Purification of the Heart - Pt.2

Q101: Swami!  Now it is clear that cittas'uddhi is lacking in us due to our bad thoughts and bad deeds.  We have certain weaknesses, lapses, bad qualities and thoughts.  As you have said unless we get over them, cittas'uddhi cannot be attained.  The mind gets polluted very often.  How is one to control bad qualities?

Bhagawan: It all depends upon your determination and your understanding of the intensity and the gravity of the problem.  It needs an honest and sincere attempt on your part.

A small example: You are moving freely without any hesitation and fear in this room.  There lies a rope in one corner.  But if you come to know that it is not a rope as you have been thinking it to be, but a snake, would you move freely in that room any longer?  You know that it is dangerous to be anywhere near a poisonous snake.  You know that you will die if that snake bites you, and so you keep off from that place.  Similarly, when you are aware of the danger or harm you will be put in, you will definitely stop your misdeeds.

You keep on holding the rope until you come to know that it is not a rope but a snake.  You drop it down immediately because of the fear of death.  So long as you think that these bad thoughts and evil deeds make you happy, you continue to be in the same frame of mind.  But when you know that they are dangerous, you will not hanker after them.  Therefore, first of all, you must identify your own bad qualities and then give them up gradually one after another until you are perfect.

It is also strange to notice that some seekers undergo rigorous discipline for a set period of time during which they lead a perfect life without any trace of a bad quality.  But after that avowed period of discipline, they resume their previous bad habits with redoubled vigour.  This is a big mistake.  That which holds you for some time is artificial.  Here withdrawal from bad habits is not due to the realisation of the evil effects.

Here is an example.  You see the ceiling fan rotating there.  Now, if you switch if off, it will not stop rotating immediately.  It stops slowly.  The three blades slowly stop moving.  The fan does not stop rotating immediately.  Therefore, in full knowledge of the possible harm and the evil effects, you should give up your bad habits slowly.

(From the book "Satyopanisad" Vol. 1 by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)