Me, My Guru – on habit and ego!

 

Me, My Guru – on habit and ego!

 

“Guruji, I am not able to discipline myself. I have tried everything in the book and yet….Please guide me so that I am able to break any “habit of mine”. You always ask us to work on our habits and yet here I am as weak as my habit – as ever!” asked a student who I didn’t recognise. But, he seemed close to her. It was evident from the way he was talking to her and questioning her.

Our Guru looked at all of us and started the explanation “What is the hardest thing to break?

It is “Habit”.

Look at that word. The word itself has answers in it. Even if you break H from it, “a bit” still remains. From that, if you remove “a” then, “bit” remains.  Even if you remove “B” from “bit”, “it” still remains. And finally when you get to remove “t”, there is still the “I”. And that “I” is the root cause of all problems – yours and mine. Now the question is “are we ready to remove that “I”?   

Start working on “I”. Break it – little by little. As it breaks, your old habits will drop down effortlessly and new ones and better ones will shine forth and before long you will be a new person with a set of ‘good habits’.”

Her answer seemed easy and hard. Easy to understand and hard to follow. It was such times I doubted if she was here to help us or confuse us. But, the student who came with a question simply prostrated before her and left with a smile. He seemed sure of the answer. He seemed satisfied with the answer. He seemed to get what he had come to seek.

Why her explanation evoked different responses from each of us is a question I couldn’t find an answer to till date….but that is for some other day….

***     

# habit, attitudes, character, destiny and fate, 

suggested reads:https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2014/01/me-my-guru.html       

Points to ponder and questions addressed:

• Basis of habits is our nature.
• Change in nature will change our habits and vice-versa.
• Habits eventually become our character, which is our fate's basis.
• Choose habits carefully.
• To receive an answer we need to be open to an answer given. When the person is closed to receiving a solution, he will not get 'the answer' even when given 1000 times.
• Our every question is answered. It's just that we don't think we received our answer because they don't want to hear 'that answer'.
• Our every prayer is answered. Our every wish is fulfilled. It's just that there is time lag at times way beyond our senses.....