Surendra Bothra
DISCIPLINE
The word ‘discipline’ has been made so fearsome that we even avoid discussing it. This appears to have been done by those of our ancestors who could not grasp its true meaning and were inspired only by their misplaced ambitions. Those who could fathom its profundity were systematically weeded out. In hands of the ignorant and with support of the ambitious, discipline gradually transformed into negation, proscription, suppression and finally into oppression. As a natural reaction to this trend came movements of freedom from such oppression at every level in every facet of life. However, the quest for this freedom did not stop at the right point. Like a pendulum, it swung to the other extreme. Freedom gradually transformed into boldness, abandon, impertinence, and finally into wantonness. Whatever happened is for the historians to research and evaluate. But there is no reason we cannot explore true and healthy discipline again.
This quest will lead us to nature. We will have to understand the basic laws of nature, the restraints in nature and the inherent discipline of nature. We will have to learn from it. We will have to instill such natural discipline in every facet of life. Only then can peace be achieved. True spiritual progress is beyond all this. In our existing state, we lack the ability to discuss that subject in its true spiritual sense. However, even that can be accomplished through the understanding of natural discipline.
Discipline is a natural and spontaneous activity of life. If we free it from the clutches of idiosyncrasies and dogmas of religions, sects, or other organizational and institutional setups, it loses its oppressive dimension. In nature, such discipline can be observed at every step. A flower blooms at its proper time in its proper season. The gravitational laws govern the sun, the moon, the earth, and all other celestial bodies. Various activities we see around us are, in turn, occurring under the discipline of these movements of heavenly bodies. Other forms of life in the natural world are living according to their own specific disciplines. It is only the humans who, driven by their unique intellectual and creative talent, keep on transgressing that discipline.
If we discipline our abilities or capacities, all problems could be solved. And all our energies will be directed at solving the problems caused by natural forces and circumstances. Only then will we be able to devote our energies to spiritual pursuits. Spiritual development certainly thrives in a favourable atmosphere, but it is not totally dependant on favourable circumstances at the mundane level.
To seek harmony and goodwill in one’s area of activity is an intrinsic part of ahimsa. This avoidance of offending others and transgressing their territories culminates in the right practice of ahimsa. Thus, the ahimsa way of life is nothing but a natural discipline of beatitude at the mundane level and that of eternal bliss at spiritual level.
