Things I Could Really Do Without

Things I Could Really Do Without

In my Raja Yoga class recently, we had a lesson on renunciation. Renunciation is one of those disciplines that doesn't seem to be appreciated in the Western World. With mottoes like 'he who dies with the most toys wins,' it's not surprising that we find renunciation difficult. I'm just trying to think back to my own years growing up. We learned values like 'waste not, want not' and 'treat others how you would like to be treated'. And in Christianity, there was the concept that the more you gave the more you received (charity). But I don't recall any strong emphasis on renunciation. The closest slogan I can find is 'everything in moderation'. In other words, everything is ok, as long as you don't indulge too much.

Ah, wait, there IS renunciation in Christianity. There is the season of lent when you are supposed to give up something. I remember my friends taking up smoking so that they'd have something to give up. But fasting during lent was not something my family practised. I never fully understood what lent was about until the film, Chocolat. So I missed out on some major renunciation. And having not practised renunciation, I never learned of the benefits.

I've been examining the idea of renunciation lately. I don't know about where you live, but here in the UK people are past renouncing. They had to for the war and so they feel they don't need to any more. Or they feel as if they still are renouncing - out of habit - and that everyone should practice their form of renouncing. Or they are too young to know what it means to do without and they don't care to learn. Renunciation has a negative feeling of 'doing without' or 'giving up' or 'making life uncomfortable'. But that is not the true spirit of renunciation.

The reason for renunciation is to cut out things that are unhelpful or harmful. One very basic example is smoking. I might enjoy smoking. It might help me to cope with stress. But it has lasting, and sometimes fatal, consequences. By smoking, I'm abusing my body and those bodies that share the same immediate environment. So I may choose to renounce smoking when I fully realize that the harm outweighs the benefit.

It got me thinking, what other things can I renounce. Here are a few ideas.

Stress. Can one renounce stress? Sure. Who creates my stress? I do. I put pressure on myself to perform. Or I allow other's expectations of me to dictate what I should do and how I should spend my time. Or I allow others to affect my emotions. Is renouncing stress easy? No. But it can be done.

Vices. Most big vices I've renounced. Lying, stealing, cheating, murder. What about anger (subtle violence)? What about greed? There are lots of small vices that, if I renounce them, it will improve my life and my relationships. Some feel they don't have any vices to renounce. I'd like to live with one of these people. If they are truly viceless, I can't think of a better housemate. :)

Sweets. Definitely. Why? Because through taking in too much sugar, I put myself at risk of illness. Lately I've been eating a lot of sugary foods. I have a sweet tooth, so I'm grabbing a sugary snacks in a hurry because I don't have time to produce a proper meal. Which snacks do I reach for? A cereal bar, chocolate, fruit yogurt. Some of these things sound healthy, but when I look at the ingredients I find that the yogurt and the cereal bar have more sugar than the chocolate! But I digress. By renouncing sweets, I practise loving care for the body and the body will be in a better position to serve me longer term.

So, renunciation is a choice. Through renunciation I choose to do something good for myself whilst renouncing something not so good. And in the practice of renunciation, it's helpful to focus on the benefit and not the object of renunciation. I remember when I stopped eating meat, I found myself looking for meat substitutes because I was focused on NOT EATING MEAT rather than EATING DELICIOUS NEW (and vegetarian) DISHES. Where we focus our attention will determine how much effort is required during our first weeks of renunciation.

Well, enough on renunciation. I'm hoping to NOT renounce blogging any longer. It's a useful learning tool for me and I enjoy sharing experiences and musings with the wider family.

Om shanti.

Thank you for reading. For more information on Raja Yoga philosophy see www.bkwsu.org.