In the
previous post we saw how our six instincts namely desire, anger, greed,
possessiveness, conceit, jealously are not actually our enemies but are
essential for our very existence.
If that is
the case, why do ancient religions consider them as our enemies?
The reason
lies in how we relate to them. Do we act compelled by them or do we use them as
our tools?
For
example, anger is generally considered to be bad. But look at how a mother acts
when her beloved kid does something that can be harmful to it. She shouts, exhibits
fury, and even reprimands the baby. In doing all these, she appears to be very
angry with the child. But is she really? No, she often fakes those emotions
just to convey the right message to the child. She is using anger to do good to
the child.
Same
applies to all other emotions. As long as we are not impelled by them, and we
remain the real masters, they are not at all our enemies. In fact, we can use
them usefully to achieve things which are not otherwise possible.
This is the
first phase of mental evolution –ability to use the instincts for the betterment
of not only ourselves but for others as well.
But our
evolution has to go further. Let see that in the next post.
Dr. King, The question is how to master?
ReplyDeleteEven our puranas have many stories of many evolved beings "falling' because of anger or sexual desire
Actually I was talking about being the master and not mastering anything. There is a difference between being a master and being a slave. Let me explain.
ReplyDeleteWhen a dog is hungry, it will grab anything in sight and eat it. But as evolved beings we use discretion - is it time for eating?, is the food suitable for me? Am I snatching someone else's share?, and so on. Only after ascertaining all these we eat (I mean normally ;-). In the former case the dog was driven by the instinct alone, in the latter case, the instinct was modulated by descrition and judgement.
Whatever cases you have quoted as "some one failing", as rightly said, they have failed in using their discretion.
The emphasis was on modulating basic instincts by discretion and not branding them all together as something to be conquered. Most of us do that routinely, it is just a matter of degree.