We are all given common sense and an innate sense of what is right and wrong. But our wants and desires overtake us and we take action in order to fulfill our desires. Desires can never be fulfilled because when we fulfill one desire, the glow of satisfaction is for a short time and soon we yearn for something more or something new. A dozen desires take the place of the one which was satisfied.
In our drive to fulfill and satisfy ourselves, we take on a course of action which is extreme and end up making ourselves miserable. Pain and misery drive us into self examination and we understand that our extreme action in self satiation is the cause of all problems. We take corrective actions. We make a strong intent or resolution to give up all that which causes us pain and problems. And we fail miserably in completing our resolution.
When we fail in our self correction, we slide back into our old extreme habits which caused us pain in the first place. And when the pain builds up, we understand that our extreme habits are the cause. Then we resolve to give up all extremes and work on our new resolution for a short time and give up again on our efforts. This yo yo - give up and slide back- goes on till finally we understand that again we are the cause of our own downfall. We always go to extremes. We give up things in extreme full or we get into things in extreme full. Our systems cannot take such extremes and after a short time there is struggle, pain, stress and breakdown.
It is always better to follow the path of moderation in life. By doing so, we can fulfill our craving and yet not punish our body and mind. Eating is a craving with most of us. We overeat the wrong kinds of foods which cause obesity and multiple sicknesses. Repeated pain and physical breakdown drive us to the doctor and we are warned to follow a regulated diet and exercise or else face the consequences. Immediately we go to the other extreme of living on minimum food requirement and heavy exercise. Both the body and mind protest and our resolution and good intentions collapse. We start gorging on food again and turn into potato couches. When we are moderate in our diet and build up our exercises slowly, there are greater chances of our holding on to the regime and improvement in our health.
Buddha teaches us to avoid denial and be moderate in all that we do. Extremes and excesses always cause pain and downfall. When there is moderation, there is a balance and a flow of movement of life in right direction. This story from the life of Buddha illustrates the value of moderation:
Buddha was handsome, graceful and had such a golden radiance around him that his charisma attracted all to him. The peace and love in his eyes had a magnetic power which pulled people to him. Many princes left their royal homes and luxurious lifestyles and followed Buddha and the path of dharma. Shrona was one such prince who lived a life of luxury. He enjoyed good food, wine, women, music and dance to the fullest. One day, Buddha entered the life of Shrona and Shrona lost his heart to Buddha. He became a monk and followed Buddha.
Shrona was no ordinary monk. He practiced austerities to the extreme. He would stay under the hot sun, walk barefoot, eat the minimum food possible. Soon he became a weak skeleton. Seeing his condition, Buddha went to Shrona and asked: You enjoyed music before and played the Veena well. If the strings of the Veena are too loose or too tight, can we play good music? Shrona replied it was not possible. Buddha said: The strings of the Veena need to be adjusted to be not too tight or too lose. In the same way, in our life we must follow moderation or middle path. In your life as prince, you overindulged in luxuries and now as a monk you deny yourself even the basic minimum requirements. Both the paths are wrong. Shron understood the message and his life was transformed.
Our mind clings to extremes. This is due to our ego. We want to be different and special. It moves from one extreme to other to prove its greatness to all. We must understand that our body has needs and our mind has desires. Our body needs food, clothes and sleep. The needs of body can and must be fulfilled. The mind is full of desires, greed, lust, drive for wealth, power, sex etc. The needs of mind can never be fulfilled and always leads to wastage of energy, time and life. Let us live a life of moderation, do our regular practices of SitaRam mantra, meditation and following of teachings of the Guru and attain our goals in life.
