Are we taking sugar-coated slow poison each day?

It's definitely not easy to move along the spiritual path. It is not rocket science to understand the logic. That's quite a common sense. We keep living life as per our childhood habit patterns. We keep eating the same things that we liked in our childhood. We keep maintaining the same sitting and standing posture, and the same habit patterns that we got used to during childhood. Slowly and gradually, we get more and more addicted to the same habit patterns and they become more and more difficult to change.

The same thing applies to the mind. We get fixated on our likes and dislikes, cravings and aversions. We keep repeating the pattern and slowly and gradually these likes/dislikes and cravings/aversions become so strong that it is almost impossible for us to tolerate what we do not like. The temptation for the likes and cravings is almost irresistible. Actually, it does not matter how much we have already got so far. On the contrary, the more we get what we like and crave for, and more impatient we become for the next like/craving. For example, if a person always gets the food to his taste, just serve the food that he does not like for a day and see the reactions. Similarly, if the circumstances have generally allowed a person to achieve what a person likes, just see the reaction of such a person when the circumstances push him to a situation that he does not like.

Due to these strong habit patterns of our body and mind, it is very difficult for most of us to move on the spiritual path. Spiritual path is breaking free of these habit patterns and living life with freedom. We break free of the strong habits of the body and mind and start taking the control of life in our hands rather than living life in an auto mode where the habit patterns drive our lives. 

It is common sense that if we live a life driven by strong habit patterns, firstly we will live a very limited life since these habit patterns will keep our energy tapped to routine and repetitive tasks. They will consume most of our energy just to satiate them. Secondly, sooner or later the circumstances will definitely turn against our wishes. Sooner or later, this body will decay. It is impossible that the body will remain young forever. There would definitely come situations in our lives that we dislike. Thus, the more we get fixated on the habit patterns of our body and mind, the more are we going to remain unhappy.

Though most of us realize the same, it's not easy to drop the fixation on the habit patterns. Most of us realize that eating unhealthy snacks, fatty items, and sugar is not good for our health and yet we consume so much of these items on a daily basis. Instant gratification is too difficult to resist. It takes a lot of willpower to develop and maintain healthy habits. However, once a person gets to taste the benefits of the same, it becomes equally difficult to let go of healthy routines and habits. 

Similarly, it's difficult to let go of mental fixations with likes/cravings in the beginning. However, once a person starts dropping these fixations, he starts feeling light. With this lightness comes freedom. Once a person tastes the freedom, it is quite difficult for him to remain the slave of the old mental habits. So long as a person is used to living in a dirty home, he finds no problem with that. However, once a person experiences staying in a clean home, he can no longer stay in a dirty place. He will make all the efforts to clean his home. 

Since letting go of the likes and cravings is not so easy, generally most people listen to spiritual discource and read spiritual books and feel that they have understood what spirituality is. Understanding spiritually has absolutely no value since all the decisions in this world are taken by Mana. Mana is the king of our mental kingdom like Dhritrastra is of Hastinapur. Mana dances to the tunes of Chitta as Dhritrastra danced to the tunes of Duryodhana. So long as Dhritrastra and Duryodhana continue to rule the mental kingdom, howsoever spiritual the intellect (Vidura) be, the decisions of our life will be taken by Mana. Unless the Mana and Chitta become spiritual, there is no use of their minister being spiritual. Chitta operates at an unconscious level and therefore beyond the reach of intellect. 

Only the Mana, which is centered around divinity can become aware of what lies inside our Chitta by surveying it's kingdom as Hanumana surveyed Lanka. That requires looking inward with an awareness of breath. Since that's quite an effort, given the strong habit patterns to look outwards, moving along a spiritual path is actually not easy. However, the other path of gratification of Mana and Chitta is a sugar-coated slow poison and soon going to make us suffer permanently. There is no shortcut to the spiritual path. 

Until and unless the Mana and Chitta become pure, one has not moved even an inch on the path, even if one has learned all the spiritual texts by heart. After all, Ravana was the most learned person of that time. So all of us have a choice to keep taking the sugar-coated poison each day or to take the first step of looking inwards with the support of breath.