lord Krishna taught Arjuna, "This Yoga is neither for him who overeats, nor for him who observes a complete fast; it is neither for him who is given to too much sleep, nor even for him who is ceaselessly awake. Yoga, which rids one of woe, is accomplished only by him who is regulated in diet and recreation, regulated in performing actions, and regulated in sleep and wakefulness." The bliss spoken of here is not the type enjoyed through the five senses.

The Vedanta text Panchadasi illustrates this with the example of the peace experienced in the state of deep sleep. A comfortable bed and cool breeze are only conducive to falling asleep but the peace experienced in sleep is due to the negation of the body and the mind as they cease to function in that state.

Hence the person experiences peace in sleep but the ignorance of the mind continues to exist. The same feeling of peace and joy can be experienced in the waking state when the senses and the mind are controlled in meditation, which is the state of union with the Self (Atman). After experiencing this unalloyed bliss the mind will stop hankering after sensory pleasures.

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