some dharmic questions

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Thu, 17 Apr 2003, Srivatsan G wrote:

>
> We are all interested in the Advaita philosophy

...and practice.  That's where the trouble starts!

> and thats the reason we
> are members of this group. So when we see all the issues from the point
> of view of Advaita and from the perspective of the cosmic reality, then
> these small things pale in comparison.
>

The key words are "all the issues"  If your boss said you have to deal
with a particular customer by Tuesday and you replied "From the
perspective of the cosmic reality, profits are a small thing." how long do
you think it would be before you were shown to the door?  If your wife
said you have to take the children to the dentist and you replied "From
the perspective of the cosmic reality, teeth are a small thing" how long
do you think it would be before you got divorced?

If one is sick of the world and its endless round of suffering, then by
all means one should renounce it.  The sannyasi is free of all attachments
and thus it is legitimate for him to give up those dharmic obligations
which are based on the idea of attachment.  But by the same token, the
person who is entangled in worldly actions (as am I.  I take it from your
name that you are not a sannyasi either.) must follow the dictates of
Dharma in all things.  No ifs or buts.  The only difference between an
Advaitin and anyone else is _how_ he follows Dharma.  He does not do it
for loss or gain but purely out of duty as a sacrifice to the Lord.

> I myself was very much involved in the sayings of the shastras and used
> to follow them , but actually speaking all this does not matter. What
> matters is our knowledge of the supreme self and our understanding that
> the self  is in all of us.
>

In the beginning of the Gita strangely enough it is Arjuna who makes the
Vedantic argument.  What use are wealth, kingdoms etc. if it means
fighting against your own brothers, Gurus, etc?  Better to forget duty and
retire to the forest then get involved in such heinous acts.  Krishna
Bhagavan argues against it.  He tells Arjuna that you might be mouthing
all the right rhetoric but your motives are not pure.  Your renunciation
is based on cowardice and ignorance of the knowledge of the supreme
self not vairagya.  Once Arjuna does understand, he is roused from his
torpor and takes up his duty to fight.

> This thought lies in the teachings of all our masters like Adi
> Shankara,Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Swami
> Chinmayananda etc.
>

I don't know about the other three, but what you are suggesting is most
emphatically not the view of Shankaracharya or any of his successors up to
the present day.

> I humbly suggest we all contemplate on this supreme reality and love all
> beings equally, which alone can lead us to realisation and everlasting
> bliss.

I agree but what does that have to do with practicing dharma or not?  It
is an orthogonal issue.

> "THE WORLD EVEN IF YOU HOLD ON TO IT WILL LET YOU DOWN
> THE LORD EVEN IF YOU DONT NEED HIM, WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU .
>
> DONT EVER LOSE FAITH IN  HIM"
>

One demonstrates such faith by following His instructions.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/

>From  Sat Apr 19 22:27:45 2003
Message-Id: <SAT.19.APR.2003.222745.0700.>
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2003 22:27:45 -0700
Reply-To: sanjay1297 at yahoo.com
To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
From: Sanjay Verma <sanjay1297 at YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Sadhanacatushtaya
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Pranam to all,



The following is from the introduction of “Self-Knowledge of Sri Shankaracharya” by Swami Nikhilananda (pages 34 – 39). In his preface (page xvii), Swami Nikhilananda writes:



“The introduction that I have written is based on the Vedanta Sara (The Essence of Vedanta), by Sadananda, who probably lived during the middle of the fifteenth century. Important materials have also been taken from the Drg-drsya Viveka (The Discrimination between the Seer and the Seen) and Shankara’s immortal Vivekacudamani (The Crest-jewel of Discrimination).”



I apologize in advance for the length of this quote and for any typographical mistakes. I am sharing this passage in its entirety because one can never be reminded often enough of the paramount importance of these virtues. If a spiritual aspirant focuses on cultivating these qualities, then perhaps answers to dharmic questions will be answered on their own




Om Shanti,

Sanjay



The Four Qualifications of the Pupil



“Vedantic teachers maintain that genuine seekers after Knowledge must practice proper disciplines. True knowledge is always accompanied by a direct personal experience. To know Atman is to realize that the Self of man is Pure Consciousness. To know Brahman is to become Brahman. Therefore intellectual understanding of Vedanta must be followed by actual transformation of life; otherwise it is of no practical benefit to the aspirant. Further, much of our reasoning is the rationalization of our desires. Most people understand a thing the way they want to understand it; they prove only what they want to prove. Therefore the attainment of Truth demands complete non-attachment to everything, including our own thoughts and ego.



