The Idea Of Stoicism fused with स्थितप्रज्ञ योग :- A Character-Building Practice.

Evolution of life on earth has passed through many stages of gradual maturity and growth. A very prominent feature we find, which actually distinguishes ourselves from animals is this.

The lower the animal, the more is its enjoyment in the senses, the more it lives in the senses.

Afterall, what do we mean when we say humans are 'civilised'? It but shows that the driving force of humans; our impulse to act - is lesser inclined to our sensual side, animalistic side and more towards intellectual side.

Each living creature is a bunch of energy, concreted as a whole mass. But still so much variations, why? Its just the proportions of organs we use that further shape our evolution - And that is why humans are terrific thinkers, but okay-ish in our physical capablities with respect to animals.

Hence, it must be our in-built ethics to not break into sensual stimulations like animals, and act composedly, serenely and calmly.

In today's blog we are discussing such a philosophy, an idea which suggests this very thing. It's called stoicism.

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that the practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve eudaimonia (happiness, lit. 'good spiritedness'): one flourishes by living an ethical life.

The main aspect of stoicism I wanted to throw light on, and that which I think is a really really good skill to have as a human being, is this :-

Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude (courage) as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos).

When I picturise the idea of stoicism, I think of a calm person, who has risen above all his nerve-tickles and senses, and is a clear, focused, steady character.

Now the question is, but how to arrive to that state? Well, Swami Adishwarananda of Ramkrishna Order provides a permanent solution. He explains the idea of स्थितप्रज्ञ (One with Steady Knowledge):-

"What is self-control? —should it be gradual or forcible? Firstly, self-control means control and mastery over the mind, senses and the body. A person who has control is a sage. One who has not is a slave. One who has control has peace, happiness, tranquillity and also self-knowledge. Thoughts, delusions and illusions harass one who lacks it.

We perceive the world through the prism of the mind, so the world is in the mind. “Mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation.” We are born in the mind, we live in the mind, and we die in the mind. But the mind is not in our control.

An average person, it is said, is born crying, lives complaining and dies disappointed. The mind is restless. One is all the time looking for novelty, for change. We get bored with things very easily. We are unable to see things in the proper perspective. We cannot think properly. Thinking give you a clear perception.

Some people say we should not control our impulses, that self-expression is best. This is the Freudian, Adlerian approach. They say that any form of control is unhealthy, unnatural. It makes a person false. One should have expression. Any control creates neurosis. That means you eat whatever you like, do whatever you feel like doing, think whatever you like to think. Control creates inhibition and inhibition can lead to exhibition.

Others say that the human being has become what it is today by exercising control. In the animal stage of development, both mind and soul are lost in the body. In the human stage the mind begins to assert control over the body—that’s why it is human. In the spiritual stage, the soul is trying to free itself of the mind. Through prayer, austerity, penance and pilgrimage you are trying to extricate yourself from the bondage of the mind. Instinct used by the sub-human makes raw impulse. Reason is advanced by controlling the raw impulse and purifying it, and intuition appears after you have overcome reason by purifying it. So therefore control is necessary.

Reason tells us: face the mind, the restless mind. The mind is material. It does not have its own consciousness. It is activated by the consciousness borrowed from the Self, the only conscious entity whose presence or absence makes us either living or dead. The body is an extension of the mind. The mental body is just like the physical body.

Both Vedanta and Yoga think that the stuff of the mind is a Sanskrit word called samskara. Samskara is thought potency. This works in the following way: when you think a thought repeatedly, it first affects the intellect, then the emotion, then the biochemistry. Then it goes deep down to the glands and hormones. It therefore alters the biochemistry and remains lying deep down there. Running away cannot obliterate these samskaras. Distance cannot annihilate them, old age cannot reduce them, and reason cannot uproot them.

To bring peace and tranquillity to the mind the samskaras must be neutralised by counter-samskaras. That is the famous thesis of Patanjali—pratipaksha bhavana. Counter-samskaras must be created against each samskara. Samskaras are like marks on stone, they last forever, but they can be neutralised. This is where the practice of self-mastery comes from. You must fight bad habits with good new habits. You can combat a thought with a thought. Speech must be controlled by speech. It is an all out response. Bad habits cannot be neutralised by good thought. They cannot go away all of a sudden. If you drive a screw into the wall with thirty turns, you cannot pull it out without breaking the wall. You must unscrew it thirty turns.

So we must know that to change habits, we must proceed slowly. There is no use in imitation or taking up gimmicks. We tend to think we should be doing everything quickly because we live in an age where patience is rare."

Hence, gradually we must counter out weaknesses. Weakness, in the vocabulary of Swami Vivekananda, just meant as a psycological hypnotism we get caught into, and just need to break free from it.

Ending the blog, with Swamiji's one of my favorite poems 'Thou blessed dream'

If things go ill or well-

If joy rebounding spreads the face,

Or sea of sorrows swells-

It is a dream, a play.

A play- we each have a part

Each one to weep or laugh as may;

Each one his dress to don-

Alternate shine or rain.

Thou dream, O blessed dream!

Spread far and near thy veil of haze,

Tone down the lines so sharp,

Make smooth what roughness seems.

No magic but in thee!

Thy touch makes desert bloom to life,

Harsh thunder, sweetest song,

Fell death, the sweet release.

Thanks,

Daksh Parekh.