Passion and anger, again, lead to hatred, jealousy, and many other wicked feelings which are expressed outwardly in the form of vicious acts. He who can control his mind from being disturbed by passion and anger, has obtained self-control. The control of passions and anger comes when the mind does not seek pleasure from external objects, but learns by experience that pleasure which can be derived through the senses, is very transient; it lasts for a few seconds only, and its true source is not in the object itself, but depends mostly upon the mental and physical conditions of the enjoyer
We have seen that passion and anger are the second and third stages of desire; these desires, according to the Yogis, remain in the subconscious plane of our minds: Here a question arises: What is the cause of these desires? A Yogi, trying to trace the cause of desires, says that they are the outcome of the dormant impressions in our minds, or the awakened state of these impressions. He further says that when we enjoy any external object through our senses, our minds are impressed with certain changes which are produced while we are in direct contact with the thing. When we eat an apple, the impression of its taste is left in the mind. When we hear a musical note, an impression of the note, pleasant or unpleasant, remains in the mind. Similarly, all the impressions which the external objects leave in the mind, will remain there in a seed form or dormant state, by the law of persistence of force. None of them will be lost; whatever things we have enjoyed or suffered in our lives are stored up in that seed form, or in the form of dormant impressions. These dormant impressions are the causes of our desires
Let us suppose that the mind substance is like a sea, that the surface is the conscious plane, and that the dormant impressions lie deep below surface. Here we should remember that anything that remains in a dormant state, is bound to manifest when the conditions become favourable. Forced by their inward nature, when the dormant impressions begin to manifest, they may be said to rise up slowly from the bottom of the sea of mind in the form of minute bubbles. We may call this bubble the subtle state of desire, or the awakened impression. Then it gradually rises to the surface and appears larger and larger in size. Let us call this bubble state of the awakened impression, desire; then the bubble of desire, after playing on the surface of the mental sea for some time, bursts there and takes the form of a wave, and agitates the whole sea of mind, transforming it into one mass of impulse. The mind becomes restless, peace is disturbed, power of discrimination becomes dull, we do not know whether good or bad results will follow should we yield to the impelling impulse; we are forcibly driven headlong toward the object of desire, whatever it be, mental (like ambition, pride, etc.), or merely sensuous. In fact, our controlling power having been overcome by that wave of desire, we can no longer call it desire. It temporarily takes the form of a ruling passion, or strong impulse. That tremendous impulse controls our nerves, muscles, and the whole body; struggle to gratify this longing, only to find, when we have attained the thing and gratified the longing, that the satisfaction is but brief. The tempest that wrecked our selfcontrol gradually subsides, and the particular desire that provoked it returns again to its dormant state; then a temporary peace of mind is regained and we remain happy for a time
In the meanwhile another dormant impression gets ready to appear in the form of a bubble. Slowly it rises up from the subconscious to the conscious plane, and the same process is repeated. This ever-recurring series of desires and their temporary gratification forms the daily life of all such persons as have not learned to control their minds. When this fleeting peace of mind, or so-called happiness, has been secured, the desire subsides into a dormant state for a longer or shorter period. This process is continuously going on in each mind at every moment. Suppose a person is invited to a dinner party, where he partakes of something very delicious which he never tasted before and which he likes immensely. Do you think that the impression of that taste will be lost- as soon as the dinner is over? Certainly not; it will remain in the mind and engender a desire for the same thing again; the memory will recall that impression and it will become the cause of a fresh desire. In this manner it can be shown that every new impression is the cause or seed of a new desire
When a man begins to drink intoxicating liquors he feels a peculiar sensation; it drives away his dullness, exhilarates him, excites his nervous system, and makes him happy for the time being. After the effect of the stimulant is over, the impression of the agreeable feeling it produced is left in his mind; for some time it remains latent, then it rises up in the form of a desire, or bubble, to the surface of his mental sea. Rising to the surface, it bursts and produces a wave, or impulse, which intensifies the desire and leads him to drink again. The fresh exhilaration creates another impression, which stamps itself upon the former, and the process goes on with increasing frequency. With every fresh yielding to desire, the old impression is deepened, until the series of stored-up impressions becomes so strong that it forms a part of his nature and becomes what we call habit. Similar processes have produced all varieties of habits, good and bad, which we find in different people in different countries. A kindred process produces what we call instinct in the lower animals
Be now and Be here
Be yourself and Be happiness
.jpeg)
No comments:
Post a Comment