When Inner Enemies Masquerade As Friends

A banana cannot decide to become an orange. It remains what it is by nature. There is a difference between thinking and becoming, yet human beings could become what they think. We are the only sentient life form with this ability: to become what we want to be. Therefore, in our lives, two processes take place: one is becoming, and the other is being. First you become, and then you be.


The process of becoming involves adopting new qualities in life, and being is the expression of the best that you have to offer. Becoming is sadhana, and being is expression. First, you become through the process of transformation , and then you live that creative expression; this constitutes a lifestyle, which is an expression of the traits, habits, nature, and character of your inner self, known as 'personality'.


This personality is constructed not only by your friends, family, society, culture, religion, belief, ethics and morality that surround you, or education or environment in which you grow up and live, but also by six powers of prakriti, which you have inherited when you were born.


Paradoxically, in real life, we often see them first as friends, though they later reveal themselves as enemies when unchecked. When they bind, they become enemies. When they liberate, they become friends. In real life, it happens the other way. When we are born, they begin to help us shape and construct our nature and our personality. Who are the six friends? Kaam, passions, desires, obsessions; krodh, motivation, aggression, dynamism; lobh, greed; moh, infatuation; mad, arrogance, superiority complex; matsarya, enviousness of other people. These six qualities of tamoguna attract the mind in this dimension. They become friends with the mind and construct personality of your mind. Your expressions in life are what they have given to you as input. They guide your thoughts, ambitions, interactions and perceptions. They become your nature and your personality.


Then there comes a time when the mind and spirit connect. When the six friends and mind connect, you forget the higher Self. Sometimes, a flower blooms even in the desert. Sometimes a connection occurs between the mind and spirit, and you realise that 'Those things I used to consider mine and was proud of are detrimental to my growth and are impediments to my development.'


The six friends are then seen as six enemies. The six enemies are then controlled by sanyam, just as you control horses by holding the reins. If you leave the reins, you do not know how the horse will run; you have no control over it. Through sanyam, you restrain: kaam, krodh, lobh, moh, mad and matsarya. They do not disappear, as they are a part of you, yet they are restrained with sanyam. Nothing disappears in this life; habits and traits do not disappear, yet they can be channelled, controlled, modified, converted and transcended. This is the purpose of a yogic lifestyle . A yogic lifestyle is not defined by how many hours of yog and meditation you practise. That is irrelevant. A yogic lifestyle means living a harmonious life.


Authored by: Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati