From Habits To Discipline

Ektaji explains the five kinds of habits and their source. Through self-reflection, one can recognize their habit patterns and what enslaves them. Through self-discipline, one can consciously get over them and move towards equanimity.

Please note: This track was recorded live and may contain background noises.

Transcript

There are five types of habits,

Did you know that?

Caused because of five sources,

Okay that's why five different types.

What is the first type of habit?

Any habit that I develop on account of the environment,

Anything external to this body is the environment.

What is the first type of habit?

Because of the environment.

Lots of people have started smiling,

Spring is here,

No more snow,

But probably it's going to snow tonight.

So what happens to this person?

So if there is a change in my emotion,

If my graph goes up and down because of something external,

I have developed a habit,

Recognize this.

So first type of habit because of environment.

Now I give you one example,

Summer,

Winter,

Heat.

Now you think there could be so many more.

Some people don't like rain,

Environment also means the people in the environment.

Some people don't like loud music in the environment and if there is a teenager in the house and there is rock metal playing and you get all agitated.

Have you noticed?

Environment,

Yes,

A difficult situation.

I don't want to be in a difficult situation,

But you have to sit in a plane for 20 hours,

22 hours to reach India.

This is environment,

No?

You cannot say now I want to get down and lie down somewhere.

No,

You have to sit for 22 hours.

Discomfort because of environment.

Are you getting it?

Discomfort because of a situation.

So I have developed a habit if it bothers me.

If I am okay with it being there or it not being there,

Then I don't have any habit.

So homework number one,

Recognize what habits you have because of environment.

It could be people in your environment,

It could be a particular situation,

It could be something like weather.

It could be something like being made to stay in a small place,

A dingy place.

You are used to a nice big house,

But you are made to be in a very small place.

Sometimes you go for a camp and you don't like it.

Oh the bed was not soft,

Oh the heat was not enough,

The room was too many people had to share it with four people.

See how you become.

So environment,

Habits because of environment.

To personal,

Habits because of this body.

My body likes this only.

You have only made it happen.

My body is uncomfortable in this situation.

If sometimes I don't get food at 12.

30,

1 o'clock,

I get all angry or agitated.

Are you seeing this?

What is it?

It is just a little hunger in the body.

It is okay.

But there is an advertisement also.

There is a book called Hero in Manjat.

Some ad I saw in India.

Snickers CAD I think it is.

So see what happens to you just because of some fire in this body which I cannot take.

I have developed a habit.

I cannot maintain an equanimous mind.

So what?

I got it at 1.

30.

When I got it at 12.

30,

I got it at 1.

30.

But that one hour I was so cranky and angry.

You have become a slave to food.

Got it?

If you have a habit of the environment,

You have become a slave to the environment.

Got it?

What is the third type of habit?

The body and mind both meet a specific type of what I am talking.

Where there is sexual purges and you just cannot control it.

That has become a habit.

It affects me not only mentally but also physically.

Both ways.

So where the body and the mind both meet.

You have become a slave.

Recognize this.

Wake up to this.

Habit means it has made you its slave.

Can you go through that fire?

The sexual energy.

It is like a fire.

It burns you.

Can you go through it?

Or do you give in to it every now and then?

I am not telling you to take abstinence and go sit on the Himalayas.

No.

But are you strong enough to not spoil your mood because of not being able to satisfy that fire?

Are you seeing what I am saying?

Can you maintain a calm mind?

Can you be relaxed?

Got it?

You have become a habit where the body and the mind meet.

Fourth,

Purely of the mind.

You have so many habits of your mind.

Somebody comes home.

He is tired.

You will start talking in the same manner.

You will start complaining about this,

Complaining about that.

That person also is tired and gets angry at the same way.

Are you seeing you will have a pattern in the way you will behave with each other in the house?

You have a husband,

Wife,

Kid.

You will fight for the same things.

You did not keep that in the right place.

How many times have you fought on this?

Ten years,

Twenty years,

Thirty years,

Forty years,

Fifty years.

Thirty-nine years.

Thirty-nine years.

Same thing.

Same pattern,

Same pattern.

This is of the mind.

You have become a slave to that habit.

So recognize what are these habits of my mind.

Anger,

Jealousy,

Greed,

Whatever.

All this comes out of habits.

It comes out of my only habits.

What I say is,

Okay,

I do this.

I have made a habit.

This is fourth of the mind and the fifth of the soul.

Wanting this,

Wanting to do kriya,

Wanting to do meditation,

Going with him.

It's a good habit.

Have you moved from your negative ones to the positive ones?

Has this become a habit?

The right word for this is discipline.

When the mind moves away from these four habits,

It moves automatically towards the discipline of the soul.

Till the time you are caught up in the mind,

Your soul will be restless.

It will be thirsty.

When you let go of this body,

Mind,

Environment and all these habits and move towards discipline of the soul.

You see how your soul rests.

