The Power of Habit

It is a fact of life that the majority of the human race are creatures of habit. Most of us wake up at the same time each day, get out of bed on the same side, put our clothes on in the same way – right sock first (or left), and so on. We usually eat the same food for breakfast, drink the same brand of tea or coffee and read the same newspaper.

So, when we first become interested in the path of the masters, habit is ready to be our ally. You see, the habit of habit, whether at work or at home, is everywhere.

Let’s consider this in the context of the four principles:

First, we promise to be lifelong lacto-vegetarians, so that we incur as little karma as possible, through our food. Some of us may think, when faced with this proposition, that breaking the habit of eating what we like without thought, is too difficult. However, there is a wide choice of suitable ingredients to cook with, and plenty of vegetarian and vegan restaurant dishes to order. We simply need to develop the habit of checking the ingredients when we shop for food, and of asking the right questions in restaurants, so that we don’t accidentally consume anything containing meat, fish, or eggs. As explained on the official Radha Soami Satsang Beas website: “A vegetarian diet encourages respect and empathy for all life and acknowledges that there is a debt to be paid for taking any life unnecessarily.”

The second promise, to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs improves our ability to concentrate during meditation and helps to calm our busy minds. Once again, habit offers the answer. When in social or work situations with others, we should habitually check that drinks offered to us don’t contain alcohol. Another helpful habit, if pressed to drink alcohol, is to say “no thank you, I’d prefer something soft.” Once these habits are ingrained in our everyday behaviour, we will barely need to think in such situations, but will act and speak out of habit, avoiding error or temptation.

The third promise is to lead a moral life, which includes earning our own living and, as Baba Ji frequently reminds us, to be a good person. Practicing kindness and compassion towards others pays us dividends both mentally and socially; it smooths many of our interactions with people and helps us to tread more lightly through life.

Finally, the fourth promise, to meditate for two and a half hours every day from the date of our initiation until our death. So many of us seem to agonize over this but now habit truly becomes our friend. Having layered one habit upon another to keep the previous three vows, we have a strong foundation upon which to successfully build the essential habit of meditation. By living an honest, upright life, keeping a clear mind, not befuddled by alcohol or a heavy diet, it’s easier to create the habit of getting to bed early, so that we have enough sleep, before rising for our meditation. As time goes on, it is habit (rather than our alarm) that wakes us up to sit.

Habit gives us the best chance of stilling the mind and focusing on our simran and bhajan. Hazur Maharaj Charan Singh tells us in Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II:

If you fix a particular time and place for your meditation – whether half the time you are dong your meditation and the other half you fall asleep – slowly and gradually you will get into the habit of sitting at that time, and you will not get sleepy. When you are so used to getting up at 3.30 or 4.00 in the morning, then however sleepy you may be, you will at once get up and won’t sleep, because you have formed a habit of getting up at that particular time. So we should form a habit to sit in meditation and then there is no problem.

When we attend to our meditation for the full time, every day, then we can truly understand that it is this powerful habit that will lead us to the achievement of our prime purpose in life – that of realizing the ocean of love, which is the Lord.