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MENTAL BALANCE
The first principle of sadhanā is the pursuit of knowledge and moral conduct. Whatever attempts men make are aimed at freedom from misery. Imagination, expectations and actions also have the same aim. Spiritual exertion also aims at the same thing. Self-exertion is meaningless if it does not aim at freedom from miseries, for nobody will pursue it.
It has often been suggested that we must do something to get rid of misery instead of sitting in meditation with closed eyes. Why should we sit idle ? Idleness will not procure material object without which we cannot get rid of misery. For those who say so, meditation is idleness. How can it free us from misery ? It appears to be a contradiction in terms to say that we can get freedom from miseries through idleness.
It is true that producive labour alone can give freedom from wants. Only food quenches hunger. Hunger and cold are unpleasant and food and clothing alone can give freedom from them. If spiritual practitioners disown this truth, they will be called visionaries. Is not self-exertion an unprofitable endeavour ? Is not spiritual life a figment of imagination ?
The modern age insists that we should lead a realistic life. It does not encourage playing hide and seek with truth. It calls upon us to enjoy life. If we do not struggle to get rid of wants, we will be living in a fool's paradise. We must understand and appreciate this truth. It, therefore, seems natural to ask as to what efforts we are making to get rid of hardships and wants. Religious-minded people and those engaged in sādhanā exhort us to practise religion in order that we may be free from miseries. What does self-exertion provide us with ? It is incapable of fulfilling the needs of life. How can it, then,
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