ON SELF CONTROL

Self control is the most important quality for peace and tranquility in the life of man. It is very difficult to live without self control! All troubles and difficulties of man are mainly because of lack of Self control! What is the reason for this lack of Self Control in man? The villains are the Arishadvargas or the inner adversaries that silently  provoke and torment him. Man is a bundle of desires. This desire or Kama is insatiable and fulfillment of it leads to another desire and there is no end for it. When desire is not fulfilled it creates disappointment and man grows angry. Anger or Krodha destroys mental equilibrium and man involves himself in actions without realizing their consequence. He  becomes almost a beast. He is covetous, a miser, who gloats over the accumulation of wealth and property! He becomes the victim of Lobha or miserliness. He is attached to his wife, children, kith and kin. This is Moha or “Mamakara” from which he can never escape. He is proud of his achievements and egged on by his ego thinks too much of himself. He becomes arrogant which quality is called Mada. He develops hatred for others and is plagued by envy. This feeling is called Matsarya! Thus these inner enemies torture man and leave him restless and unhappy throughout his life!

Is it impossible for man to defeat these inner enemies? Yes. They are invincible. It should be possible for man who has conquered almost every thing on Earth. Has he not stamped his foot on the moon and Mars? Has he not achieved much in inventions and discoveries? Is not scientific advancement and technology his forte? But the point is that man has controlled all outer things in the universe but failed miserably in subjugating his inner enemies! The tragedy of man's life is that he has no control over himself! The raw and basic tendencies have not left him though he calls himself a civilized human being!  The Upanishads call the body as a chariot dragged by the senses or the horses! It is the Manas or heart that is the bridle and Buddhi or intellect the driver of the chariot! If the horses or senses are uncontrolled it results in fatal accident! Therefore self control becomes absolutely essential for every individual. Self control cannot come all of a sudden. It requires slow and steady practice even from early life. Mind is a monkey and to control its vacillation is really a Herculean task. But dedication and determination to control oneself can definitely yield the desired result. We have a hoary past where our sages and saints ate fruits and leaves and performed severe penance, controlled their senses, lived for long and realized God! Where there is a will there is a way!

What is self control? Essentially it means control of the senses which have been described as invincible. Senses can be kept in check  through ' rigorous discipline and steady faith.’ You have to take a decision and obey the order yourself. Control of senses does not mean annihilation of the senses. In fact, that can never be done! It means denial of their functions. Man must be the master of his senses, not a slave. They have to be utilized for the specific purpose for which they have been gifted to us. They should not be let loose for uninhibited freedom for the senses is always catastrophic. How to start controlling the senses? First he should master his behavior. He should not be influenced by the momentary impulses and instincts. He should be aware of what is good for him. In his duties, he should never suffer not make others suffer. Fits of anger or sorrow or elation or despair and despondency should be avoided. Sense attraction is always tempting and tantalizing but you should check yourself from yielding to it. “ The eye should not wander towards obscene sights. The words uttered should not hurt the self respect of others. The hand should never be raised in anger against anyone. The ears should not exult in scandal. The mind should not have attachment to bad habits.” remarks Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. Is it possible to carry out at least one of these requirements? Easier said than done but we should try in all earnestness.

What are the things to be avoided to draw nearer to self control? According to Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba they are frivolous talk, luxurious life, deleterious habits, addiction to films, horror comics, pen friends, exotic dress, outlandish coiffures designed to draw attraction to oneself. These lead astray boys and girls and compel them to involve themselves in unrighteous and immoral ways! Impediments to self control like selfishness and conceit have to be discarded. On the other hand, ideal qualities like love, forbearance and compassion should be developed. Hatred, jealousy and beating one's own trumpet should be given up. One should maintain unity in thought, word and deed. Detachment from mundane affairs including wife, children and property is the most important need for self control because it is rare and almost impossible.

There is another invaluable aid for Self control. It is Yoga or the science of mind control. This method has become very popular throughout the world today. Patanjali Yoga Sastra authored by the sage Patanjali defines yoga as that which arrests the vacillation of the mind. “ Yogah chitta vrutthi nirodhaha.” It suggests Pranayama or control of breath for control of mind as well as longevity. A number of Asanas or postures of body for physical fitness and general health are also recommended in Yoga Sastra that lead to self control. It is the bounden duty of every single individual to make an earnest attempt to realize self control lest peace and happiness may be denied to him. Meditation or Dhyana is another tool suggested for Self control. Concentrating the mind on a single object goes a long way in helping Self control.

