Virtue of Discipline in the life of a spiritual aspirant

Published on JULY 2011, LIFE POSITIVE MAGAZINE

 

It will not do simply to say that milk contains butter. You must let the milk set into curd and then churn it. Only then can you get butter from it. Similarly, to live a spiritual life, one must imbibe the spiritual values of their path.

 

Sadly, spiritual practices such as yoga and meditation have become synonymous with relaxation and vacations by the beach. Spirituality has become a refuge of the shallow and greedy. Similar to the consumer culture, the spiritual culture is fluid, consumption driven and relies on the doctrine of instant satisfaction; Large "kundalini awakenings", 3 day seminars for "past life karma cleaning regressions," are being organised. Spirituality is no more "sadhana", or a way of life. The art of self-discipline in spiritual practice is rare. It's a new age consumer product that sells instant happiness.

 

Despite this attempt to turn spirituality into a ready-to-consume meal, the true spiritual life is one of constant struggle because of weaknesses that are inherent within us and of forces outside of us. So what can we do; how can we grow deep in our spiritual journey? There are two dilemmas that face us. The first is, "how does one define spiritual life?" The second is, "how does one develop a spiritual life?"

 

In Buddhism, a spiritual life is the mastery of oneself and acceptance of inevitable suffering, with eventual transcendence through the noble 8 fold path. This path stresses on disciplined practice to control mind, body, behaviour, attitude and finally transform.

 

According to Guru Granth Sahib, the human mind is inherently capricious and negative. The mind is naturally judgemental, selfish, and deceptive. In order to lead a spiritual life, self discipline or a constant alertness over this deluded mind is needed.
Similarly, one of the precepts in Hinduism is spiritual self-discipline. Discipline is correct effort and without correct and sustained effort there is no awakening of the divinity within. Sustained effort ensures progress, be it financial, spiritual or physical.

 

The other day, I met Naina, a spiritual aspirant. Naina battles infertility and is a breast cancer survivor. She describes herself as, "Someone whose soul has exploded open and will never be the same shape again." Naina's strength comes from her sadhana. At 5 am, Naina does yoga and gym, eats a healthy breakfast and continues with her day. She manages to devote over an hour to reading the Gita, Dhammapada and various other texts, while fitting in some "quiet, meditative time, when I ponder on my life and how to integrate my readings."

 

Naina describes her life as spiritual and her stability comes from her daily discipline and practice. Earlier, she was wary about people and stuck in negative interactions. Now, when she feels herself slipping into negative patterns, she is aware and able to consciously change her experience.

 

"I'm not perfect, I never will be and I don't want too. I am not good or great, I get angry, I hate, I get depressed for days, but I know I am more than that moment. This is what my sadhana is- awareness and compassion towards myself and others. I have lots of love in my life because of my sadhana. I am mindful of my mind, body, emotions, attitude and behaviour. There is no magic in my sadhana, but my life has changed due to conscious, sustained discipline and effort. It's not easy, but it's worth it."

 

Like Naina, the spiritual life is for ordinary human beings: people who have careers, who are homemakers, who must wash dishes, buy shoes and socialise. In fact, spiritual values are best lived in the midst of our daily activities. If they are to have any transforming effect, the effect must be found in the banalities of human life: in our relationships with our spouse, our siblings, our friends and neighbours. By itself spirituality can do nothing; it can only get us to the place where something can be done, and to get to that place, one requires sustained discipline.

 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, commenting on spiritual discipline, says,-"Certain practices insulate you, yet retain your sensitivity at the same time. This needs training and education. We all have ten fingers and though everyone has the ability, only a few can play the guitar. Only those few who have learned how to play the guitar or the flute or the trombone can play it."

 

Similarly, Sabuji, an accomplished and renowned Naturopath and yoga instructor in Kolkata, says, "when I work with clients, I emphasis on discipline. That is the most important quality in the spiritual, sattvic life."

