Pujya Sadguru Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya known as "Yugrishi" and also Great Scientific Thinker.Sadguru wrote about self -Development .
Four Pillars of Self-Development - II
(Translation of a discourse by Poojya Gurudev Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya on �Atmonnati Ke Char Adhara � delivered in 1980) Let us begin with the collective chanting of the Gayatri Mantra:
�Om Bhur Buva� Swa�, Tatsaviturvare�yam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi, Dhiyo Yona� Prachodayat ||�
Four Pillars of Self-Development – II
( Akhand Jyoti Jan.Fab.07)
Talent, resources, support and appropriate opportunity are required for recognizable success in this world. Paucity or deficiency on any of these four fronts hinders the success-race. What is most vital for our clinical health? Balanced food (includes water), labor, rest and excretion. Disturbance in any of these upsets the body-system. So you see! Nature has ample examples of four interdependent fundamental necessities. We cannot dream of anything worthwhile along the path of soul-evolution without accomplishing the fundamental necessities of self-ascent. We shall discuss each of them now.
(i) Samyam: Literal meaning of �samyam� is restraint. It is crucial for us to prevent the drainage or misuse of our powers and potentials. In general, most of us consume our mental and bodily energy in haphazard activities driven by the passions of our ever turbulent minds and sense organs. Even a so-called ordinary person may accomplish wonderful things if he checks the wastage of his capabilities and makes constructive use of his potentials. We have to be vigilant on four fronts and observe abstinence of sense organs, control over the turbulence of mind, and optimal uses of time and worldly resources. For the samyam of the sense organs, most difficult and important is the samyam of the tongue and the sex-organs. These two are the greediest organs vulnerable to �addiction�. As you are all aware, the greed of the tongue disturbs our digestive system, gulps anything edible or non-edible for taste and spoils our health. The unrestrained indulgence in sex drains out our vital energy and thus weakens our physical and mental strength. Unbridled use of tongue in speech invites animosity and insult. One cannot think of any notable progress or even having a healthy and hearty life for a long time without restraining these sense organs. There is hardly any moment in a day from the time we get up, when our mind is void of any thought. But what kind of thoughts? Most often these are hazy flashes of auto-wandering of our mind in its world of ever-new desires or abrupt imaginations and retrieval of memory as per egotist impulses. Anger, excitation, depression, etc are all offshoots of an unstable and wayward mind. I don�t have to say much on how important it is to have good mental concentration. Be that study, writing, research, focused use of any skill or art, everything requires thorough mental engrossment for success. Even the daily chores can�t proceed smoothly unless our mind is calm and stable to some extent. Success in mental control and constructive channelization of thoughts opens up the doors to all-conquering win-win achievements along any chosen walk of life. Time is the most precious resource gifted by Nature to us. But we spend most of it in sleeping or in laziness. We shun hard work and don�t do things in a planned systematic manner. When there is some pressure or something of our immediate interest, we get over-enthusiastic and spend all the time in one particular task. This is an extreme, which often burns out our energy or puts us under stress. And, the moment the pressure or interest is gone we just slip back to the other extreme � become dull and aimless; don�t even care for how our time is flying in haphazard activities, arbitrary thoughts and daydreaming. Look at the lives of those who have attained success in some field of life. You will find one thing in common � prudent management of time. Equally important is the adept use of available resources. Money happens to be a vital resource on materialistic fronts of life. But unless utilized cautiously, it only encourages addictions, luxury driven life-style leading to a variety of physical and mental health problems; extravagant show-off, which in one form or the other, invites jealousy, anxiety or threats of burglary etc. Those who are not wealthy need to be more careful, as every penny of their hard earned money is important. Those who have substantial amounts for fulfilling basic necessities and duties should invest the remainder wisely in projects that help many others in a viable manner and generate more wealth for wider use. Industriousness, planned budgeting, and thoughtful use of money is the secret of prosperity. Assiduity and controlled use of resources also lend essential support in one�s efforts of self-restraint of sense organs and are therefore important for self-dependence and self-development.
