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Chapter 14
THE GUNAS: DEVELOPING THEM AND GOING BEYOND THEM
77. Another Cure For Tamas: To Conquer Sleep
11. When a lot of time is consumed in sleep, the third manifestation of tamas—blunders—occurs naturally. A sleepy man’s mind is not alert. That results in inattentiveness. Too much sleep gives rise to laziness which results in forgetfulness; and this forgetfulness is detrimental to spiritual progress. It is, in fact, harmful even in worldly affairs. But it has become a normal phenomenon in our society. Nobody feels that it is a grave fault. We fix up an appointment with somebody and miss it, and then say casually that we forgot about it. We have no sense of having erred and do not feel bad about it; and one to whom this answer is given is also satisfied with this explanation. It looks as though people think that there is no remedy for forgetfulness. But such negligence is harmful both in worldly and spiritual matters. Forgetfulness is a serious disease. It corrodes the intellect and saps the vitality of life. 12. Lethargy of the mind is the cause of forgetfulness. If the mind is awake, it will not forget things. An inattentive mind is bound to contract the disease of forgetfulness. Hence Lord Buddha had said, ‘पमादो मच्चुनो पदं’ Forgetfulness is death itself. To overcome it, one must conquer laziness and sleep, do physical work and be ever alert. Whatever you do, do it after due deliberation. Nothing should be done casually and impulsively. Thinking should precede as well as follow action; thought should be present at all the stages of an action. If such a habit is ingrained, the disease of inattention will be cured. The whole of the time at our disposal should be carefully planned. One should keep an account of every moment, so that laziness does not get any opportunity to penetrate one’s life. Efforts should thus be made to conquer tamas in all its forms. |
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