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THE ART OF POSITIVE THINKING
The third step in the transformation of the mind is alert awareness. Lack of alertness creates fear. All fear in the world is the result of negligence. In the words of Lord Mahavir, "Fear surrounds the negligent on all sides-above, below, on the right, and the left, before and behind." The man who is awake has no fear.
In Mandal Brahmanopnishad, it is mentioned that the body is liable to five faults-lust, anger, short-breathing, fear and sleep. The way to keep away from these faults is also suggested.
Firstly lust. Freedom from lust lies in not willing it. Not to will it is the surest way to conquer lust. The important passage in Agastsya Churni reads:
Lust, I know thy character. Out of will art thou born. I shall not will, I shall make no images. So you will never be born. I shall not sow the seed; so it will never sprout.
The second fault is anger. To root out anger one must cultivate forgiveness, toleration. If you quarrel, you are liable to grow more angry still. The more you quarrel, the greater your indignation. So stop quarrelling. Be tolerant. Do not adopt a negative approach, cultivate a constructive point-of-view. With the cultivation of tolerance, anger would disappear of itself.
The third fault is short-breathing. That is, to take short breaths - the number of breaths taken is consequently more. The remedy lies in moderate eating. You might wonder what moderate eating has to do with short breaths. But the fact is that the gluttons are often panting; they breathe heavily and hard, which means taking short breaths. The cure lies in eating less. Moderate intake of food is conducive to free regular breathing. The heavy eaters' breathing is ever short; the light eaters' long. One who takes short breaths expends greater energy; while the long-breather conserves energy and his whole being is filled with power.
The fourth failing is fear. Its cure lies in fearlessness. Inattention creates fear and fear in turn aggravates negligence. The remedy is to be without fear. The man who is awake is never afraid. It is a matter of common experience that one is more subject to fear at night. One is assailed by fear during sleep. When one is alert and attentive, fear does not arise. It arises only in sleep. If man did not sleep, there would be no need to lock doors. When one goes to sleep, one seeks security in locking the door. One is at that time more subject to fear. The enlightened person, who has seen the truth, is ever wakeful and attentive. Fear cannot touch him.
The king of Greece was once displeased with his minister. A king's pleasure and his anger are both dangerous; his high position
makes it so. The prudent, therefore, keep away from these. "Keeping Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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