 

He explains that in each are of our lives, spirituality plays an important role. It influences our outlook and reactions. A non spiritual person might not engage in seva, or compassion, whereas a spiritual aspirant will consciously strive to express such qualities in his relationships and attitude. This ability is born out of regular discipline, both mental and physical.

 

"Practices such as yoga, study, meditation, pranayam, can help us directly experience consciousness and live from this understanding. Such practices create a fertile ground for spiritual conduct and thought." He says.

 

Such activities are not meant for merely increasing knowledge, but for the improvement of our minds.  If you put spiritual doctrine in a building and when you leave the building depart from the practices, you cannot gain its value. Therefore, it is better to practice than not practice at all.

 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in "Live in a Better Way:  Reflections on Truth, Love and Happiness, writes,

 

"Self-discipline, although difficult, and not always easy while combating negative emotions, should be a defensive measure.  At least we will be able to prevent the advent of negative conduct dominated by negative emotion.  Once we develop this by familiarizing ourselves with it, along with mindfulness and conscientiousness, eventually that pattern and way of life will become a part of our own life."

 

When an event happens we begin to lose our balance and can go against our spiritual principles and values. We are so unacquainted to this incredible discipline of saying, "Wait a minute, this situation is causing me to get angry and judge and I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to take a deep breath and the answer is no, I'm not responding to this."

 

Every time you are aware of yourself slipping, you call back your focus and attention. This is discipline; the awareness of what is. Eventually, we begin to create our reality and control our responses which generates our destiny. True spiritual discipline and sustained practice, causes the transmutation of our personalities into spiritual gold.

 

On the other hand, the lack of discipline, leads to spirituality being an empty exercise. Infact, the Katha Upanishads explains this clearly.
"Know the self (atman) as the lord of the chariot and the body as the chariot. Know the intellect as the charioteer and the mind as the reins. The senses are the horses; the objects of sense-- the path-- the self associated with the body, the senses and the mind - wise men declare - is the enjoyer. He who has no understanding, whose mind is always unrestrained, his senses are out of control, as wicked horses are for a charioteer. He, however, who has understanding, whose mind is always restrained, his senses are under control, as good horses are for a charioteer." (Katha Up. 1,3,3-6)

 

Loosely translated this says, the lord of the chariot (the self) is silently enduring the foolishness of the charioteer (the mind) and the madness of the horses (the senses). Yoga is here defined as the method through which the mind (the charioteer) can bridle the wicked senses, in order that the self may get off the body and be united with Brahman: "This, they consider to be Yoga, the steady control of the senses"

 

Yoga is described in two ways: first being Patanjalis yoga and second being the effort undertaken to attain liberation and self awareness. Therefore, any spiritual practice can be called yoga.
Naina, who has steadily practises her sadhana or yoga, says she wasn't always committed and dedicated; this in turn made her spiritual practice fruitless and frustrated her. "I began to lose hope in god, spirituality and myself. I kept wondering why I did not feel calmer, or more stable. I did not feel any effect; no one described me as transformed or even changed. I wasn't any happier."

 

Similarly, many of us face the struggle to be more disciplined and this pressure causes us to abandon our practice. If you find yourself struggling with sustained practice, don't lose hope; make small changes. Spiritual transformation is a long-term, on-going process with no end "goal".

 

Some ideas suggested by various aspirants on spiritual discipline:

• Set aside a specific time for your practice

• Maintain a thought/emotion journal

• Be mindful of your thoughts, actions, emotions and attitude- that is mental discipline

• Be mindful of what you eat- food is sustaining, but unhealthy food is draining, so be disciplined in what, when, how much you eat.

• Remember to be kind on yourself if you are unable to practice daily, negative thoughts and emotions won't help you in any way.

• have a physical practice if your health permits

• Think of your practice as a part of your life, much like sleep and food.

• Organise your day- maintain times and regularity but be open to unscheduled events. Rigidity and discipline are different.

 

. Spirituality is the desire to merge with your own divinity and find it in others. It is action oriented where the self dissolves and coagulates simultaneously. Spiritual practice is alchemy of the mind and discipline is the philosopher's stone, the mystic key that will make this evolution and transformation possible.