Manah Sodhanam -Verse 9

Verse 9 of the text IS from Bhagvat Gita. This verse further extolls the virtues of inquiry. It is as follows.

NA  HI  JNANENA  SADRSAM  PAVITRAMIHA  VIDYATE

BAHAVO  JNANATAPASA  PUTA  MADBHAVAMAGATAH

Lord Krishna says, "There is nothing here as purifying as knowledge", and "Many individuals, purified by the penance of knowledge, have attained My Being."

What other justification/ motivation/ support you need to get into the habit of self inquiry? I feel that this process is like consciously developing a habit. One of the biggest challenges for me is getting up in the morning. I can stay up for long in the night. But I just can't get up early in the morning. I feel so depressed and utterly murderous when I have to get out of bed during the weekdays. But once I get out of the bedroom and brush my teeth, my mood vastly improves. And I return to sanity by the time I finish my bath, washing away the last vestiges of sleep.

Only because of this difficulty of waking up early, I was running in the evenings. By the 6.30 -6.45 in the evening, I used to hurriedly pack my things and rush out of the office. On reaching home, I will quickly wash my face, change, wear my shoes and rush off to the beach for my walk/jog. Then come home, bath, eat and directly sleep. My entire social life was planned around my evening walk. I thought this routine was easier than getting up earlier than required in the morning, finish my exercise, come home and cook, get ready and leave to work. But you know what? I found out that by finishing my exercise in the morning, not only do I have a lot of time for myself in the evening, but I am also able to get ready earlier for office. Also, I feel fresh and energized the whole day!

But, inspite of actually experiencing the benefits of waking up early, I still have to put tremendous effort to pry myself out of the bed every single day. How strong is my instinct to seek pleasure and comfort! And, a slightly more scarier thought. If I have to try so hard to overcome the pleasures and comforts of my body, then what amount of efforts do I have to put in to overcome the vagaries of my mind?

It is so easy to question the actions and words of others. "How can she say that?", "Look how selfish he is.", " How can she employ a house help when she herself is a house wife?", "look how she keeps stuffing food into her child's mouth.", "He is so fat! why is he not exercising?", "look how they are wasting their time." This and much more...it is so easy to observe and question others.

But how comfortable will we be when we start asking questions like, " Why am I feeling jealous of her?", "Why am I upset with my boss?", "What should I do to make this situation better?", "Is my anger justified?", " Is it right of me to expect so much from him/her?", "Why am I irritated/ depressed/ sad?". You know why we have to ask these questions? Because, more often than not, we always attribute our current state of mind to external factors -be it people or things or situations. Let us find out what moves INSIDE us, for us to feel what we feel. Hari Om!