“Seeker of Self-Knowledge are exhorted to practice four disciplines, known in Vedanta philosophy as sadanacatustaya, or four instruments of spiritual knowledge. They are as follows:



“(1) Viveka or discrimination between the Real and the unreal: This is an intuitive and unshakable conviction of the mind that Brahman alone is the real Substance and all other things are unreal and illusory. Discrimination is the first and foremost discipline; without it the second one, namely renunciation, is not possible.



“(2) Vairagya or renunciation: This is the utter disregard of all pleasures, ranging from the enjoyment of the sensuous objects of the world to the experience of the happiness one expects in heaven after death. From the teachings of the scriptures and personal observation the intelligent aspirant realizes that no pleasure, whether here or hereafter, can have an infinite duration since all pleasures are the results of finite action. Even good actions, such as charity, study, or worship, are finite by nature. Their results, too, are finite. Self-Knowledge, as we shall see later on, is not the direct result of any action. It always exists. The Vedantic discipline merely removes ignorance, the barrier to this knowledge, and the glory of the Self shines forth. This discipline may be compared to a wind that blows away a dark cloud hiding the radiance of the sun, immediately revealing the solar orb. As the sun is not the product of the wind, so also the Self is not the product of the discipline. But worldly happiness is the direct result of our action.



“(3) Shatasampati, or the six treasures: These form the ethical foundation of spiritual life. Their practice prepares the inner faculties for the cultivation of higher knowledge. They are as follows: (a) Shama or calmness: the dwelling of the mind after it has detached itself from all sense objects through firm knowledge of their inherent defects. The concrete effect of this discipline upon the aspirant is that he devotes himself entirely to hearing about Brahman from a teacher or from the scriptures, reasoning about the instruction and then meditating on its meaning. A student of Vedanta, like all true philosophers, must cultivate inner calmness. He treads a very difficult path, often compared to the sharp edge of a razor. He must have convictions but should never be swayed by passions. A Vedantist is often compared to a fire of blazing charcoal, free from smoke and noise, after the wood is consumed. (b)Dama, or self-control: restraining the organs of both perception and action from their respective objects, and keeping them under control. The organs of perception are those of tasting, hearing, smelling, seeing, and touching. The organs of action are those of speaking, grasping, moving about, procreating, and evacuating. Endowed with this virtue, the aspirant engages only in hearing about Brahman, reasoning about it, and meditating upon it. (c) Uparati, or self-settledness: a function of the mind which prevents the sense-organs, restrained by Shama and Dama, from drifting back to their respective objects. This virtue, according to some Vedantists, means the relinquishment of worldly duties and the acceptance of sannyasa, or monastic life. (d) Titiksha or forbearance: the endurance of all afflictions arising from the contact of the senses with their objects. A man practicing this discipline does not care to relieve his physical suffering nor does he show any anxiety or grief on its score. By means of this discipline the aspirant remains unagitated by heat and cold, pleasure and pain, love and hate, and the other pairs of opposites. (e) Samadhana, or complete concentration: concentration of the mind (after it has been disciplined by the practice of the above-mentioned virtues) on Brahman as taught by the scriptures and by a competent teacher. (f) shraddha or faith: a function of the mind which enables the aspirant to accept as true the words of Vedanta as taught be a competent teacher. This is not a mechanical or unquestioning belief. It is rather an affirmative attitude of mind as opposed to the skeptical and negative. Endowed with this virtue the aspirant intuitively believes in the existence of Ultimate Reality and in the eternity of the Soul. Further, he knows that he is capable of making any sacrifice for the realization of Truth. It is said in the Katha Upanishad that Naciketa, armed with shraddha, went to the abode of the king of death to seek knowledge of the hereafter. Without this affirmative attitude of the mind, no success is possible in spiritual life.



