Introspect Regularly

By

Sri Swami Sivananda

This article is from the book Divine Nectar.

Practise self-examination for ten minutes before you go to bed. Sit comfortably on a chair. Close your eyes. Think of all actions—good and bad—that you did during the course of the day. Think of all mistakes that you committed consciously or unconsciously.

A man, who has no life of introspection, whose mind is of outgoing tendencies, cannot find out his own mistakes. The self-conceit acts as a veil and blurs the mental vision. If an aspirant wants to grow, he must admit his defects when they are pointed out by others. He must try his level best to eradicate them and must thank the man who has pointed out his defects. Then he can grow in spirituality.

Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in future. Be cautious. Just think of the causes which led to your failures and try to remove them in future. Strengthen yourself with new vigour and virtues. Develop slowly your will-power.

Every temptation that is resisted, every evil thought that is curbed, every desire that is subdued, every bitter word that is withheld, every noble aspiration that is encouraged, every sublime thought that is cultivated, adds to the development of will-force, good character and attainment of eternal bliss and immortality.

Subconscious life is more powerful than your ordinary life of objective consciousness. Beneath your conscious life there is a very wide region of subconscious life. The subconscious life can modify and influence your conscious life. Through the practice of Yoga you can modify, control and influence the subconscious depths. All habits are imbedded in the subconscious.

The mind is a product of experience. It is the result of past thinking and is modified by present thinking.

From experience you get Samskara, from Samskara you get Vasana, from Vasana you get Vritti. Then imagination (Kalpana) makes the Vritti into a desire (Ichha). Ego attaches itself to the desire and it becomes then an urge (Trishna). Then you are forced to do Cheshta or action to fulfil the desire. Action gives rise to experience and so the cycle is repeated.

Samskaras or impressions you have created during your Sadhana period within a closed room will be wiped out if you are not careful or vigilant during your period of activity in the world. So, constantly dwell on these ideas:- “The whole world is my body. All bodies are mine. All lives are mine. Ail pains are mine. All joys are mine!” Jealousy, anger, hatred, egoism, all will vanish.

The mind is the creator of all fancies, concepts and through these, of worries. A little control over the mind should be exercised when small ripples of disturbance pass over the surface. Sit calmly and watch the mind-wanderings carefully. Find out what are its habitual likings and thoughts.

Just as you remove at once from your shoes a pebble that troubles you, so also you must be able to remove at once any tormenting thought from your mind.

All your troubles and miseries are due to your egoism. It is egoism that has limited you. The cause of your misery does not come from without. Annihilate this egoism. You will enjoy infinite bliss and a life of expansion.

The secret of renunciation is renunciation of egoism, mine-ness and desires. Objects do not bind you. It is mine-ness (Mamata) that binds you to this Samsara or cycle of births and deaths.

Free yourself from the base thoughts of the mind, the various useless Sankalpas. It is the actions of the mind that are truly termed Karmas. True liberation results from the dethronement of the mind. Those who have freed themselves from the fluctuations of their minds come into possession of the supreme Nishtha (meditation). If the mind be purged of all its impurities, it will become very calm and all the worldly delusions attendant on its births and deaths will be soon destroyed.

Destroy the fuel of desire, and the fire of thoughts will be extinguished.

In every thought, in every action, you have to assert your mastery over your Vritti. Then Yoga is fulfilled; divine life is lived.