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Chapter 8
SADHANA FOR A HAPPY ENDING OF LIFE: THE YOGA OF CONSTANCY
38. Ever Absorbed In That
12. How could something that is practised day and night not stick to us? Do not delude yourself by the story of Ajamila[1] To all appearances he was a sinner, but there was an undercurrent of virtue in his life. It surfaced at the moment of death. Do not, therefore, delude yourself by imagining that you could continue your sinful ways and still the Name of the Lord will be on your lips at the last moment. The mind has to be trained and disciplined by strenuous practice right since childhood. It has to be carefully ensured that good samskaras are imprinted on the mind one-by-one. Never have a careless and casual attitude. Do not ask, for example, why one should always get up early in the morning. If you give free rein to your mind, you are bound to be caught in a snare. Then good samskaras would surely elude you. Just like wealth and knowledge, samskaras have to be acquired bit-by-bit without wasting a moment. Therefore, see to it that the samskara that is imprinted on the mind at every moment is good. If you utter a foul word, a bad samskara will be immediately imprinted on your mind. Every act of ours is like the stroke of a chisel that shapes the block of stone of our life. Even if the day passes off well, evil thoughts surface in dreams. It is not that only recent thoughts surface in dreams; bad samskaras, imprinted on the mind inadvertently, may surface any time. Hence one must be ever vigilant even over little things. A drowning man clutches even at a straw. We are drowning in the ocean of samsara. Utterance of a few good words too can prove to be the life-line to save us. No good deed is ever wasted; it will save you. Therefore, even the slightest of bad samskaras should be prevented. Always strive not to see anything that could leave a bad samskara, never give an ear to abuse and revilement and keep the speech free from foulness. If you are so conscious and alert, you will invariably be rewarded at the last moment. You shall become the master of life and death. 13. To inculcate good and pure samskaras, one must always ruminate over noble thoughts. Let the hands be busy in doing pure and good deeds. Remembrance of God within and performance of swadharma without, hands engaged in service and vikarma in the mind—all this should continue day in and day out, without any lapse. Look at Gandhiji. He spins every day on his charkha (spinning wheel). He insists that everybody should spin daily. Why? Will it not do if we spin for the cloth we need whenever it suits us? But then that spinning would be a worldly activity done for a practical purpose, whereas there is spirituality in daily spinning. It reflects an urge to do something for the country. That yarn daily links us to Daridranarayan—God in the form of thepoor. Daily spinning is an affirmation of one’s fellowship with Daridranarayan. |
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References and Context
- ↑ Ajamila led a life full of sin. At the time of death, he called his son Narayan (which is also a name of Lord Vishnu). Lord Vishnu, hearing his name, rushed to Ajamila and redeemed him.