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ON DISCIPLINE

Certain rules of behavior and conduct are absolutely essential for the smooth running of our daily existence. Without these guiding principles it is impossible to lead our life happily. These principles have yielded good results through practice since centuries. As such principles have become a part of our code of conduct, they are called by the name Discipline. There have been in the past persons who were the embodiment of personal discipline that astonished many. Their behavior and conduct has added lustre to discipline to a great extent. Not only that, they have adapted the principles according to the needs of changing times! Discipline consists in the strict observance of rules and regulations and directions. It is only when discipline is observed that any act or duty can yield the desired result. At present production of food, building homes, and manufacturing cloth and other materials are at their peak. Modern society is in dire need of tolerance, humility,  brotherhood and compassion!
A life without discipline is a ship without a rudder. It loses its direction and drifts into unknown waters. Discipline is the need of the hour to combat the flood of hate and derision and when those shy away on whom you have placed your trust. One without a disciplined mind is a wild elephant in a rut. It is not as if discipline can be inculcated all of a sudden. It has to catch the young very early so that the principles are practiced regularly. Discipline is absolutely essential for success in every field of activity whether it is economic, social, educational or material and mundane. Discipline is all the more important for success in the spiritual field! “ The sages have discovered the disciplines that will keep you unaffected by defeat or victory, loss or gain. Learn them, establish yourself in unruffled peace.” Says Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. Unfortunately discipline is significantly absent in almost every walk of life. There is much cause for concern in the educational field. Students have no respect for the teachers. Malpractices in examinations have become common! A few violent attacks on teachers are also reported! Veneration and love for the teacher is missing very badly. Even in society there is no regard for discipline! Fraud, cheating, robbery, murder, lust and rape have become too common to be wondered at! Society has become one of loose morals mainly because of lack of discipline!

There is discipline in creation. As William Wordsmith said, “ Let Nature be your teacher” we can lessons from Nature that is the best example for strict discipline. The sun rises and sets regularly in the morning and evening. The sea beats its waves continuously against the shore but never crosses it. Seasons change regularly and smoothly. Is this not discipline? Who is controlling all activities of Nature? It is because of the strict discipline exhibited by Nature man is able to live happily and peacefully. Imagine what will happen if the sea or ocean crosses the shores. We know what catastrophe occurred when the tsunami struck! In the same manner, the world will suffer if there is a change in  sun rise and sun set. God has commanded Nature to adhere to discipline strictly. While Nature is a strict follower of discipline, it is man who has no discipline and breaks the laws of Nature! Man has to be ready for the dangers that ensue whenever he breaks the laws of Nature. Life is not a bed of roses. It is a veritable jungle full of bushes and brambles, dense impenetrable trees and rough and dusty paths. In order to wade through the wild forest you need a pair of proper shoes. Likewise one should have strict discipline and sense regulations to come out of the forest of life unscathed.

Man by nature is undisciplined. He wants no inhibitions. He wants to drink life to the Lees. He prefers to move with a gay abandon. That is why he resists discipline. This attitude is detrimental to man and his future. Discipline and other regulations are laid down for the good of man. Regulations are the very essence of creation as explained earlier. Wind and fire respect their limits. There is discipline, unnoticed, in our body! Our body temperature is kept normal without our effort! Otherwise we will be unhealthy! Our cardiac muscles are involuntary and the heart has to maintain the number of beats per minutes to allow us to live! Is this not discipline? Why discipline? It is discipline that helps you to put up with dis appointments. Life is one of ups and downs. There is no rose without thorns but man wants a rose without thorns! Life cannot be for sensual pleasure. Society can never progress if each one cares for his own pleasures! Lack of discipline has led to this state of affairs and man’s greed has reached to such an extent that he wants to possess everything including God! He says “My God , not yours! “ Your God, not mine!”

Desires destroy discipline! There is no end for the desires that man has. Every desire fulfilled leads to fresh and more desires rooting out the edifice of discipline. Therefore one should have a ceiling on desires to maintain discipline. Lot of money is wasted on needless things. Money is also being misused for selfish reasons. That should be avoided. The lure of money is irresistible for man and he is ready to do anything for it. Too much of money is dangerous. There should be discipline in using it for good purposes. Discipline is of Paramount importance in managing time. We know the proverb: “ Time and tide waits for no man.” If we kill time, time kills us! Time is said to be God!  Every second is precious and can never be wasted! There must be discipline in using food. Food or Annam is called the embodiment of Brahman or the Supreme Self in the Upanishads. Wasting it is an unpardonable sin and crime! Many people have not even a single meal a day and the poor suffer for want of f food. Extra food may be donated to some charity but not wasted. Energy is another field where strict discipline is badly required. Man should not fritter away his energy in pursuit of useless things! It is a precious commodity to save and be kept in reserve.  Natural fuels like petrol, diesel should be properly utilized as we do not know for how long we can get them from mother Earth. In spiritual matters Discipline is of utmost importance and yields peace and bliss in proportion to the discipline enforced!

