Sadhvi Vishrut Vibha
Control Thyself
Once upon a time, there was a disciple who had been performing penance for a month. He requested his guru to allow him to do ‘Paarana’. The guru told him, “Control thyself.” The disciple could not understand and decided to continue the fast for another month. On the day of ‘Paarana’ his guru repeated the same words. The disciple became impatient and breaking his fingers in anger, uttered, “What more can I control? My body is nothing more than a skeleton.”
The guru realized that the disciple had not understood his intention of saying, “Control thyself.” He actually meant to advise him to control his emotions. He did not mean to tell him to continue his fast in order to reduce the weight of his body. The main intention of doing penance is to reduce our attachment and aversion. Merely remaining hungry and troubling the body does not serve the purpose.
