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Chapter 17
PROGRAMME FOR THE SEEKER
94. Disciplined Life Makes Mind Relaxed and Free
1. Dear brothers, now we are gradually approaching the end of the Gita. In the Fifteenth Chapter, we viewed the complete philosophy of life. The Sixteenth Chapter was a sort of annexure to it. In the human mind, and in the society which is its image, a struggle between two types of tendencies, two ways of living or two types of human nature is continually going on. The Sixteenth Chapter teaches us to nurture and develop the divine nature. The Seventeenth Chapter is the second annexure. It can be said to contain karyakramyoga (yoga of daily programme). In this Chapter, the Gita has suggested a daily routine. This Chapter deals with the programme for the seeker. 2. If we want our mind to feel relaxed and happy, we should have discipline in life. Our daily living should follow a well-thought out design. It is only when life proceeds within particular pre-set bounds in a disciplined way that the mind can be free. A river flows freely, but its flow is bound between the banks. If it were not so bound, the water would scatter in different directions and go waste. Let us keep the example of the jnani in our mind. The sun is the preceptor of the jnanis. The Lord has said in the Gita that he taught karmayoga first to the Sun, and Manu—the thinking man—learnt it from the Sun. The sun is free and independent. The secret of its freedom lies in its regularity. It is our everyday experience that if we regularly take a particular route, we are able to think while walking, without paying any attention to the road. But if we walk on different roads everyday, our attention would be focused on the road and our mind would not be free to think. Thus, discipline in life is a must to have a free and happy life. |
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