The Science of Living & the building of a New Generation
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Chapter-15 : by Acharya Mahapragya |
Jain Vishva Bharati |
The Science of Living & the building of a New GenerationIf the will is weak and the faith feeble, no change is possible. Water will not turn into steam or change into ice until the temperature reaches a certain nodal point. Likewise, man’s will to change can come to fruition only when its strength reaches a certain nodal point. Meditation will be the means of bringing about the desired change. The two together – will power and meditation – are the most potent instruments of change. Those who have complete faith in the power of human will and effort regard no change as Impossible. Such a view makes man the arbiter of his own destiny. For total change one has to take recourse to three important techniques : causing inner illumination, developing equanimity and practising tolerance. It is through breathing alone that the will’s direction can be made to reach every cell of the body. This process which involves experimenting within the body through its own perception is a kind of exercise in self-hypnotism and auto-suggestion. In fact, each cell is a veritable powerhouse where both the centre of knowledge and the centre of light are located. By effecting a change in them through the experiment described above one succeeds In bringing about their renewal and rebirth. The worst addictions and the most violent emotional outbursts can thus be curbed and conquered through such a process of auto-suggestion. Unless the message of our will is transmitted to every cell of the body, no lasting inner change can be effected. This transmission of messages or communication has to be not only painless but even gentle and loving, so that what is communicated is not a ‘command’ but an earnest direction of the will. Tolerance is, in fact, a very broad concept and includes the capacity to bear with both physical adversity and a disfavourable mental climate. Meditation is the key to the attainment of the above kind of equilibrium. Practice of tolerance is thus inseparably related to breath. |
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