Contentment is the basis or springboard for fuller
living. We have to review every now and then our available materials, our
tools, and our intentions. One thing is clear if there is to be any decided
success on the path of yoga there must be no more complaints, no whining, no
grousing not even any wishing. We need all our powers for the work m hand,
whereas every wish is a cultivation of weakness, an announcement to ourselves
of our inability to live realistically Decisions governing actions there will
be. By making decisions the will grows; by allowing love to play its part in
them our expansion of living and consciousness have their growth, and by the
use of thought the power of our thought grows.
As
these grow they play a larger and larger part in the moulding of our
circumstances and the making of our environment. What is the enhancement of
life and conscious. ness but an increase in our capacity for enjoyment?
Contentment paves the way for the three kinds of positive living which
constitute the three rules for daily living next to be described the last three
of the 'ten commandments' of the yoga. In the meantime, the acceptance of
things and people as they are, with glad acceptance not wishing them to be
different, will enable the yogi to live among them without antagonism, and to
derive the maximum pleasure from each moment 's opportunity. 'We used to live
in a big house; now we have to put up with a little one'; 'We used to be well
to do and to count socially, but now we are poor and despised'; 'These fruits
are not as good as those we had in Jamaica five years ago. This film show is no
good, does not compare with. Such are the attitudes to avoid, by which we may
cause the good and the best to be our undoing, as far as pleasure is concerned
There
is a question whether contentment can be put on like a garment. It can. First
it may come from the understanding of life, a proper philosophy which tells us
that all things are possible for us in rotation but not all at once, and that
each thing has great value for the inner man. Secondly, when it has been known
and felt - for it is a discovery still to be made by most people - the mood of
the mind can be commanded. Now and then, when you find the discontent, you can
command yourself to enjoy, with full attention to what you are doing. Even the
enemy is then seen, and felt, as a friend, and we approach the yogic
realization that we can be at peace with the world even when the world is not
at peace with us.
8. From
strict government of the body, amounting even to austerity (tapes), comes
excellence of the bodily powers and senses. There is to be no mere indulgence;
if certain foods are believed to be best for your body you take them; if they
are not good you avoid them. Proper food, exercise, rest, recreation and all in their proper measure.
It
is doubtful whether the word 'austerity' is a satisfactory translation of
tapas. Body conditioning describes the aim. The word tapas comes from a verbal
root which means 'to heat', so perhaps our word 'ardour' applied to bodily
living would be good. Determination to
live up to one's knowledge of what is best is implied. Definitely it is the use
of will-power in this practical field. We shall find, as we proceed in the
study of yoga, that several physical practices are recommended for the welfare
of the body and for improvements in its functioning. They include chiefly
exercises for purification, breathing, and posture. Those are not, how ever,
included in the term strictness in daily life.
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