December Gītā: 16.21

tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ
dvāraṁ nāśhanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas
tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet

‘There are three gates leading to the hell of self-destruction for the soul – lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one should abandon all three..’

Bhagavad Gītā 16.21

The hell of self-destruction for the soul – such drama! I imagine a happy soul, peacefully wandering its path, craving a peaceful life. It knows exactly the way to go and how to get there, but it is being bombarded by desire, wants and hate, all of which are intent on taking it away from its true home.

Desiring people, desiring our own way and being angry when we don’t get it, desiring more and more things are elements of the material life which we run up against. Our happy soul needs help to navigate its way through.

When I utter the words lust, anger and greed my nervous system reacts. They are places I don’t want to be but sometimes we find ourselves there, we make mistakes, life happens. With mindfulness, forgiveness and with wisdom we can change and develop the skills to see the pitfalls before we fall into them.

Self inquiry is a good place to begin, to see where we are with the world and to think about what it is that really makes us peaceful and whole.

We learn from our practice to breathe steadily always and especially through discomfort, to pause, to endure feelings that are uncomfortable knowing that they will pass, to dig in and find inner strength and resilience. We develop tapas and strong discipline, we are well-equipped for material life.

Be true and kind in your relationships to others and to yourself, walk away when you feel that rush of anger or the insatiable need to be proved right and be happy with that you have, it’s enough. Look after your soul, let it make its peaceful journey.

– Louise Newton