Excess, overindulgence, talkativeness, lack of strictness, lack of mindfulness…
Austerity, when it means “tapas”, is a big thing. It
is also sometimes referred to as self-discipline. Hindu scriptures lay down
various levels of tapas: 1) bodily tapas, including five: cleansing, worship,
truthfulness, control of passions, non-violence; then 2) vocal tapas, and 3)
mental tapas. So “tapas” enlarged like this touches on other main Virtues of
the 26. So let’s try to make it simple.
Body. Do rituals that enhance something higher: venerate or hold
in esteem and dedicate time to teachers, saints and wise men; practise purity
of mind, straightforwardness, control of the passions and non-injury to others.
Speech. Avoid unnecessary talk, excited discussion, fictitious or
useless arguments, speak only what is truthful if pleasant and beneficial, and
only what is pleasant and beneficial if truthful. If not, shut up. Remember you
learned language before you were actually self-aware or conscious, and that is
why uncontrolled, unmeditated speech should be avoided. It is habit-forming.
Read enlightening and inspiring literature, not junk. Worldometers says some
5000 new books are published PER DAY in the world. Your life is short. Can you
possibly read what everyone is producing? Choose words, and books, wisely.
Mind. Watch the mind. There is a “watcher” and “that which is
watched”. The mere act of “watching” or “observing” or of “being present” and
seeing thoughts and feelings come and go tends to tame the uncontrolled
fluctuations of the mind. Start slowly with a mental exercise for 3 minutes, 5
minutes, 10 minutes. Over a period of a few months, if you persevere, you will
be able to “watch” for longer. If there is no “watching and waiting” you are
acting from habit, and you’re a walking man-machine, or woman-machine, reacting
to external stimuli without knowing it. If you’re “watching”, you sometimes
realise you have sidetracked or been led off into miscellaneous thoughts. Come
back to yourself, start again. And again and again. A mind that is watched is
the beginning of your own mind, to be controlled by you, and not by outside
circumstances and others.
This
is such stuff as austerity is made on…
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