16/10/2023
Strengthening willpower by releasing obsessive compulsions
It is important to have the ability to be objective with oneself. Objectivity does not mean making a controversial or obsessive-compulsive self-analysis. The drive to find comfort, safety and security in the outer dimensions leads to the generation of compulsive and obsessive behaviour. What we see here is the the desire to be happy, for example. We desire happiness, but when we can find nothing inside to be happy about, then we look outside.
The outer search becomes an obsession which compels us to look in different directions. Obsession is a state of mind in which we crave ego fulfilment and satisfaction. Compulsion is the drive to achieve that obsession, the motivation to fulfill what we lack within ourselves. It seems like a vicious circle, from inside to outside, to compulsive and obsessive behaviour. The first thing that happens is the destruction of inner peace. However, if we can maintain our inner harmony, all our habits can change.
Take the example of smoking. Suppose you smoke ci******es and want to give them up. It may be due to the statement on the box which says that smoking is injurious to health, or it may be because you know that smoking causes lung cancer, or just a simple thought like, "Why should I blacken my lungs with smoke?" Whatever the reason, you find that you are unable to stop smoking and have become addicted. If you try to give it up, the mind returns to that desire again and again unless you have very strong willpower and do not think about it. Therefore, we say that habits die hard, because the desire for another cigarette is due to a weakening of willpower. Once your willpower is weakened, you cannot move out of that state of mind. So, the first thing you need to do is to generate willpower and vitality, which can alter the mental state of desiring and craving.
Yoga Sadhana Panorama Vol. Four
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
