WAR OF THE INNER WORLDS

By Yogacharini Meenakhi Devi Bhavanani

YOGA LIFE Vol.39 No.08, Angust 2008 Pondicherry, India

Plato remarked 2500 years ago: "Be kind to all you meet for all are engaged in a life and death struggle".

His words ring true even today. It is hard to believe, in one way, that below the smiles and the cheery greetings, beneath the witty small talk and elegant gestures of courtesy, underneath the fine silk sarees and evening gowns, and suits and ties, each heart is engaged in a life and death struggle. Yet, it is true! But, who fights whom? Who is the hero and who is the villain, for the two polar opposites must emerge from every epic tale. What is the cause of the conflict? How may it be resolved?
It is an ancient tale, told in every culture in a myriad ways. In India, the classic structure for the eternal combat is contained within the Mahabharatha, when the dark, selfish, evil forces called Kauravas fight against the virtuous, light and good personalities known as the Pandavas. Interestingly enough, there are only five Pandavas, but there are one hundred Kauravas! The Pandavas eventually win the struggle but not without hardship and loss, pain and suffering. Ironically enough, their victory is accomplished only through Krishna who employs deceit which borders on treachery!
Every human must fight the evil tendencies within his own self, as personified by the Kauravas. This inner struggle is a solo effort, an individual’s own personal lonely battle. The victory is obtained only with intense self-effort. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, "By the Self is the self alone raised". An American slang expression conveys the same truth: one must lift oneself up by one's own bootstraps. The best help is self help.
Many incidents described in the Mahabharatha and the Puranas reinforce the idea of self reliance in this war of the inner worlds. Hanuman, like Bhima (who was one of the Pandavas) was the son of Vayu, the god of wind. So, they were half-brothers. Hanuman, the supreme athlete and skillful warrior, offered to Bhima that he would destroy the Kauravas. But Bhima declined asking instead for his elder brother's blessing, so that the Pandavas would have the strength to destroy, their adversaries themselves.
Outside forces may help the individual to succeed by offering blessings and good words, such as that received from the Guru and elders and gods. But these exhalted personages may give blessings only and the aspirant must do his own work. No one can fight that inner; battle for another. Each must fight it himself.
Any good general will have his/her own strategy. One has so many "warriors" at one's command to "fight the good fight". Likewise so many opponents rise to resist those positive forces. Positive thoughts draw the energy of cosmic goodness into the battlefield, giving power to the side of righteousness. Negative thoughts draw cosmic forces of darkness, evil, within tilting the balance to the opposite side.
One's own thought-forms are the soldiers that must fight the battle. The inner army must be kept in fighting shape, by nourishing it with noble, exhalted thoughts, words and deeds. These thought warriors must be "exercised" in daily life if they are to be strong - tiny acts of kindness, cheerfulness, skillfulness, patience, endurance, skill in action, attention, discipline - all the ancient qualities of character must be honed to "fighting fit". Like attracts like and the Cosmic forces of goodness will rush like reinforcements to the battle to "turn the tide" at the crucial moment. The fortress walls must be made strong to resist the barbarian hordes of negative impulses, which radiate from every side in modern society.
The commander-in-chief of the negative forces is the ego, the Ahamkara.
When one seeks only one's own pleasure and self-glorification it is termed as Bhoga Vritti. This type of motivation attracts negative forces from others, who similarly have no higher goal than their own pleasure. It is a dead end path.
Tyaga Vritti, or the thought-form of renunciation of one's own pleasure, attracts the army of positive impulses. RENUNCIATION IN ITS TRUEST SENSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR HAPPINESS. Mahatma Gandhi was most fond of a verse from the Isa Upanishad, perhaps the oldest Upanishad. The passage he often quoted was "Om isha-vaasyam-idam sarvam yatkincha jagatyaam jagat; Tena tyaktena bhunjithaah maa gridhah kasya swid-dhanam" - "God permeates all, all living beings and inert matter. Therefore, renounce and enjoy. Do not covet others' wealth".
The message is loud and clear. When one is attached to someone or something, one can not enjoy it, for fear of losing it. Renunciation - Tyagi -belongs to the "good army of qualities" and Bhoga (enjoyment - pleasure - attachment - Raga) belongs to the negative hordes.
The scriptures are filled with stories of gods and demons. Various terms are used to describe these two levels of beings. Gods are Suras and Daityas - loves of light, goodness, order, and harmony. Asuras are demons - lovers of darkness, egoistic sensuality, disorder, chaos, disharmony, quarrels, fighting. The two forces are in constant battle, and this is the battle, which reigns in every breast. These same forces are also Cosmic and pervade the Universe. When one cultivates the Daivas (Suras), the Universal forces of goodness will rush as reinforcements. When one cultivates the Asuras, the forces of darkness rush into one's soul. It is the old principle of "the rich get rich and the poor get poorer" or "one gets more of what one already has".
This is where, as always, consciousness becomes the key. One must consciously choose to think, speak, and act in goodness, realizing that even small lapses create a crack through which demonic energies gain entrance to the battlefield, using terrorist tactics. Evil forces are excellent terrorists. They obey no rules of righteousness and follow an "anything goes" policy.
In one sense human beings are caught in-between as the great English poet Alexander Pope noted, "man is half-beast, half-god, created half to rise and half to fall". This is the struggle. Man is the incarnation of Manas (consciousness) into an animal body (instinctive unconscious). That creature becomes man when it cultivates conscious awareness, which also implies choice. Choosing carefully every moment the thoughts one allows to occupy the mind, the words one allows to leave one's mouth, the actions which one chooses to do is the strategy to win the war.
It is some comfort to know that all of humanity is in the same boat. When someone behaves in an evil way, rather an ignorant way as there is actually no evil, but rather ignorance, one may feel compassion that they are making wrong choices and thus, in danger of being vanquished in the battle. When another being exhibits noble qualities one may feel glad that the legions of the good are being reinforced.
Then, it becomes natural to be kind to all one meets: fellow warriors on the same battle field.

Thoughts on the Path

God, whose love and joy              Can't come to visit you,
 Are present everywhere               Unless you aren't there.
                                                                                                                                   - Angelus Sileius