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THE BIRTH OF A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Jain Education International
potential power of our Will. A large portion of the power, however, lies dormant-some portion is supine and only a very small fraction is active. Our primal drives constantly demand appropriate action, and we continue to satisfy the need of the urges. The sedative of the sensual pleasures further weakens our willpower. The only way to awaken and develop is to stop feeding it through the exertion of self-discipline. When the Will is supine, we nourish sensual desires and delude ourselves into believing that pleasure is happiness.
When the Will is partly awakened, a desire for selfdiscipline and spiritual awareness is born. We begin to discriminate between what is good and what is evil. True, we would still be affected by external temptations and may sometimes succumb to them, but in due course, the Will becomes fully awakened and our attitudes, thoughts and perceptions begin to rotate around the nucleus of reasoning and rational conduct. Once we stop succumbing to our sensual desires, our supine Will begins to awaken from its stupor. The stranglehold of delusion is first weakened, and then destroyed. We become alert and vigilant towards truth and discipline. Then the vigilant rational mind becomes strong enough to regulate the responses to the insistence of instinctive drives and demands of carnal desires.
Once we have fully awakened our supine Will, we have to reinforce its power with determination and self-discipline. Thus strengthened, our rational mind will establish its supremacy. It will then be able to regulate our responses to even the most powerful urges and drives. Environmental conditions may temporarily influence our behaviour, but the power of the Will and rational mind is supreme. Selfdiscipline acts as a defending fort against the onslaught of contamination through carnal desires. Ultimately, external environment also fails to influence the behaviour of one who is self-disciplined.
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