The Wisdom of Reflection -Swadhyaya

Three Circumstances for Making Wise Choices

+Sr Ishpriya recently released a video clip on both You Tube and the ISA Website 
Its subject was Free Will. Now this got me thinking about the responsibility free will 'imposes' and its various choices.  I was also aware of our upcoming Day of Reflection and their place in my rhythm of special times set aside for deeper reflection. This led to the following brief reflections:

If we accept that we possess Free Will then this requires us to be responsible for our choices   and their consequences. However, it can help to be aware that there are three main mental, emotional and spiritual states we face when making choices.


First of all there are times when feelings are unsettled and our thoughts are in turmoil.

Sometimes our emotions are in turmoil when we ponder and struggle with the alternatives. We may experience many strong feelings as we face the prospect of choosing—anger, fear, confidence, confusion, hope, sadness and many others. Wise Spiritual Teachers warn us about making decisions at these times because these situations require us to more carefully observe, understand and interpret these feelings. We could all benefit by taking time out to discern the spiritual meaning of our feelings and thoughts and discover how they point us to the right choice, a choice based on deeper wisdom.

Secondly there are times when seemingly there is no doubt.  

Sometimes the right decision seems unmistakably clear. We know what the right choice is. All we need do is act on what we know. However, we often put off acting on what we know and this can be both puzzling and frustrating. However, the reality may be we don’t know enough either about the situation or our real self. Once again we could benefit from taking time out discern the spiritual meaning and discover how this could  point us  to the right choice.

Finally there are times when our emotions, thoughts and spirits  are calm.

These are the times when we can we approach a decision in a tranquil and settled frame of mind. This is probably the wisest and easiest time for decision-making  because we can bring to bear our wholeness, our oneness and all the power of our emotional, thoughtful and spiritual self to shine a light on our choices. These are times of real spiritual discernment and wisdom. All the great Spiritual Traditions have examples of how great Teachers took ‘time out’ to discern and make wise decisions and statements.

Reflection or more correctly self-reflection is a spiritual necessity. In the Hindu Tradition it is one of the 5 Niyamas – It is known as Swadhyaya. – Study of Self by the self. One focus of this niyama is learning from our own lives. We are our own teachers. Lessons abound for us. There is a reason that we are here in this life now and part of that is to learn.  Swadhyaya lasts a lifetime .

So , perhaps our task and responsibility as Spiritual Seekers,  could be to set aside times for Reflection that  help us reach  moments of calm – because in those moments we can more readily enter periods of Inner Silence and Tranquility  and thus both Listen to and  ‘hear’ the inner voice  that enables us  find our Inner Moral Compass, to more fully understand and be aware of our choices  and thus discern the right choice.