“(4) Mumukshatvam, or longing for Liberation: This is the intense longing of the student to free himself, through the Knowledge of the true Self, from all bondages pertaining to the body, the mind, the ego – bondages created by the ignorance. It must be understood that longing is totally different from restlessness, which is an inferior state of mind. A restless mind shows lack of self-control and also a lack of firm belief in the existence of Truth. Restlessness creates confusion; the longing for Freedom is the result of all the virtues mentioned above. It endows the mind with an intense one-pointedness and enables it to pierce through the thick crust of ignorance. Renunciation and the longing for Freedom are the cardinal virtues through which the others bear their fruit. Without these the mere ethical disciplines give only a veneer of spirituality.



“The great Shankara lays emphasis on the cultivation of bhakti or devotion, as supremely necessary to the attainment of Liberation. Bhakti is single—minded zeal and unswerving passion for the realization of Truth. Without this emotional urge, the spirant often becomes lost in the wilderness of dry intellectualism or finds comfort in the ivory tower of a speculative philosophy. He fails to reach the Goal.”


The Meaning of Self-Control


“Self-control is the very core of the Vedantic discipline; without it no progress is possible in spiritual life nor any success in meditation. By means of self-control one empties the mind, as it were, of its worldly contents, its transient desires and passions, and then, through contemplation, fills up the void with the spirit of Truth. The attempt to meditate without practicing self-control is as futile as to irrigate a field without at first closing the big rat-holes through which the water leaks away.



“Self-control should be distinguished from the practice of mortification and meaningless austerities. It is very different from self-torture, which Sri Krishna condemns in the Bhagavad Gita [BG 17:5-6]. Self-control really means the development of will-power and also the strengthening of the buddhi, or the determinative faculty, which controls all the sense organs. This is illustrated in the Katha Upanishad by the parable of the chariot. [KU I.iii.3-9] The body is compared to a chariot inside which is seated the Self, the master. The buddhi is the charioteer, and the mind, the reins. The senses are the horses, and their objects are the roads along which the vehicle moves. The chariot serves the purpose of taking to the destination the master, who is the Supreme Self temporarily identified, through ignorance, with the body, the senses, and the mind. If the buddhi (the driver) is weak and the mind (the reins) not held firmly, then the senses (the horses) become uncontrollable, like vicious horses of a bad charioteer. But if the buddhi functions properly and the mind is firmly held, then the senses remain under control, like the trained horses of a good charioteer. If a man is devoid of understanding, unmindful, and impure, he never reaches the Goal, but enters into the round of births in the world or ignorance. But he who is endowed with understanding, purity, and a well controlled mind surely reaches the goal, from which one does not come back to the world for rebirth. Employing as his charioteer a well developed buddhi which holds firmly the reins of the mind, the embodied Self reaches the end of the journey, which is the supreme state of Godhead.



“What is enjoined is enjoined in this graphic description is not the weakening of the mind and the senses through self-mortification or abstinence from the experience of sense-objects, but the strengthening of the will-power and the determinative faculty. In this manner the mind and the senses can be kept under control and prevented from leading the spirant astray through the enjoyment of objects inimical to his spiritual progress. This strengthening of the will-power and the buddhi is the very core of self-control.”




_______________________________________

The journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step.--Chinese Proverb

