Does ambition come from the Soul?
Written by DADABHAGWAN
No, the Soul is completely detached from the emotion of ambition.
The Soul, by its inherent nature, is completely detached from all emotions. Rather, it is merely the knower and observer of everything, without any passion, with perfect equanimity. The Soul and the body have always been separate, and so are their properties.
Ambition belongs to the body and the mind
The feeling of being ambitious is a result of our previous life causes. In our past life, through our inner intents, we had sown the causes of ambition. Therefore, in our present life, we experience those ambitions.
Now, while ambition arises in our present life, at that time, depending on the circumstances then, through our attachment or abhorrence, we once again bind new causes for future life. Thus, the cycle of cause and effect, effect and cause continues.
When the ambition unfolds, because we ‘like’ (attachment) it when events work in our favour, we bind karma of attachment; and in the same token, when things do not happen as per our wish or ambition, we experience a ‘dislike’ and end up binding karma of hatred or abhorrence, effects of which we will respectively have to experience in our future life.
Now that we know that causes are constantly being charged, then shouldn’t we beware that only good causes are charged? How do we ensure that?
Whilst fulfilling any ambition gives us personal satisfaction,...
Our aim of ‘I do not want to ever hurt or cause the slightest pain to any living being’ makes us rise higher in our spiritual development.
We can achieve this aim by:
Constantly maintaining a deep inner intent that ‘May no living being be hurt even to the slightest extent, through my mind, speech and body’, especially whilst trying to fulfill our ambitions. This is one of the highest principles of human life.
Always maintaining an awareness of ‘how would I feel in a similar situation?’ in every interaction that we do. This will help us in putting the needs of others above our own and build positive relationships.
Never seeing the faults of others; rather look at the positives in them. Every single human being has positives in them. This will further harmonize our relationships.
Being open-minded and willing to listen to the point of view of others. This helps exchange positive vibrations between each other.
Trying not to have any preconceived opinions of others, as this destroys what could be or already was otherwise a healthy relationship.
Maintaining purity and sincerity while trying to fulfil our ambition.
All religious and spiritual paths propose that the essence of human life should be to not hurt any living being to the slightest extent. When we make a firm decision to not hurt others, subtle changes take place within. We gradually become more aware of our actions, thoughts and speech in every situation. The more we practise the discipline of not hurting others, the better we shall feel.
And if at all we happen to hurt someone, do not lose heart. Instead, simply follow the following three-step process called ‘pratikraman’ to successfully reverse the aggression caused to someone by asking for heartfelt forgiveness:
1. Alochana — Confess the mistake. Here, we accept our mistake and confess it before God. For example, “Oh God. It was my mistake that I got angry with so and so, and as a result, I hurt their feelings.”
2. Pratikraman — Ask for forgiveness for that mistake. Here, with all repentance in our heart, we sincerely apologise for our mistake before God. “Oh God, Please, forgive me for my mistake.”
3. Pratyakhyan — Make a firm resolve to never repeat the mistake. Here, we pray to God, “Oh God, I vow that I shall never repeat this mistake again. Please give me strength to fulfil my vow.”
Pratikraman is a scientific process that will over time, yield beautiful positive results for us and even to the person whom we have hurt. As long as we are remorseful for our deeds and we do pratikraman, we have upheld the sincere intent of not hurting others, our life will certainly improve for the better.
To know more: https://www.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/spiritual-science/what-is-a-soul/
Article author
About the Author
Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred withi
Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.
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