DEVELOPING WILL-POWER WITH SWAMI AMARTYANANDA

DEVELOPING WILL POWER AND ACHIEVE TRUE SUCCESS

LORD BUDDHA; THE SERENITY OF THE SOUL

Will power is the one common factor of success in any work. We may say that studying for an exam requires a different kind of effort than preparing for a hurdle race, but the one key factor in any achievement is will power. Without this a student will not be able to motivate himself to study longer hours nor will an athlete be prepare to spend long hours training in the sun. The degree of success varies in proportion to will-power. In fact this is true of any endeavour, even in the field of spiritual development. Without will-power self-development or improvement is impossible_ this is a simple but hundred percent true fact. In the absence of will-power, all talents, qualities and endeavours come to nothing.

We commit errors and face tragedies in life because we lack will-power. We know what is good for us and help us progress; yet we are unable to find the strength to pursue such a course of action. We know what is harmful and we should refrain from, yet we unable to avoid such actions. For example, a doctor does know the harmful effect of drinking alcohol and smoking. Yet he can’t give up his addiction to these. Many people repeatedly promise not to continue with these habits; but when the temptation comes, they immediately forgets everything and get back to square one. It seems that they promise not to drink but just t break the promise! The same situation can be seen in the lives of the present day youth who know that watching useless serials on TV, whiling away time in a bandstand, watching profane films and so on will only distract them and scatter their mind, which should be focused on studies. Yet, they cannot bring themselves to follow the advice of their elders and end up confused and lost. Why do we behave in this manner, whether knowingly or unknowingly? The answer is simple, because of lack of will-power.

Someone who has the habit of taking tea at four Pm everyday will always feel the urge for tea at this time, whether or not tea is placed before him. If in some urgent work, he forces himself to complete the work before enjoying his cup of tea. This is an example of the use of will-power. In fact developing will-power is nothing but redirecting the already existing power of the will to positive uses.

DEFINING WILL-POWER

HOW TO DEVELOP WILL-POWER

Will-power itself is a compound of our self(ego) and our mind it— is the positive and creative function of the mind, which impels us along a particular course of action and enables us to do our chosen activities in a definite way. It is the power of the mind which enables us to do what we know to be right and what we know to be wrong.

GUIDELINES WE MUST NOT FORGET CONSIDERING

There are a few key points we must keep in mind if we truly wish to develop will-power:

We should have clear understanding that anyone, without exception, is capable of increasing the will-power provided they are ready to apply themselves and work towards it stedily and methodically. Have faith in yourself—study and sincere practice will surely bring along the much wanted fruit of will-power. Swami Vivekananda has said, ‘You are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succour you want is within yourself.’ What a life-giving saving message he has given us! He has made it so simple for us—all we need to do is place faith in his words and grow steadily.

(b) For many of us the problem is that we do not will or desire to improve will-power. We feel that we are weak and helpless and so can never improve. Remember Swamiji’s message quoted above and know for certain that within each one of us is unlimited power. This doubt or delusion about our own capabilities must be firmly removed—otherwise this doubt will weaken our resolve and we will incapable of developing ourselves.

(c) An important prerequisite to developing will-power is removing the dichotomy between the head and the heart, the intellect and emotion, between thinking and feelings. We may intellectually resolve to undertake a particular task or work towards achieving a goal, but unless we have true love for the goal or deep-seated desire to attain it, our resolve will never last long enough for us to be successful. Without this any resolve to undertake will remain on our lips and will not penetrate into the innocent core of our heart. The way out is to cultivate true love for the divine. This need not be interpreted to mean that we must love some particular god, but simply that we should worship our own divinity, our own infinite strength hidden within. Assert the divine within; the devil will run out on its own. In this, we must stand tall like heroes and struggle till victory is ours. It is of no avail to weep and cry that we are weak and helpless. Success that comes without struggle has no meaning. The problem is that we do not have enough love for the ideal. If we really love the ideal then all doubts and difference will vanish.

(d) Two major enemies of will-power are (1) our regret about the past, and (11) our regret about the future. It is immensely better to live in the present than to wallow in the past or worry about the future. In any case, we cannot change our past nor is brooding going to help us change the future. On the other hand, if we focus on the present, we cannot build our character t improve our future. Many times we brood on our past mistakes with the idea that we are repenting them. Actually, the truth is that there is very little regret in such an action; mostly we are mentally enjoying the same actions over and over again under the cover of righteous regret. To escape all thoughts of the past and worries about the future, you must think that you are free, not bound. You must remember you are not this insignificant body, which is subject to disease’ decay and death. You are, instead, the infinite Atman and pure, infinite bliss is your true nature. Learn to live a wakeful life in the living present.

(e) To live in the present, we require the guidance of a sound sense of values—physical, mental and verbal. These values enable us to live in the present and prevent external events from disturbing our peace of mind. People without values are constantly tossed around by their own ever changing desires and by the pressures of their external world. It is values that provide an anchor to life.

(f) We need to constantly discriminate between what is real and what is unreal. We spend our whole lives wanting peace of mind and imagine that we can get this through money and possessions. Ultimately, everyone who follows this foolish path ends up broken and disheartened. We can attain peace only if we have a virtuous life. Money and other material possessions have never helped anyone gain peace, nor will they ever do so in the future. Peace is an attribute of God that you can attain only through virtue and by no other means.

(g) We must keep ourselves busy at all times. Idle curiosity about others’ affairs will not only get us into trouble; it will also ruin our mental peace. An unoccupied mind tend to indulge in all sorts of foolish pastimes and fantasies. Those who have a task at hand such as studying for an exam should do so with all sincerity, instead of wasting time. One can pursue a hobby to keep the mind occupied during free time. Naturally the mind dislikes such control and wants to wander free and unrestricted. However, discipline is a must if we really wish to change. Bringing up children disciplining them is not the hardest task in the world! But disciplining our own selves is!

YOGA PLAYS A VITAL ROLE

(h) We must stop all squandering of mental energy through useless talks, purposeless work, futile controversies, daydreaming and so on. You can channel energy saved by refraining from these pursuits to pursue constructive activities. Many people exhaust not only themselves, but all around them by their constant tsunami of words. What do they gain in the end? Nothing but reproaches from others and lack of peace within. Hence’ conserve your energy and focus on improving your life, rather than on idle gossip.

(i) Conserve your physical energy by living a moral life. Often it is seen that modern youths squander away their mental and physical vitality by indulging in harmful activities and habits such as smoking or drinking or even obsession with ideas and ideals expressed in serials and movies. Such people generally end up as utter failures in life and even if they achieve some amount of material success, they are found to be lacking in peace and serenity without which life is a constant burden.

(f) Failures should be accepted as a part of the game of life. Many times, when faced with failures, people tend to get broken-hearted and lose all enthusiasm for further efforts. We should instead live life as a game and accept whatever success or failure comes our way, as a part of the game. We need not get too excited by success, or too depressed by failures.

   Using the above precepts, we must root out all that is evil and cultivate all that ids good within us. We must give the will an appropriate direction. One may develop a strong will but unless inner purity exists, such a will can be misused to bring misery to oneself and others. For example, hitler certainly had a very strong will, but how many would claim that such a will brought any good to the world? In the end, all that Hitler managed to achieve was the death and destruction of many lives all over the world and he himself died in the most wretched condition.