Children, there is no one who does not long for change. Everyone wants to overcome his or her physical and mental weakness, and be free from negative emotions and habits. But most of us do not have a clear idea about how to change.
It is difficult to change one’s nature. Hence, we often change only our behaviour, not our character. Instead of eliminating the ego, many of us artfully conceal it and wear the mask of humility. We suppress or hide emotions such as anger, jealousy and hatred. By suppressing an emotion, however, we can neither keep it at bay nor prevent it from arising again.
Once, some miscreants scattered sharp thorns in the front yards of two next-door neighbours. When he saw the thorns in the morning, one of the neighbours covered the thorns with a layer of earth and thus dealt with the problem. The second neighbour patiently picked up each one of the thorns, threw them into a bonfire and reduced them to ash. Both of them solved the problem. But what will happen when it rains? The first man’s front yard will be full of thorns.
Not only that, he will also have to work twice as hard as the second man did to remove all the thorns. Such is the case with negative emotions, too. Even if we succeed in suppressing them temporarily, it does not mean that we have eradicated them permanently. Instead of suppressing or concealing negative tendencies, we must confront them with the weapons of alertness and discernment. First of all, we must firmly resolve never again to become enslaved by such emotions and thoughts. Everytime such thoughts arise, we must notice them and withdraw the mind from them. Then,we must find out why such thoughts arise and strive to eliminate the causes.
The main reason we act upon our vasanas (latent tendencies) is our lack of alertness. If the watchman guarding the house at night remains awake and alert, and carries his lantern while patrolling the grounds, no thief will be able to break into the house. A person who firmly resolves never to give in to any weakness and who observes each and every thought arising in the mind will notice every negative thought that arises in his alert mind and thus control it.
No bad habit can be eliminated at once. Constant effort and a strong determination, however, will lead us to victory. We can thus transform our lives completely.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian
We must resolve never again to become enslaved by negative emotions. Everytime such thoughts arise, we must notice them and withdraw the mind from them. Then, we must find out why such thoughts arise and strive to eliminate the causes.
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