Letter # 95: "The Perennial Enemy"
At the time of sending out the 94th Letter, a recipient asked me to stop sending my unsolicited reminders to the latest postings. I accept and honour the recipient’s right to make such a request.
Junk mail is by definition unsolicited. Free and uninvited messages from everywhere: the media, the mail, faxes, e-mail, bill boards etc. bombard us to exhaustion.
When you think of it, most of the thoughts that enter the mind are actually unsolicited. This internal “mental junk mail” can makes us either creative or destructive.
I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.
Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2008
References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.
Junk mail is by definition unsolicited. Free and uninvited messages from everywhere: the media, the mail, faxes, e-mail, bill boards etc. bombard us to exhaustion.
When you think of it, most of the thoughts that enter the mind are actually unsolicited. This internal “mental junk mail” can makes us either creative or destructive.
Freud’s concept of the id, which is the German word for it, allows for a simple understaning of the mind. The id is the source of mental “junk”; id is the seething cauldron of desire. The super-ego is the master that tames the id. The Super-ego consists of parents, authority, the law etc. In Freud’s model of the mind, the personality that is formed from the moulding effect of the opposing effects of the id and the supergo, is called the ego.
However, all of the spiritual texts refer to the ego in a different sense – that of conceit and arrogance. All of the spirtual texts give instructions on how to tame the primeval energy of the mind. Moses gave the Ten Commandments, Jesus taught love, which Saint Paul described beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13. He wrote, " 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” The Holy Koran affirms: “He ordained between you love and mercy.” [30:21].
This emphasis on love and harmony is necessary to counterbalance the mind's incessant production of “junk”. Guru Nanak classifies this “junk” into five types: insatiable lust (kam), rage (krodh), greed (lobh), attachment to the material (moh), and arrogance (hankar). The Guru emphasises that these are the real “enemies”.
However, all of the spiritual texts refer to the ego in a different sense – that of conceit and arrogance. All of the spirtual texts give instructions on how to tame the primeval energy of the mind. Moses gave the Ten Commandments, Jesus taught love, which Saint Paul described beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13. He wrote, " 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” The Holy Koran affirms: “He ordained between you love and mercy.” [30:21].
This emphasis on love and harmony is necessary to counterbalance the mind's incessant production of “junk”. Guru Nanak classifies this “junk” into five types: insatiable lust (kam), rage (krodh), greed (lobh), attachment to the material (moh), and arrogance (hankar). The Guru emphasises that these are the real “enemies”.
Truth is eternal, for about four thousand years before Guru Nanak, the sage Vyasa also made documentation of these "enemies" in the Vedas, the ancient scripts: “By these activities, one is able to cut down the influence of the enemies, namely lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and jealousy …” [SB 7.7.33]
You might ask, "What are the “activities” that cut down the influence of the 'enemies'?" Verse SB 7.7.32 has the answer: “One should always remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized representation as the Paramātmā, who is situated in the core of every living entity's heart. Thus one should offer respect to every living entity according to that living entity's position or manifestation.”
You might ask, "What are the “activities” that cut down the influence of the 'enemies'?" Verse SB 7.7.32 has the answer: “One should always remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized representation as the Paramātmā, who is situated in the core of every living entity's heart. Thus one should offer respect to every living entity according to that living entity's position or manifestation.”
Guru Nanak makes promise in his spiritual poetry: "Hohe achint(u) basai sukh nal(i); Sas(i) gras(i) Hari(i) nam(u) samal(i)", which means "You will become free from anxiety and will live in comfort, if you remember God with every breath." [SS Asht 19 P 197].
Finally, the famous American inventor, Thomas Edison (1847-1931) said, “To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” I’m hoping that my “free and uninvited messages” will spur on your imagination in re-creating a more meaningful life for you and your loved ones.
Finally, the famous American inventor, Thomas Edison (1847-1931) said, “To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” I’m hoping that my “free and uninvited messages” will spur on your imagination in re-creating a more meaningful life for you and your loved ones.
God Bless; Allah Hu Akbar; May The Forces Of The Universe Bring You Harmony; Hare Krishna; Radha-Swami; and Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla.
I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.
Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2008
References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.
posted by Dr. Jas Bhopal @ 11:21 AM
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1 Comments:
An excellent sublimation of concepts to Freud's theory. May be we as human being are also unsolicited existences !
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