_______________________________________


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<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial>Pranam to all,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial>The following is from the introduction of “Self-Knowledge of Sri Shankaracharya” by Swami Nikhilananda (pages 34 – 39). In his preface (page xvii), Swami Nikhilananda writes:<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial>“The introduction that I have written is based on the Vedanta Sara (The Essence of Vedanta), by Sadananda, who probably lived during the middle of the fifteenth century. Important materials have also been taken from the Drg-drsya Viveka (The Discrimination between the Seer and the Seen) and Shankara’s immortal Vivekacudamani (The Crest-jewel of Discrimination).”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial>I apologize in advance for the length of this quote and for any typographical mistakes. I am sharing this passage in its entirety because one can never be reminded often enough of the paramount importance of these virtues. If a spiritual aspirant focuses on cultivating these qualities, then <I>perhaps</I> answers to dharmic questions will be answered on their own
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial>Om Shanti,<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=arial>Sanjay<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><U><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></U></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><U><FONT face=arial><STRONG>The Four Qualifications of the Pupil</STRONG></FONT></U></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“Vedantic teachers maintain that genuine seekers after Knowledge must practice proper disciplines. True knowledge is always accompanied by a direct personal experience. To know Atman is to realize that the Self of man is Pure Consciousness. To know Brahman is to become Brahman. Therefore intellectual understanding of Vedanta must be followed by actual transformation of life; otherwise it is of no practical benefit to the aspirant. Further, much of our reasoning is the rationalization of our desires. Most people understand a thing the way they want to understand it; they prove only what they want to prove. Therefore the attainment of Truth demands complete non-attachment to everything, including our own thoughts and ego.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“Seeker of Self-Knowledge are exhorted to practice four disciplines, known in Vedanta philosophy as sadanacatustaya, or four instruments of spiritual knowledge. They are as follows:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“(1) Viveka or discrimination between the Real and the unreal: This is an intuitive and unshakable conviction of the mind that Brahman alone is the real Substance and all other things are unreal and illusory. Discrimination is the first and foremost discipline; without it the second one, namely renunciation, is not possible.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“(2) Vairagya or renunciation: This is the utter disregard of all pleasures, ranging from the enjoyment of the sensuous objects of the world to the experience of the happiness one expects in heaven after death. From the teachings of the scriptures and personal observation the intelligent aspirant realizes that no pleasure, whether here or hereafter, can have an infinite duration since all pleasures are the results of finite action. Even good actions, such as charity, study, or worship, are finite by nature. Their results, too, are finite. Self-Knowledge, as we shall see later on, is not the direct result of any action. It always exists. The Vedantic discipline merely removes ignorance, the barrier to this knowledge, and the glory of the Self shines forth. This discipline may be compared to a wind that blows away a dark cloud hiding the radiance of the sun, immediately revealing the solar orb. As the sun is not the product of the wind, so also the Self is not the product of the discipline. But worldly happiness is the direct result of our action.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“(3) Shatasampati, or the six treasures: These form the ethical foundation of spiritual life. Their practice prepares the inner faculties for the cultivation of higher knowledge. They are as follows: (a) Shama or calmness: the dwelling of the mind after it has detached itself from all sense objects through firm knowledge of their inherent defects. The concrete effect of this discipline upon the aspirant is that he devotes himself entirely to hearing about Brahman from a teacher or from the scriptures, reasoning about the instruction and then meditating on its meaning. A student of Vedanta, like all true philosophers, must cultivate inner calmness. He treads a very difficult path, often compared to the sharp edge of a razor. He must have convictions but should never be swayed by passions. A Vedantist is often compared to a fire of blazing charcoal, free from smoke and noise, after the wood is consumed. (b)Dama, or self-control: restraining the organs of both perception and action from their respective objects, and keeping them under control. The organs of perception are those of tasting, hearing, smelling, seeing, and touching. The organs of action are those of speaking, grasping, moving about, procreating, and evacuating. Endowed with this virtue, the aspirant engages only in hearing about Brahman, reasoning about it, and meditating upon it. (c) Uparati, or self-settledness: a function of the mind which prevents the sense-organs, restrained by Shama and Dama, from drifting back to their respective objects. This virtue, according to some Vedantists, means the relinquishment of worldly duties and the acceptance of sannyasa, or monastic life. (d) Titiksha or forbearance: the endurance of all afflictions arising from the contact of the senses with