The four corners of life are the soul, mind, body and duties. The soul requires that we identify with it and then do something to promote its interest. The mind more than anything requires peace, which most of us realise at some point in our lives.
The body needs proper care otherwise it gives more trouble than pleasure. Duties we must do otherwise we will be failing as human beings. I will go into their details in the following paragraphs.
I will start with the eternal soul, which is most important, because we are souls, not perishable bodies. How do we effect this change in identityIJ Studying bona fide scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita will help. Hearing spiritual discourses from realised souls is another way. Then, we need to practise what we have learnt and discuss with like-minded persons to reinforce this change in perception from body to soul.
That done, we are ready to derive many benefits from soul consciousness. Our desires will not be entirely related to our material bodies, but we will also think hard to help ourselves, souls, in our eternal journey. This soul consciousness qualifies us to get bliss at some point, and fear of death will slowly but surely begin to reduce — a great boon.
We will be guided by dharma in our actions not by lustful desires, which ultimately cause our doom. God begins to guide from inside and outside through his mediums, and there are plenty of them amongst us. They have faith in God, though they may not be preachers in the strict sense; God uses them as his mediums to help others. With soul consciousness comes more awareness; we begin to see the big picture, not a self-centered view of the world that we are generally used to seeing.
Next comes the mind, for which peacefulness is most important. Briefly, these will be some of the benefits. The quality of life will be high; one will enjoy health benefits; will not get easily agitated or depressed; only a peaceful person can be happy; and one will be well placed to connect with God. How does one become peacefulIJ One should enjoy peace. Rather peace should be the guiding factor in doing anything.
One should have a mood of sacrifice; should not be attached to fruits of action; should have control over self; should generally be satisfied; should give up lustful desires; consciousness should be rooted in knowledge; and one should take shelter of God.
The body, which is the vehicle for whatever we wish to do, comes next in our priorities. In the absence of good health, it is difficult to achieve our objectives of life. For achieving good health, we must eat in such a fashion that all our bodily requirements are met in the matters of nutrition and energy.
Sleep is very important in order to be healthy. The number of hours one should sleep is highly individual but around seven hours is generally considered good. Exercise is similarly crucial to maintain good health, and should never be given up. last but not the least is entertainment, which should also not be neglected.
Finally, we come to the fourth corner, which is to be dutiful at all times. Time, place and circumstances determine our duties, which must be fulfilled so we can lead a successful life.
Dutifulness gains us self-respect; we are trusted and given important responsibilities; we become useful; and people pay attention to us and support us. For being dutiful, let us remember that everyone has duties irrespective of who he or she is; attachment to inaction brings punishment only, and the precious human life is squandered.
In summary, if we take care of these four corners of life we can be happy, which is everyone’s desire and goal.
Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com