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Subduing Desires & Passions
from towardtheone.com
7/2/2001
Hindu: "We live in accordance
with our deep, driving desire. It is this desire at the time of death that
determines what our next life will be. We will come back to earth to work
out the satisfaction of that desire. But not for those who are free from
desire; they are free because all their desires have been fulfilled in
the Self. They do not die like the others; but realizing Brahman, they
merge in Brahman. So it is said: 'When all desires that surge in the heart
are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal. When all the knots that strangle
the heart are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal, here in this very
life.
Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad 4.4.6-7
Buddhist: "From endearment
springs grief; from endearment springs fear; for the one who is wholly
free from endearment there is no grief, much less fear. From affection
springs grief; from affection springs fear; for the one who is wholly free
from affection there is no grief, much less fear. From lust springs grief;
from lust springs fear; for the one who is wholly free from lust there
is no grief, much less fear. From craving springs grief; from craving springs
fear; for the one who is wholly free from cravings there is no grief, much
less fear."
Dhammapada, 212-16
Zoroastrian: "The simple
person alone stands free to give in kindly obligation to Thy Ashavan; but
having wealth and ruling power, the inferior person is at the service of
the wicked. Far from Thy love, the wicked have their portion, abiding in
the actions of the evil mind."
Gathas of Zarathushtra,
Gatha 12.3-4
Taoism: "Wipe out the delusions
of the will, undo the snares of the heart, rid yourself of the entanglements
to virtue; open up the roadblocks in the Way. Eminence & wealth, recognition
& authority, fame & profit; these six are the delusions of the
will. Appearances & carriage, complexion & features, temperament
& attitude; these six are the snares of the heart. Loathing & desire,
joy & anger, grief & happiness; these six are the entanglements
of virtue. Rejecting & accepting, taking & giving, knowledge &
ability; these six are the roadblocks of the Way. When these four sixes
no longer seethe within the breast, then you will achieve uprightness;
being upright, you will be still; being still you will be enlightened;
being enlightened, you will be empty; and being empty, you will do nothing,
and yet there will be nothing that is not done.
Chuang Tzu 23
Judaism: "A person should
always incite the good impulse in his soul to fight against the evil impulse.
If a person subdues it, well and good; if not, let them study Torah....If
by that they subdues it well and good; if not, let them pray upon their
bed."
Talmud, Berakot
5a
Christianity: "Beloved,
I exhort you as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from passions of the
flesh which wage war against the soul. Behave yourselves honorably among
non-believers; that, whereas they slander you as evildoers, they may through
observation of you and by reason of your good works, glorify God in the
day of their visitation."
Peter 11.2.11-12
Islam: "Is the one who relies
on a clear path from His Lord the same as one to whom the evil of his conduct
seems pleasing? ...But to those who receive guidance, Allah increases His
Light and bestows on them piety & restraint."
Qur'an 47.14 &
17
Ba'hai: "Blind thine eyes,
that thou may behold My beauty; stop thine ears, that thou may harken unto
the sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself of all learning, that thou
may partake of My knowledge; sanctify thyself from riches, that thou may
obtain a lasting share from the ocean of My eternal wealth. Blind thine
eyes to all except My beauty; stop thine ears to all save My word; empty
thyself of all learning save the knowledge of Me; that with a clear vision,
a pure heart and an attentive ear thou may enter the court of My holiness."
Hidden Words of the Bahau'llah, p. 55
Gayan of Hazrat Inayat Khan:
"Master is he who masters himself;
teacher is he who teaches himself; governor is he who governs himself;
and ruler is he who rules himself."
"It is easy to tie a knot of
attachment, but it is difficult when you wish to unravel it."
Gayan, Talas