Page 57 - NAMAH-Jan-2025

Namah Exploring Endurance...

physical base of the body, the feelings and the “To know and be able to bear and endure,
mind, will help a lot in the process of staying undoubtedly produces a firm and fixed joy (2).”
with the restless energies and sensations. The
wisdom growing in the being, of why we are “A quiet endurance is the sure way to success
doing it, will be giving the motivation for the (3).”
practice and the solid ground for the practice
to slowly blossom. “Let endurance be your watchword: teach the
life-force in you — your vital being — not to
The growing inner wisdom will also help in complain but to put up with all the conditions
maintaining absolute stillness in the body necessary for great achievement. The body is
for the process. a very enduring servant, it bears the stress of
circumstance tamely like a beast of burden.
If we can follow these two basic steps, whenever It is the vital being that is always grumbling
any weakness shows up, then slowly the old and uneasy. The slavery and torture to which
grooves, old tendencies, loosen their grip it subjects the physical is almost incalculable.
over us, and we are still and calm, living How it twists and deforms the poor body to its
within, unmoved by the re-surfacing of own fads and fancies, irrationally demanding
old habits even though they may want to that everything should be shaped according
again satisfy themselves by poking every to its whimsicality! But the very essence
now and then. of endurance is that the vital should learn to
Worth a try? give up its capricious likes and dislikes and
preserve an equanimity in the midst of the
most trying conditions. When you are treated
roughly by somebody or you lack something
which would relieve your discomfort, you must
keep up cheerfully instead of letting yourself
be disturbed. Let nothing ruffle you the least
bit, and whenever the vital tends to air its
petty grievances with pompous exaggeration
just stop to consider how very happy you are,
compared to so many in this world. Reflect for
a moment on what the soldiers who fought
in the last war had to go through. If you had
to bear such hardships you would realise the
utter silliness of your dissatisfactions. And yet
I do not wish you to court difficulties — what I
want is simply that you should learn to endure
Let’s take a moment to explore the words the little insignificant troubles of your life (4).”
of the Mother on endurance in this context:
Concluding Remarks
“Endurance is the capacity of bearing without
depression (1).” When, with the ground of wisdom arising

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