Articles for Saadhana

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru. 

Today I thought I would respond to ‘X’ and others about laziness, how to know whether it is laziness or something else etc.  You know Bhagavat Gita as well as Uddhava Gita, in both of them Krishna spends a lot of time in explaining the sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna.  These three gunas are not physical or chemical constituents of substance’s nature.  On the other hand, he speaks about the supra-material and supra-energial part of the whole world and the living beings.

Laziness - what is the source of this laziness?  I don’t think laziness is in the body.  Anger is not in the body.  Desire is not in the body.  Competition is not in the body.  Jealousy is not in the body.  All these are emotional traits or qualities which are there.  And any emotion does not belong to the mind.  In fact, we understand the presence of the mind, by the manner in which a number of, a variety of emotions are triggered in us.  The triggering source is not certainly the body. 

Similarly, we have a lot of knowledge we use, we have evolved quite a number of words, phrases, expressions, even now we are coining new words and new phrases.  All of them are not evolutes of the body. They are evolutes of the intelligence.  Similarly, we have an ego also.  From the presence of mind, intelligence and ego, we can understand that besides the body which is an aggregate of mind, matter and energy, a supra-physical part of our personality is there.  That personality consists of the emotional mind, the rational intelligence and the assertive ego.  It is by, in and through these that all the qualities in us are becoming expressed.

I think both ‘X’ and ‘Y’ and also the others should read what Krishna says in Uddhava Gita.  I was editing that portion.  He says, what is sattva guna? Under its influence, what are the things you will like? And rajo guna, how you will be propelled under rajas, and what is tamas?  Now by understanding the description of these three in terms of qualities, you can examine your own nature and find out “Do I have more of sattva or more of rajas or more of tamas?”  Very clearly, the propulsions and impulsions are mentioned there.  It is such a beautiful narration and enumeration, I don’t think the like of which will be available anywhere in India. 

Now about laziness He says,

Nidra means sleep, ālasya means lethargy, pramāda means the unpreparedness to think and understand. 

“Will you do it?”

“I will not do it.” “I want to do it.” 

When you say, “I will not do it.”, you are not thinking about it. 

‘Why am I asked?  How important it is?  I have my difficulties.  I would like to do it in spite of my difficulties, I am wondering how and why. So can we spend some time discussing about the subject whereby I will be able to do what you do or most of it I will do, at least for some portion, some substitute  arrangement can be made.’  Is this not a way of discussion? 

Why is it that all of you are becoming old?  I don’t know.  What is this age?  What is this understanding?  We are all together here only to do collectively some things.  You know how much of work is done in the Ashram?  How much of work is done!  Why don’t you one day, I am telling about the inmates, why don’t you go around and see, take your own time and see, how much of work is being done by each person and what is the total output that is being produced here?  Why don’t you see?  Before you say, “I will not do it. I cannot do it, I cannot be regular, I can be irregular.” What is this statement?  Are we to give such statements?  When somebody is asked to do a work, understand that it is not being done and it has to be done as a part of the collective activity of the Ashram.  Because it is not being done, ‘X’ is asked to do.  That situation should not come.  Whenever a work is not done, every member of the Ashram should know it normally. But they are not knowing it. Because they have no interest. They don’t pay their attention.

See about laziness.  I would like to tell you my experience.  In all these matters ultimately, it is the experiential version from your teacher preferably or somebody like your teacher, sāstras, they are the only way.  Why is it that Krishna has spent so much of time?  Then he says, sattva, rajas and tamas these are the three.  Then he says, nirguna is also there.  Apart from being sāttvik, rājasik and tāmasik, there is a nirguna state.  That nirguna characteristics also he repeatedly emphasizes. 

About laziness I was thinking.  You know I am washing my teeth in the morning and in the evening.  So many days I feel why should I wash my teeth two times, in the evening every day, because I am doing it every day, so shall I not miss it?  The same feeling, I have about food also.  Every day we are eating in the morning, morning, morning, mid-day, mid-day, evening.  Can I not skip a meal?  This thought repeatedly comes to me.  I don’t know why. We are doing it every day, every day. What is this?  But you know this hunger and thirst are the one factor that make us live in this world.  But for hunger and thirst, I don’t think anybody will do any work in this world. There are some other factors arising from the mind, that is different.

There are people, who say “I am not happy with my work environment, I am not happy.”  They are highly paid, greatly respected, but they say “I am not happy. I want to go away.”  That is a propulsion from the mind.  So about washing the teeth, there is always a feeling “Every day I am walking, can I stop it one day?”  My feeling is that everyday doing the same thing monotonously, I used to go for an evening walk, I find it very difficult to go for a walk, walking the same path over and over again, over and over again.  Somehow there is a monotony that I feel about it.  It may be characteristic of me.  But thinking about this monotony, can I stop walking?  Can I stop washing my teeth?  Can I stop having my food?  This is how you test your laziness.  Apart from the so-called difficulty that you have for the body, don’t you have a mind and intelligence structure by which you understand, “See, I have kept away from this work.  Who is there to do it?  So, I can maximum keep away in the one day or two days by telling people”. But you should feel a prick that “I have not done.   I should do.” So, the tendency must be ‘to do, to do, to do, to do’ and not ‘not to do, not to do, not to do.’

Yesterday, ‘X’ gave me a little massage for my feet, oil massage.  Without thinking that it should not be delayed, I went and I was lying in a recliner, starting reading the newspaper.  I don’t know when he went, I knew I was talking to him, he wanted me “Whether do you want this?” Up to that point I know, I didn’t know when he had gone.  When I got up, it was one o’clock. I wanted to finish the massage and come back to my table and do some work.  I went at ten o’clock.  So, you know what is my feeling.  If I come so early I will go to sleep.  So, what is to be done, I am thinking.

