Sense Slaves
Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri was an Indian yogi of the Kriya yoga sect. Born in 1855 and passing away in 1936 at the age of 80, he was a mentor to Paramahansa Yogananda, who wrote the iconic Autobiography of a Yogi in 1946 that is referenced above, as well as founding The Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920 when he arrived in the United States from India.
The pursuit of pleasure is the rejection of fulfillment. Pleasure is a pit and fulfillment is a path.
Those who are enslaved by their senses, the sense slaves, do not find fulfillment because they cannot see the path from the confines of the pits they dig for themselves.
They must climb out of their pit to find their path. The deeper they dig, the deeper their addiction to pursuing pleasure, the harder it is and the more spirit power(will) it takes to climb out and walk the path.
Pleasure cannot be fulfilled. Those who pursue pleasure dull their senses, while those who pursue mastery sharpen their senses.
The pursuer of mastery understands that the way is the same in all things. They appreciate pleasure, but they do not pursue it because pleasure cannot be fulfilled; pleasure serves as a respite from the grueling nature of the path of mastery.
Sense slaves do not get to enjoy the world.
Those who pursue pleasure are blind to the small dopamine rewards received when wandering down the path; those who pursue mastery are aware of the rewards of fulfillment, and the respite that pleasure may give when it is earned.
Sense Slaves pursue floods of dopamine, addiction, because their dopamine sensors cannot detect small rewards anymore; they were burned out pursuing pleasure. They cannot appreciate the beauty of a face; they desire, continuing to pursue pleasure, because that is their way.
When your dopamine sensors are blown from the pursuit of pleasure, you no longer feel small victories, so you no longer live fully, because you are not rewarded for small victories. This state is a depression that can only be cured by the cessation of the pursuit of pleasure.
If you do not feel rewarded for your small victories, you cannot enjoy the world.
Those with blown dopamine sensors do not feel a reward for something like making a basket in basketball, receiving a kiss on the cheek, or the spectacular view of a waterfall after a hike up a mountain. They only receive pleasure when it comes in the form of a tsunami, not a nourishing glass of water for a thirsty mouth.
The kindling of insatiable longings
Pleasure can not be fulfilled. It cannot be satiated. Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri understood this back in the 1,800s and early 1900s. Pleasure has been insatiable since the beginning of time and will remain so after time ends. This is a natural law of reality.
Food, drink, rest, and sex, all have paths of fulfillment.
- Food – Nourishment
- Drink – Hydration
- Rest – Recovery
- Sex – Reproduction & connection
The path is fulfillment.
A lost wanderer may abuse food, drink, rest, and sex by designating them objects of pleasure, of which pleasure can never be fulfilled, damning the wanderer to a life sentence pursuing what cannot be fulfilled.
The pursuit of pleasure is a mirage in a desert. You’re thirsty, wandering a wasteland looking for an oasis to fulfill you near the horizon, but as you move towards the horizon of pleasure, it moves away from you.
Mastery is a real golden tower in the desert. When you walk towards it, the tower grows in size because the pursuit of mastery moves you closer to the tower. The further you pursue mastery, the taller the tower grows, because mastery is difficult and has no end, but every step brings you more fulfillment as you climb golden steps higher into the clouds, maybe going where none have gone before, only to wait for a wanderer to one day reach the steps you climbed to and share in your company.
The pursuit of pleasure trains you to be an addict; the pursuit of mastery trains you to be effective at life and all things associated with it.
Do not pursue pleasure. Stoke the coals of your spirit so it may burn hot, and use spiritual heat to burn away sins like lust or desire. Speak to yourself with great power to pursue fulfillment, and avoid prolonged stays at The Inn when the wanderer has the capacity to walk the path of fulfillment.
Pleasure is not sin on its own; pleasure is sin against the wanderer’s Body, Mind, and Spirit(BMS) when pleasure is pursued instead of used as a recovery tool when the wanderer has depleted their capacity to pursue mastery.
The adept wanderer is keenly aware of the energy of their body, mind, and spirit. When they have sufficient energy, they leave The Inn of pleasures & comforts, knowing the path is where fulfillment is found.
Destroying wrong desires
You must use your mind and spirit as a weapon to destroy weakness within the mind.
Your mind control is the white blood cells that purify the thoughtstream.
Like how a caring parent controls and re-aims a child spiraling out of control, you must use your spirit to control your mind. The mind is only effective when it is used by the spirit for a purpose. When the mind is allowed to run wild, it wreaks havoc.
It’s crucial to understand the difference between thought and belief; you do not have to believe everything you think, and you shouldn’t. Destroy negative thought, nurture positive beliefs.
You are not what happens to you; you are your peception of what happens to you. You have a say in how you experience reality. Speak up, to yourself in your mind.
You do not have to fear sickness, even when stricken with a mortal illness; you can if you choose to; if you choose to.
“Roam in the world as a lion of self-control; don’t let the frogs of sense weakness kick you around!”
Roaming the world as a lion of self-control means to roam the world without pursuing pleasure.
To control yourself and orient yourself to mastery is to live enlightened. This is Heaven on Earth.
