Tapa of any kind, say discipline for self mastery is sometimes painful in the beginning but bears sweet fruits with passage of time. On the other hand seeking pleasure is fun in the beginning but generally bears bitter fruits at the end. The general advice therefore is that take student life to cultivate self-mastery and discipline and the life of a householder with job and family as a period when one enjoys the fruits of labour. Later one is prepared for higher things through this process. In simple words tapas first, delight later.
In fact delight is everywhere and in everything. But it manifests differently at different levels from the man rolling in the gutter to the man journeying through Space. It is a question of what one wants to take, – the limited momentary kick of the poison draught or the lasting joy of an inner odyssey. The goal should be clear so that even when one is rolling in the mud one remembers the sky that one longs to reach. In general however it is best to keep a balance. What this means is that one stays mainly with the goal directing efforts towards it but taking time outs to break the high tension that develops in any concentrated endeavour unless you are enjoying it. During these timeouts one can draw certain lines for oneself, ‘thus far and no further ‘, using the higher intellect to remind oneself of potential danger. Sanyama, self restraint in pleasure and fun, rather than nigraha, total repression of all pleasure is the healthy way to go forward.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