(11)Swadhyaya: Swadhyaya is a wonderful method of purifying the mind and righteous molding of the thoughts and attitude. Our attitude and thoughts are expressions of what we have accumulated in the mind. The activities around us, the nature and conduct of the near and dear ones, the ambience we are exposed to or what we have been experiencing, learning or grasping, knowingly or unknowingly via the automatic process of nature, continuously create subtle impressions on our mind. This accumulation, together with the consequences of what we have been desiring, feeling, thinking and doing remain inscribed in the unconscious mind life after life. What we have inherited from the earlier lives and what has been assimilated so far in the present life accounts for our sanskaras (intrinsic impressions and tendencies). Unless we make an extra effort, our outlook and thoughts and hence our persona is shaped up by our sankaras and our present ambience and training. Swadhyaya is an attempt to choose an enlightened aura of influence, superior ambience for our mind. How? Swadhayaya literally means self-study. It deals with the study of one�s own self (one�s aspirations, thoughts, attitude and conduct) in the light of elevated thoughts of enlightened personalities. How will you study yourself unless you have a guiding measure for comparison? Why will you study yourself unless there is a motivation and an aim to do that? What is your aim? Self-ascent. What will inspire you for this? The company of those who have achieved it. It is human nature to compete with, to copy, or to follow others � especially the more influential ones around. This is why parents are advised to maintain good conduct in front of the children. This is why you are advised to choose your friends carefully. If you are in the inspiring company of great personalities, you are bound to be motivated to improve and illumine yourself, to rise and experience the fulfilling and glorifying horizons of life. The present times and environment of life are such that more often than not they encourage and aggravate our negative tendencies, sensual passions and vices. Even our relatives and friends often divert us from the path of self-ascent. They do so because of their ignorance. For them, likewise for most people around, following the popular trends, viz., earning money, comforts, higher worldly status and power are the major goals in one way or the other. They would even criticize, hinder and oppose one�s efforts for self-restraint, simply because they are not familiar with such things, or, because these do not fit into the common framework of life-styles they have adopted or desire for, or they don�t see any immediate gain in attempts of self-control. Our own tendencies are also not much different from them so we also get attracted by the suggestions of people around us. Then what do we do? Should we let ourselves be entangled in the vicious cycle of downward trends? Certainly not! As you all know it is the nature of water to flow downwards. Water naturally flows, by the law of pressure-gradient, from higher to lower level. Additional force (e.g. by the motor of the pump) of higher magnitude is required to draw it upwards. Similarly, if you want to see the light of knowledge, if you want to broaden your attitude, if you want to rise beyond the insane or wrong trends of the present time, if you want to cross the barriers of your present circumstances and ambience and want to excel in the righteous sense, you will have to put in extra efforts with unflinching resolution. How will you do that? From where will you get the power to move ahead against the resistance of the popular customs, against the downward pull of surrounding ambience and against your own convictions and habits? Who will give you adept guidance and support for it? One possibility to annual the negative is by assimilating the positive with greater intensity. Satsang (good company) of great personalities, saints and sages is most effective and practical method of doing this. But how often do we get this opportunity to attend their discourses or to meet and discuss them? Even if their discourses and meetings are organized in your neighborhood, sometimes, you may not be free in those particular hours. Then? Therefore, swadhaya is the only means which is feasible in the present circumstances and which can serve the purpose of satsang. As balanced food and regular physical exercise is necessary for bodily health, regular swadhyaya is necessary for mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. It is no less important than any devotional practice. Swadhyaya is given utmost importance in the science of spirituality. It is stated in some Vedic scriptures that � a person is equivalent to a �beastly human� on the day when he/she does not do swadhyaya. As washing and scrubbing is necessary for the cleanliness of the clothes, bathing is essential for the hygiene of the body, similarly, swadhyaya is necessary for the purification of the mind. The untoward accumulations in the mental field are cleared out and elevating sanskaras are strengthened by the trenchant thoughts and inspirations induced by swadhyaya. It lays the foundation for realization of Inner Light.
Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru
Shiv Sharma
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