BRAHMA SUTRAS

The three authoritative sources of Vedanta philosophy are the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita. These three are otherwise called the “ Prasthanatraya.” The Vedanta Sutras of Badarayana or Sage Vedavyasa is generally called as ‘Brahma Sutras.' What are these ‘Brahma Sutras?' They present a short or condensed account of the abstruse, limitless and eternal Vedas.  Sutras are those that are expressed in the least possible number of words to convey an idea or truth. In other words Sutra can be called an aphorism. The Sutras are densely packed with ' unlimited insight that need to be unwound to understand their full import. The Brahma Sutras belong to the period between 450 BCE and 200 CE. It is a systematized summary of the philosophical and spiritual ideas in the Upanishads. Brahma Sutras are also called the Vedanta Sutra which literally means “ Final aim of the Vedas.”  Other name of “Brahma Sutras” is “ Saririka Sutra” meaning that which lives in the body (sarira) or the Self, soul. Another name is” Bhikshu Sutra for monks and mendicants. Brahma Sutras have influenced various schools of philosophy. These are interpreted differently by the Adwaita School of Adi Sankara, Visishistadwaita School of Ramanuja and Dwaita school of Madhwacharya. Many commentaries are lost but among those remaining, Bhashyas of Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhwa and Bhaskara are prominent.
Badarayana was the guru of Jaimini, author of Mimamsa Sutras. While Badarayana laid emphasis on knowledge, Jaimini gave importance to rituals. Some times they agreed while at other times they disagreed. Brahma Sutras are dated to centuries that followed the Buddha and Mahavira as it mentions critiques on the ideas of Buddhism and Jainism. Brahma Sutras contain 555 aphoristic verses in four chapters. They are primarily about the nature of human existence, universe, about metaphysical ideas, and ultimate reality called Brahman. The Brahma Sutras are organized into four chapters each of which is subdivided into four Padas each, 223 adhikaranas or topics and altogether 555 aphorisms. The first chapter  “ Samanvaya”  (harmony) speaks of all the Vedantic texts and Brahman, the ultimate reality which is the goal of life. The second chapter “ Avirodha” (non conflict) discusses and rejects the possible  objections against  Vedanta philosophy. It reviews objections raised by orthodox and heterodox schools of philosophy like Buddhism and Jainism.
The third chapter “ Sadhana” ( the means) deals with the process by which ultimate emancipation can be achieved. It discusses epistemology and path to gaining spiritual, liberating knowledge. Last chapter states why such knowledge is an important human need. This chapter is called “ Phala” (the fruit) and speaks of the state that is achieved in final emancipation! Each Adhikarana has varying number of Sutras. They address the following---1 Vishaya or subject, topic 2 Vismaya or doubt, uncertainty, perplexity 3 Purvapaksha or prima facie view, prior part, argument 4 Siddhanta—theory, arguments presented, proposed doctrine or conclusions 5 Sangati—Connection between sections, synthesis or coming together of knowledge. Brahma Sutras text has 189 Adhikaranas. Each text opens the ‘mukhya' chief Sutra that states the purpose of that section and includes Vishaya Vakyas. Brahma Sutras are meant to assist the memory of the student. Sankara says that the text of the Sutras are “ Structured like a string that ties together the Vedanta texts like a Garland of flowers!”
The root cause of all suffering is because of identifying the pure atman with the body. It is because of this identification that Arjuna grew despondent on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. KRISHNA tells him that Atma and body are different. While the former is eternal, indestructible the latter is ephemeral and subject to decay and destruction. The aim of Brahma Sutras is to wipe out this erroneous identification. This illusion that the atman and the body are one and the same can be obliterated through knowledge of the Brahman. In his Saririka Bhashya, Sankara establishes that the individual soul is identical with the Supreme Self—a chip of the same block. Sankara agrees with the view expressed by Badarayana. True to his Adwaita philosophy—” Ekam Eva Adwitiyam Brahma”- there is only One, no two things, Sankara stresses on the point.
Sri Ramanuja's  Sri Bhashya or commentary is according to his Visishtadwaita philosophy. Sri Ramanuja explains that Brahman is a Personal God and has attributes unlike the Brahman of Sankara that has no attributes. He maintains that the individual soul can never merge or entirely resolve in Brahman. Other commentaries are of Sri Nimbarkacharya called “ Vedanta parijata saurabha.”  Sri Vallabhacharya's philosophy of Suddhadwaita (pure monism) and his commentary on the Brahma Sutras is known as  “Anu Bhashya.” Different schools of thought have commented according to their tastes and temperaments, capacity and the nature of the aspirants. They have their own place and scope. Irrespective of the school that one follows, it is total faith,  determination and perseverance that can take the seeker to the peak of perfection!