Hari
Om
Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by
which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality
and become more congruent within our personality.
In this article, Guru-ji points out
that we alone have the power within to ease our agitation. Who we are and how
we are is always determined by our thinking. Circumstances and situations may
be dreadful, but it is up to us to deal with them and within that we have
choice.
The most effective antidote to greed is contentment. Just as a man
who, sun-scorched, is refreshed by taking a plunge in the river, so also the
greedy man burned by the fire of lobha finds immediate joy and relief by a dip
in the ambrosial water of contentment.
There are four sentinels who guard the domain of moksha. They are
shanti, santosha, satsanga and vichara — peace, happiness, good company and
self-inquiry. If you can approach any one of these, you can get hold of the
other three. “A contented mind is a continual feast.” A man fully endowed with
this important virtue is the richest man. Contentment is an important part of
the niiyamas of Raja Yoga.
The Gita says, “Be contented with whatever you get by chance and
apply yourself to meditation with a dispassionate mind.”
The intellect gets perverted and memory gets confused by passion and
greed. A seeker asks, “If I become contented, all my ambitions will die. I will
become lethargic and lazy. On account of my ambitions, I exert and I am
energetic.”
My reply: contentment can never make you idle. It is a sattvic
virtue that propels the individual towards God. It gives strength of mind and
peace. It checks unnecessary and selfish exertions. It opens the inner eye and
moves the mind towards divine contemplation.
It turns his energy to inner, sattvic channels. It transmutes the
gross energy, greed, into spiritual energy, ojas. The contented person is full
of sattva. His mind is now collected and peaceful. Contentment is bliss.
