Temptation

There are various kinds of temptation. One kind of temptation everybody knows, and that is physical temptation, the temptation to lead an ordinary life, a lower life. This temptation tempts us to enter into the pleasure world, the vital world, sex life and all kinds of undivine activities. If we listen to this temptation, it is the death of our spiritual life. If we give in to this temptation, it takes years and years and years to come out of this life.

Another temptation is aggressive vital temptation. This comes in the form of ego. Like Julius Caesar we want to say, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” We are tempted to have everybody come and touch our feet. We want to be powerful and strong so that we can lord it over others. We feel that will give us real satisfaction. When ego comes forward and tempts us, we feel that we are the supreme lord and everybody else is useless.

In the mental world there is still another kind of temptation. We feel that we know everything, whereas the rest of the world is composed of fools. Everybody, everybody else, is an ignorant fool, and we are the only ones who know everything. In the mental world we are tempted to believe that we possess the sea of wisdom and everybody else possesses the sea of ignorance. We are tempted to believe that we are the only knowers, whereas the rest of the world is a mass of ignorance.

There is one other form of temptation. This is the temptation to feel that we alone are purity’s flood, and that the rest of the world is all impurity. We are the only pure and divine persons around. This is a form of ego, but it is different from normal ego. It is very subtle and, at the same time, very damaging,

Now, how can we conquer these forms of temptation? We can conquer them only by surrendering — not to them, but to the divine Light, to the divine Will. How can we do this? We can do it by consciously trying during our meditation to feel that we are the instrument and somebody else is the player. And who is that somebody? It is the Inner Pilot. If we feel that we are the doer, the undivine forces will mock us. They will come and make us proud, haughty, undivine, impure and insecure. So we have to pray to the Supreme during our meditation: “O Lord, I am Your instrument. I am so grateful that You have accepted me as Your instrument, and I am so grateful that You have made me a conscious instrument. Please use me in Your own Way.”

There are millions and millions of people on earth who are not conscious of the fact that they are the instruments of God. Just because we have accepted the spiritual life, we are fully conscious of the fact that we are the instruments and God is the Player. If we can maintain that kind of feeling, there will be no temptation. As long as we want to be the doers, wrong forces will come to attack us and devour us. But if we become absolutely helpless and feel, “I am the instrument, O God. You play, You utilise me,” then all the temptation will come and attack our Inner Pilot, God, and He will not be affected at all.

When we become the lord, when we feel there is no other lord, then the temptation forces will come and attack us. But if we become clever and wise and say, “No, no, no, I am not the doer; I am the instrument. The doer is somebody else,” then those forces will come and attack the Doer, the Omnipotent, the Supreme. And then we will be safe.