Don't you feel that now after kriya?

This is the thirst of your soul.

To let go of all people,

Situations,

Things in the environment and go within and just be.

Just be.

So move away from habits to discipline.

Discipline yourself.

And how will you do that?

Step number one.

Identify what are my habits.

So humut number one,

Identifying habits of the environment of the body where the body meets the mind and the mind.

And drop.

Doesn't matter today if it is very cold.

Doesn't matter.

I am not going to spoil my mood.

It's okay if I didn't get coffee at the right time or I didn't get food at the right time.

It's okay.

I am not going to scream and shout.

It's okay if he or she is not doing what I like.

This is disciplining my mind.

It's okay.

Let me move away from these habits of environment,

Body and mind and move towards the soul.

Yes?

Everybody?

This disciplining yourself is called tapas.

Tapas is not sitting on the mountains and one posture and not moving for years together.

No.

That's not tapas.

That is a way of depicting tapas,

Very beautiful way.

But we misunderstood it.

Running away to the Himalayas wearing an orange robe is not tapas.

Being here in this world amongst all these things,

Environment,

My own mind,

My own body,

Its cravings and its aversions and still not getting affected by all this fire.

Being in the fire,

Burning in this fire and coming out like gold.

This is tapas.

So start working now.

If you've still not started working on your mind,

This is the right time.

Any questions?

So you said disciplining.

And bringing discipline in yourself is good,

Whereas expecting discipline from others is not good.

That's what you meant.

With love you tell the other person.

Right.

Your mood should not go up and down because of the other person.

See how you spoil your own mind and your own emotions.

This is only stress.

For this only you go to the doctor and take what anti-anxiety pills and anti-depressants.

You don't need all this if you understand how this mind functions.

I should learn this skill to say what I have to say without my graph going up and down.

Yes?

By putting away things.

What's wrong with it?

Because it's staying in the right place.

Correct.

But you.

.

.

Getting upset about it.

Your blood pressure going up.

That is no use.

That is not use.

Got it?

Yeah.

That is discipline.

How I learn to skillfully deal with all these people and still I am equanimous.

My mind is equanimous.

If sometime the other person is habit and they agree with you every time then what you do?

I agree with you all the time.

I am agree with some situation you don't know.

Let's say for example somebody is sneezing like the way like you know you only like aaaah something like that you know some kind of heavy key other person you don't like it.

They agree with you right?

When person do some kind of thing you don't like too much.

So what you do then every time?

If you try to tell them they say oh you do so many things too what the heck you know.

You drop these likes and dislikes.

Did you attend Ashutav Akraman?

Really yes.

You did?

Yes.

What did we speak about?

People,

Situations and things.

And with people situations and things what do I have?

Raga and Duesha.

Likes and dislikes.

Doesn't matter if he snores like this and he sneezes like that.

No Duesha towards anybody.

No craving that this should happen like this only.

I am fine with what is.

But if there is something wrong you should correct too right?

Correct.

But my graph,

Raga and duesha is my graph going up and down.

Remember we spoke about graph?

My move should not go up and down.

I maintain an equanimous mind.

This is the skill.

Got it?

Any questions?

No?

All experts now Duesha,

Duesha experts.

So getting affected by people's like if I don't agree with somebody.

And I don't agree with that person on a repeated basis.

Is that the habit of the environment?

Yes.

You become habituated to getting angry.

You have given the remote control of your life in that person's hands.

He may be sitting thousands of miles away from you but he is operating you with his remote.

I don't get aggravated.

Sometimes a person knows,

Iska yeh batte nahin abda bao.

He is going to get angry.

That person really knows your batte nahin.

But what he said was do not agree.

You don't have to get aggravated about it.

You can agree to disagree.

Perfect.

Ok,

I don't agree with you.

Cool.

All cool.

I am equanimous here.

Here I have maintained balance.

This is discipline.

Here are you at peace with yourself.

That is the question you have to ask yourself.

Nobody else can answer that.

Here am I at peace.

That is discipline.

Then you have moved towards discipline.

Otherwise you are still stuck in a habit.

It is easier said than done but you develop in the path,

Slowly develop and you can see that happen.

Yes.

You reflect back a year or two and you can see that happen.

Sincerely if you are really attending knowledge sessions,

Doing that homework that I keep giving you every week,

You know you get,

Ok I have to do this,

I have to let go of this,

I have to let go of this.

And then you become the master of this mind.

A point will come when this mind will be completely shut off.

It will talk only when you want it to speak.

Otherwise it is off.

Yes.

Till you reach that point,

Don't stop.

Keep working on your mind.

Just kriya or just meditation is hopping on one foot.

You want to run right?

You need to both knowledge and meditation.

Yes.

Both will take you very fast.

Rocket speed.

Good.

I will give you 5-10 minutes break now.

Reviews

🙏🏼

Very helpful, thank u for sharing