Assesssment by Self Control

atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā
dhārtarāṣṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ
pravṛtte śastra-sampāte
dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ
hṛṣīkeśaḿ tadā vākyam
idam āha mahī-pate 

arjuna uvāca
senayor ubhayor madhye
rathaḿ sthāpaya me ‘cyuta
yāvad etān nirīkṣe ‘haḿ
yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān

kair mayā saha yoddhavyam
asmin raṇa-samudyame

 yotsyamānān avekṣe ‘haḿ
ya ete ‘tra samāgatāḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher
yuddhe priya-cikīrṣavaḥ

Translation

At that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, seated in the chariot bearing the flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows. O King, after looking at the sons of Dhritarashtra drawn in military array, Arjuna then spoke to Lord Krishna these words.

Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see those present here, who desire to fight, and with whom I must contend in this great trial of arms.

Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra.

Commentary

We are in our by now familiar  battlefield with the armies of Kauravas and Pandavas facing off against each other. Arjuna, the archer then requests, Krishna his charioteer to take the chariot between the two armies so that he could see the type of warriors flanked against him. It must be noted here that though each of the Pandavas were valiant and strong, the absolute necessity to win the war was Arjuna with his tremendous archery skills.

In terms of symbolism, we have seen that Pandavas represent the positive forces in our mind trying to steer us on the path to realize infinite happiness by identifying with the Supreme Consciousness. Kauravas represent the negative forces that make us align with the ego and be supported by desires of the material world which lead us to more and more unhappiness.

Just as the Pandavas absolutely need Arjuna to win the war, we absolutely need Self Control to win over the negative forces inducing us towards material objects. Self-control is the ability to control one's impulses, emotions, behaviour, and desires. Just as Arjuns has the guidance of Krishna as his charioteer, once self control has guidance from the intelllect/spiritual wisdom, the victory of the positive forces over the negative forces is guaranteed. In these verses, the self control requests the spiritual wisdom (Intelligence) to show the negative thoughts / emotions it needs to face in the subjective battle.

Self control touches nearly all aspects of healthy living: eating right, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, studying more, working harder, spending less etc. The first step in improving our finances is to become aware that we are spending way above our income and understand the items on which we are spending so that we can control. The first step in getting healthy is to become aware of all the unhealthy habits we have which are damaging our body so that we can control them. At an emotional level, the first step in battling forces that destroy my emotional happiness is to become aware of what is causing the emotional pain. It could be a blind attachment to a relationship, it could be a hurt caused to ego by someone. It could be jealousy at someone's progress. At an intellectual level, it could be the preponderant superiority feeling that makes me look down on people. It could be the clannish feeling of belonging to a group, religion, whatever that makes me dislike others.

More often than not, we are not even aware of the lurking negativity within us. How can we control what we are not even aware of? On a smaller scale, have we not seen people engage in compulsive useless behaviour like  biting nails, shaking legs etc. If they are not even aware, how can they control?

But who has to guide the self control in identifying negativity? It cannot be the body because it is just an instrument of action based on what the mind orders. It cannot be the mind since it is fickle and full of emotion. The only thing that can show self control the negativities it has to battle is the intellect. Very often in most of our cases, our intellect is clouded by the emotions and hence cannot guide us well. It requires a sharp intellect, sharpened by constant evaluation of what is right and what is not, that can guide self control to first of all identify the negativity within and subsequently to get the strength to battle the negative forces.

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3 of my books

As readers may be aware, 3 of my books on spirituality are available on Amazon.com.

I invite readers of my blog to try any of the books and give me feedback so that I can make changes in the next edition.


1. My Humble Understanding  Of Spirituality


My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality

2. Attain Infinite Bliss

Attain Infinite Bliss - A Spiritual Guide

3. The Spirit Of Spirituality

The Spirit Of Spirituality