their objects. A man practicing this discipline does not care to relieve his physical suffering nor does he show any anxiety or grief on its score. By means of this discipline the aspirant remains unagitated by heat and cold, pleasure and pain, love and hate, and the other pairs of opposites. (e) Samadhana, or complete concentration: concentration of the mind (after it has been disciplined by the practice of the above-mentioned virtues) on Brahman as taught by the scriptures and by a competent teacher. (f) shraddha or faith: a function of the mind which enables the aspirant to accept as true the words of Vedanta as taught be a competent teacher. This is not a mechanical or unquestioning belief. It is rather an affirmative attitude of mind as opposed to the skeptical and negative. Endowed with this virtue the aspirant intuitively believes in the existence of Ultimate Reality and in the eternity of the Soul. Further, he knows that he is capable of making any sacrifice for the realization of Truth. It is said in the Katha Upanishad that Naciketa, armed with shraddha, went to the abode of the king of death to seek knowledge of the hereafter. Without this affirmative attitude of the mind, no success is possible in spiritual life.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“(4) Mumukshatvam, or longing for Liberation: This is the intense longing of the student to free himself, through the Knowledge of the true Self, from all bondages pertaining to the body, the mind, the ego – bondages created by the ignorance. It must be understood that longing is totally different from restlessness, which is an inferior state of mind. A restless mind shows lack of self-control and also a lack of firm belief in the existence of Truth. Restlessness creates confusion; the longing for Freedom is the result of all the virtues mentioned above. It endows the mind with an intense one-pointedness and enables it to pierce through the thick crust of ignorance. Renunciation and the longing for Freedom are the cardinal virtues through which the others bear their fruit. Without these the mere ethical disciplines give only a veneer of spirituality. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“The great Shankara lays emphasis on the cultivation of bhakti or devotion, as supremely necessary to the attainment of Liberation. Bhakti is single—minded zeal and unswerving passion for the realization of Truth. Without this emotional urge, the spirant often becomes lost in the wilderness of dry intellectualism or finds comfort in the ivory tower of a speculative philosophy. He fails to reach the Goal.”</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><U><FONT face=arial size=2>The Meaning of Self-Control</FONT></U></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“Self-control is the very core of the Vedantic discipline; without it no progress is possible in spiritual life nor any success in meditation. By means of self-control one empties the mind, as it were, of its worldly contents, its transient desires and passions, and then, through contemplation, fills up the void with the spirit of Truth. The attempt to meditate without practicing self-control is as futile as to irrigate a field without at first closing the big rat-holes through which the water leaks away.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“Self-control should be distinguished from the practice of mortification and meaningless austerities. It is very different from self-torture, which Sri Krishna condemns in the Bhagavad Gita [BG 17:5-6]. Self-control really means the development of will-power and also the strengthening of the buddhi, or the determinative faculty, which controls all the sense organs. This is illustrated in the Katha Upanishad by the parable of the chariot. [KU I.iii.3-9] The body is compared to a chariot inside which is seated the Self, the master. The buddhi is the charioteer, and the mind, the reins. The senses are the horses, and their objects are the roads along which the vehicle moves. The chariot serves the purpose of taking to the destination the master, who is the Supreme Self temporarily identified, through ignorance, with the body, the senses, and the mind. If the buddhi (the driver) is weak and the mind (the reins) not held firmly, then the senses (the horses) become uncontrollable, like vicious horses of a bad charioteer. But if the buddhi functions properly and the mind is firmly held, then the senses remain under control, like the trained horses of a good charioteer. If a man is devoid of understanding, unmindful, and impure, he never reaches the Goal, but enters into the round of births in the world or ignorance. But he who is endowed with understanding, purity, and a well controlled mind surely reaches the goal, from which one does not come back to the world for rebirth. Employing as his charioteer a well developed buddhi which holds firmly the reins of the mind, the embodied Self reaches the end of the journey, which is the supreme state of Godhead.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=arial>“What is enjoined is enjoined in this graphic description is not the weakening of the mind and the senses through self-mortification or abstinence from the experience of sense-objects, but the strengthening of the will-power and the determinative faculty. In this manner the mind and the senses can be kept under control and prevented from leading the spirant astray through the enjoyment of objects inimical to his spiritual progress. This strengthening of the will-power and the buddhi is the very core of self-control.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=arial></FONT> </P><BR><BR>_______________________________________<br><br>The journey of a thousand miles begins<br>with a single step.--Chinese Proverb<br><br>_______________________________________<p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
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