A disciplined life is related to our daily routine and at the same time our approach towards life as a whole. We have experienced that if we have a self-disciplined routine, then we have to struggle less. For, e.g. if we wake up at the same time every day and finish our daily chores on time, then we don’t struggle to reach office on time. We can have time for self-improvement and rejuvenation as well.
All our disciplined actions lead to control of the mind. When the mind is disciplined, it will act based on the command that we give and it will not wander like a monkey. This is dependent on how we are spending our day. For, e.g. It is important to develop the concentration of mind during the meditation. However, it will not listen to you during the meditation if you have not disciplined it during your entire day.
A simple and disciplined life helps us achieve higher in spiritual and material life. If our entire day goes into chaos, then we cannot have peace of mind when we want to meditate. Our sages have lived such a disciplined life and have provided guidance to us. Now we cannot live exactly like saints and sage. However, we can take some tips and apply them in our day to day life. I strongly believe that we should give it a chance. If it does not work, then we have the full right to reject it.
Bhagwad Geeta is not Just a book on spirituality, but it is also a book on life itself. If we are really sincere in our efforts, then we can find all our answers in Bhagwad Geeta. However, please keep in mind that this is a book. You will get the benefit only when you follow the teachings. A mere reading of Sanskrit shlokas will not take us anywhere. Let us now look at Shree Krishna’s message on discipline life in Bhagwad Geeta.
नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नतः ।
न चाति स्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन ॥
“naty-asnatas ‘tu yogo ‘sti, na caikantam anasnatah
na cati-svapna-silasya, jagrato naiva carjuna”
“There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogī, O Arjuna, if one eats too much, or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.”
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु ।
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥
“yuktahara-viharasya, yukta-cestasya karmasu
yukta-svapnavabodhasya, yogo bhavati duhkha-ha”
“He who has self-restraint in his habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.”
These beautiful shlokas give us the guidance as to how one should leave and it is so practical. Too much of food creates digestion problems and is responsible for inertia and laziness in our body. At the same time, too little food results in a weak body and a weak mind. Due to this, we will not be able to practice concentration on our ultimate goal.
There is a small story of ancient time. A father was a learned man in all the scriptures and was providing the training to his son. Once the son asked him on the fast system. He argued that we should do fasting in order to remove our focus from food and take samadhi in God. Without much discussion, the father asked the son to go on a fast of 15 days. Son was very happy with this and started his fast and survived only on water for 15 days.
After 15 days, the son was very weak in body, but he believed that he would be able to focus on God. Father took a test and asked him about the scriptures. The son was not able to answer any of it with clarity. Father explained that the mind is also a body only in a subtle form. When we stop eating food our mind becomes weak and we may not be able to practice our focus on our goals.
Similarly, too much sleep or too little sleep will throw our mind out of order. We need to train our body and mind to stay disciplined what may come in life. We should create a fixed set of routine which will allow us to be peaceful and calm for the entire day. Even if some events happen, we will be able to gain our balance quickly.
Some of the routines that I follow (some I want to start) in my day to day life are as follow.
- Going to sleep every night at the same time. Reading a good book and practicing -meditation helps in getting sound sleep.
- Wake up at the same time every morning. Currently, I am taking the help of an alarm, but my aim is to use the biological system of the body in the future.
- I am still not very regular for my exercise, but the goal is to do at least 15 minutes of physical exercise.
- After taking a bath, I perform 15 minutes of spiritual austerities.
- I carry out my work-related activities same time except for a couple of days in a month.
- I try to take lunch and dinner almost at the same time every day.
I am not perfect in living a disciplined life, but I am addressing one area at a time. currently, I have gained some progress in practicing meditation. I would advise you also to take one step at a time. We will always have some disturbances, but we should be able to get the balance as quickly as possible.
Many small sets of discipline have the potential to make one a spiritual dynamo.
