A disciplined life
frees the mind
1. Dear brothers, we are slowly
approaching the end of our study. In the Fifteenth Chapter, we saw
the complete science of life. The Sixteenth Chapter was a
supplement. In the mind of man and in society which is its image, a
great war rages between two attitudes, two ways of living, two sets
of qualities.
Of these we should develop the divine
qualities - that was the teaching contained in the first supplement,
the Sixteenth Chapter.
To day, in the Seventeenth Chapter, we come
to the second supplement. Looked at in one way, we can call this the
yoga of "karya-krama," of regularity in
action. The Gita here indicates our daily routine. Today we shall
examine the programme for every day.
2. If we wish our nature to be
free and joyous, we should bring our activities into same order. Our
daily actions should proceed on an accepted basis. It is only when
our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way,
that the mind can be free. The river flows at its own sweet will,
but the flood is bound in the two banks. If it were not thus bound,
its freedom would be wasted.
Keep before your eyes the example of the
jnani, the seer.
The Sun is the teacher of the seers. The
Lord taught karma-yoga first to the Sun. Then, from the Sun,
it came to Manu, that is, to man the thinker. The Sun is free and
independent. He is regular - it is in this regularity that the
essence of his freedom lies. We have seen from experience that, if
we are in the habit of walking regularly on the same road, we are
able to think about other things while walking, without paying
attention to our steps. |