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Self Mastery: The Path towards well-being

We think that enjoyment comes from the external world and we do everything to entertain ourselves with the alluring world. However, we often find that our efforts are futile as the enjoyment comes only to leave us with a feeling of emptiness. The Bhagavadgītā tells that true enjoyment lies inside us and promotes mastery over ourselves (Misra, 2009). We must remember that our existence consists of a body that receivesenvironmental stimuli and responds, the mind is the home of emotions and feelings, intellect discriminates and brings rationality and spirit or Atman is the real self which breathes life into the lifeless body, mind, and intellect. Only as long as the intellect is in command of one’s personality is the knowledge available to you. This is illustrated when the mind starts playing up with tension and anxiety. To the person who is peaceless, there is no peace (aśāantasya kutah sukham, BG, 2,66). The man of self-control attains inner calmness.

Everyone wants to be happy but the trouble is that all kinds of happiness last for a limited span of time. We, therefore, strive for enduring happiness, happiness that is sustainable. However, the usual means adopted for this goal fall short of the expectation, and people suffer and constantly try to achieve more and more. Unfortunately, the persistent focus on materialistic goals further intensifies the experience of unhappiness because the goal shifts, and the sense of absence of happiness continues. The Indian perspective states, therefore, that self needs to be regulated by self through self-initiated practices. As Lord Krishna advises to Arjuna, “let a man lift himself by his own Self alone, and let him not lower himself; for, this Self alone is one’s friend and this Self alone the enemy. The Self is the friend of the self for him who has conquered himself by the Self, but to the unconjured self, the Self stands in the position of an enemy like the (external) foe” (Bhagavadgītā 6-6).

Indeed mindfulness interventions and different kinds of Yoga (e.g., Vipāsana, Prekshā Dhyāna, Sudarśana-Kriyā), and Seva or service to fellow beings offer immense possibilities of self-renewal and experiencing peace and well-being. The key to sustainable happiness ultimately lies in self-discovery. The Indian perspective visualizes that if a person has self-control, s/he may be roaming among material objects with subjugated senses, and devoid of attraction and repulsion, attains an unshakable inner calmness. The pathway of happiness demands that there should be peace of mind, which comes with wise discrimination. With an adequate degree of self-regulation, one is able to deal with desires, attain peace and enjoy sustainable happiness. Peace cannot be attained by one who lusts after desires (Kāmakāmī). A person realizes peace who, relinquishing desires, lives without craving and is unidentified with mortal ego and its sense of ‘I-ness’ (Bhagavadgītā, 2, 70).

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