After one o’clock I got up, I drank some water, went to the bathroom, then lay, when I got up it was three o’clock.  Up to three, it was alright. After that, rolling or lying, four and five and got up.  But I felt that it was too much for me.  Maybe up to three o’clock, it was alright.  Instead of three, if I had got up at four, that also was acceptable.  But anything beyond that was a rolling and rolling and rolling.

Whether something is laziness or not, you have to find out yourself.  If there is a tendency to escape, it is laziness.  If you are not doing a work out of real impossibility, impossibility, that is sattva guna.  You tell me, except sleeping and waking, do we have anything to do in this world?  My words are very significant.  Except sleeping and waking, do you have anything to do in this world?  Every activity comes within wakefulness.  And when you stop your wakefulness, go to sleep.  So, we have only wakefulness and sleep as constituents in our life.  Now have the number of hours you need for sleeping.  For the rest of the time, please tell me, what will you do?  Wakefulness is activity and activity and activity, nothing else.  That is why I don’t like to read sāstras.  You know why?                                         

Nature by virtue of which three gunas are making everybody irresistibly active.  So, nobody will be able to sit idle even for a moment.  This is an Ashram where Gita becomes the spinal cord.  How many times I have read this verse, explained it!  “I will not do, I will not do.”

Ramakrishna Mission Shankarananda Swamiji came here, and we were spending some time discussing about brahmacharis.  He was saying, whenever a brahmachari is taken, he is given the religious disciplines of doing pooja, arranging pooja materials and all that.  Apart from it, he is put to work.  A brahmachari can never say “I will not do this work.”  So, he will be put to the toilet, to clean the toilet, to clean the bathroom, to sweep, to wash the vessels, go to the bazaar, anything has to be done.  And after working and training, he is deputed to different centers.  Going to the centers, he must be able to adjust with the new masters, new bosses.  From nowhere he should come back displeasing the people.  These are the rigorous training, these are the training a brahmacharin is given.  It may be six years or twelve years before he is stabilized and then only the question of sannyasa arises for him. 

I have always thought, the people who come here are not brahmacharins, they are all elderly people, so they were running their household.  So, there should not be any rigidity, they must be themselves sensitive, very, very sensible and be active.  So, what can I tell you? 

Laziness, please examine your own mind and find out – “Do I like to be not doing though I am lying, my leg is immobile, ankle is immobile?”  But your mind will always be wondering.  “Oh, I have stopped that work, in the lying pose itself can I do something.”  When I am lying I will be able to do some work.  Why don’t you do that work?  For two days, I was forced to take rest. That is the time I dictated a number of letters.  I asked for somebody to come and sit by my side, read the letters and went on dictating.  The question is, please tell me from the core of your heart whether you like to be active or non-active.  When you are non-active, how can you get an approval or pleasantness from you?  People say “I cannot do it.”  They don’t think, “If I don’t do it is there any other arrangement?”  So that collectivity part is not there.  Only that individual selfish element is there.  “I cannot do it.”  Suppose Mā, or X or Y, “I am finding it very difficult to do but I am wondering if I don’t do, what is the other arrangement to be done?”  It becomes a discussion not an answer.  Whenever such a discussion is not there and a stubborn, stern answer “No. I cannot do”.  This is what is called tamas, tamas.

My dear children please read these.  You are here only to read, understand. 

Yat-tu kṛtsnavad-ekasmin-kārye saktam-ahaitukam. Your mind clings to a point  and you don’t think ‘X’ or ‘Y’ , this side or that side.  Other than what you say, “I will not do.”  Why are you saying “I will not do.”?  Why were you asked to do?  Now suppose you say “I will not do”, who else is there?  “Swamiji, what is the difficulty?”, suppose I find you are asking me, so “I would like to do, but I am unable to do for this reason. But I am wondering, if I don’t do it, who else will do?” No such thought! “I will not.”  , and go to sleep. 

In giving that answer, there is no reason, there is no logic, there is no propriety, but “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.”

I have not been casting votes ever since I became a sannyasi.  In my life in Calcutta, only once I have cast my vote.  Recently so much of thought process has gone into it and people are asking, “Swamiji why is it that you are not voting?  You are so much involved in the nation’s prosperity, well-being, unity, strength etc.  But this is determined by the ballot here.  Having a ballot, why is it that you don’t cast?  So, I started thinking about it.  I called some people here.  People are asking, last general election was going to be very critical, I mean general election, not state election.  So, the opinion was “Swamiji you have always been keeping a neutral stand.  If you now start voting, people will understand very clearly, that you are a ‘X’ person.  Now that will bring about difficulty even for your own function and the Ashram.  Now everybody understands that Swamiji is a neutral person and whatever is right and proper, he says that very effectively and people have respect and also fear for it.”

So, see I was prepared to reconsider my position.  Reconsider.  Because that is the way of the sattva guna and the nirguna attitude.  It doesn’t matter to me what goes to the country, where the country goes.  Suppose there is an explosion, a war and the whole country (explodes) my mind will reconcile with it.  It has become a thing of the past.  It has become an event.  But that does not mean I am not interested in the welfare and prosperity of the nation.  I have got the unaffectedness to be at home with anything.  At the same time, I have a vibrant concern to see that right things are properly done. 

So, I think laziness or non-laziness, it is something that you have to examine, you can discuss the subject with me and I will tell you.  Because she raised it that day, it was alive in my mind and I wanted to talk to you in terms of the scriptures also.

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.