When we try to purify ourselves, we soon become acutely aware that there are two parts within us: one part of us — our higher self — seeks to get rid of impure desires; while another part of us — our lower self — seeks to hold on to those desires, seeing them as pathways to pleasure. Amid the tension between these two selves, how do we pursue purification?
One approach is to strive to lift our higher self far up and simultaneously bury our lower self deep down. However, this approach to purification creates immense inner tension — we feel like a rubber band stretched vertically to nearly its breaking point. Eventually, the rubber band snaps back, with the part raised up being pulled down and the part pushed down being pulled up. Similarly, when our buried lower self feels unbearably suffocated, as if it is fighting for life, it resurfaces forcefully. It sometimes emerges at the least expected moments, or even at the most embarrassing moments. Overwhelmed by its sudden appearance, we may end up pandering to its impure urges without respecting any boundaries at all.
Rather than adopting such a tense and tenuous approach to purification, Gita wisdom recommends a more pragmatic and holistic approach: we raise not just our higher self, but also our lower self. Or rather, we raise our lower self with our higher self, as recommended in the Bhagavad-gita (06.05). This means that we acknowledge that our lower self is also a part of us and will remain so for the conceivable future. Instead of trying to annihilate it, we try to accommodate it within reasonable boundaries. We accept that we may occasionally have desires that are not the best for our morality or our spirituality. Though we can’t and shouldn’t pander to all such desires, we can give some leeway for some of those desires. By such regulated accommodation, will the lower self give up its desire for lower pleasures entirely? Not necessarily; but its lower desires will gradually become less immoral, less selfish, less destructive, and less anti-spiritual.
Suppose our lower self previously craved food incessantly. Instead of completely suppressing it and strictly subjecting ourselves to a spartan diet, we may allow ourselves to indulge in some delicious foods on designated occasions, such as festival days.
When we thus reduce the inner tension within us, we can shift our energy to nourishing our higher self so that not only does it rise, but it also lifts our lower self.
Summary:
Purification doesn’t happen by elevating our higher self and burying our lower self; it happens by raising both our higher self and our lower self.
Think it over:
- What are the two broad approaches to pursuing inner purification?
- What is the problem with burying the lower self?
- How can we elevate our lower self with our higher self?
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06.05: One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/unsustainable-and-sustainable-approaches
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JAPA is the source of purification