Discipline Means Mastering Your Desires and Never Putting Off What Must Be Done

One of the most frequently discussed subjects in every spiritual School is discipline. There is no great Teacher who has not drawn the attention of his disciples and followers to this essential condition for growth along the path toward Truth. Discipline is the gateway to the narrow path leading to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Discipline is an inner disposition of the awakened soul, one that continually inspires it to act everywhere and in all things in harmony with the Divine Will, to give the very best of itself, and ceaselessly to test the limits of its own potential.

Depending on which aspect of the threefold human being is being disciplined, we may distinguish between:

• discipline of thought, or the mind;
• discipline of feeling, or the heart;
• discipline of action, or the body.

One of the most important signposts along the spiritual path is: “Do not correct the Divine!” Once you have recognized the Divine amid the material achievements that glitter with a false brilliance, never lose sight of it. Add nothing of your own to it, and follow it with complete devotion. It will reward you abundantly. Yet merely recognizing the Divine is not enough. You must also become united with it and transform it into an inseparable part of your own being. Without inner discipline and impeccable self-control, this could never be achieved.

Discipline is born of the disciple’s inner freedom. The disciple tolerates no coercion, either from without or from within. Master of himself, acknowledging only one law, the Divine Law, he never turns away from the choice he has once and for all made. The disciple imposes himself upon no one, nor does he allow anyone to impose upon him. When he follows his Teacher, he does so freely and consciously, with a clear vision of the horizon of self-realization. The Teacher, in turn, never resorts to compulsion. He waits for the disciple himself to comprehend the necessity of fulfilling the sacred Word, to apply it of his own free will, and to transform it into a new world in which dreams cherished for millennia become reality.

Yet there can be no fulfillment without discipline, that is, without a firm and steady step in the chosen direction. And this discipline must encompass the human mind, heart, and deeds alike.
The disciple of the School of Light does not fail to recognize the mistake of a fellow disciple, yet he never subjects it to criticism. He knows that when you criticize another, you assume half of the karmic debt of the one who has erred.

The criterion by which an action is judged to be right or wrong is its relation to Divine Truth. To distinguish one from the other requires keen and unerring inner sight, founded upon an adequate and coherent system of convictions. These are convictions formed and strengthened within the School, under the guidance of one’s Teacher. And in order to perform right actions while leaving wrong ones behind, one needs unwavering self-discipline and objective self-observation.

Life in the world of matter is a succession of trials: small and great, easy and painful, everyday and momentous. Whoever is faithful in little will also be faithful in much.We pass through each particular trial only once. It will never return in precisely the same form or under exactly the same circumstances in which we first encountered it. If we fail to pass through it with dignity, it will be presented to us again at some point in the future. This time, however, it will come under different conditions and with a greater degree of difficulty.

It is the disciple’s discipline that helps him face every trial with clear vision, without complaint, and with readiness to act as the Lord has ordained for him, that is, in the most rightful way. Thus he fulfills the Divine Will for himself, assists his own spiritual development, and brings greater light into the aura of the Earth through his noble striving toward the Good.

“There are disciples who work with small hoes, yet afterwards they want the large bowl. Therefore, the Teacher will sometimes take the disciple to the hoes and let him choose one himself; and according to the hoe, so shall be the bowl.”  Master Beinsa Douno

The wisdom of the great Initiate reveals one of the most difficult barriers to overcome upon the spiritual Path: greed. Greed is a fruit of the ego and bears witness both to inaccurate self-assessment and to desires and passions that have not been mastered.

A time-tested method for overcoming it is work, followed by receiving a reward that corresponds precisely to the effort invested. The educational principle of “according to the hoe, so shall be the bowl” inevitably helps curb the attempts of the lower nature to dominate the higher, increases objectivity of thought, and strengthens discipline.

Closely connected with the discipline of thoughts and feelings is the mastery of desires. According to the World Teacher Buddha, desires themselves are the principal source of human suffering.

It is equally harmful to seek constantly to avoid suffering or to pursue as much pleasure as possible. We should not flee from suffering, for it is necessary for the growth of wisdom, for the tempering of the spirit, and for gaining knowledge of life.

If suffering has come upon us, then it forms part of our karmic program, and we are called to accept it calmly, consciously, and wisely. Otherwise, at some future point it will return to us, only in a deeper and more painful form.

The discipline of thoughts, feelings, and actions also gives rise to one simple rule: “Do not postpone!” This applies to small matters as well as to great ones.
It is easier to forgive yourself for weakness and postpone what needs to be done. But by doing so, you feed laziness and carelessness. Learning not to postpone is a sign of complete inner mobilization and a self-discipline worthy of respect.

From this is born a remarkably valuable virtue: perseverance.
“If you wish to acquire perseverance, whenever the thought comes to you to do something, do it immediately! Do not postpone it! Every good undertaking, however small it may be, do not postpone it.”
— Master Beinsa Douno
All forms of discipline have their origin in thought. In the Teaching of Master Beinsa Douno, right thought is the key to success on every level of human expression.
Thus the self-discipline of thought becomes decisive in everything we undertake and in everything that meets us along the roads of life:

“Every negative thought is a dissonance. Correct it immediately. At once replace the negative thought with one that is luminous and harmonious.” — Master Beinsa Douno

A negative thought does more than disturb our inner equilibrium. It urges us toward unworthy deeds. Through the methods of polarization and transformation, we must immediately transform it into something positive, constructive, and capable of uplifting consciousness. The aura of the Earth is literally saturated with the recurring effects of negative thinking and with destructive thought-forms. They lie at the root of all human transgressions. People in whom the emotional nature predominates often abandon reason in favor of the heart. In many cases they make mistakes and experience suffering, disappointment, and hardship. Their fundamental task is to harmonize their thoughts and feelings and bring their interaction into balance.

One of the first requirements is to free themselves from unreasonable desires. The Teacher of the New Age offers the following guidance:
“The disciple should not desire things prematurely. He should not wish to smell the powerful essence. He cannot endure it. The essence may be so strong that it dulls his senses. The Teacher knows what the disciple needs. The disciple knows that everything will come in its proper time.”
Discipline may also be understood as one link in the chain: will – discipline – purity.

Will comes first, holding the leading role within the triad of the higher self. Will made manifest is transformed into strict discipline of thought, feeling, and action. And as the fruit of this all-embracing discipline, the disciple attains the necessary purity on every level of his being.

Then he has fulfilled the counsel of his Teacher:
“You must have purity. It is attained through will.”
— Master Beinsa Douno
The discipline of the feelings must also resolve another decisive question: how should we act when we have been offended, wounded, wronged, insulted, or robbed?
Should we seek justice ourselves, or should we entrust it to those invisible cosmic forces that arrange, with infinite patience, the mandala of human relationships?
Master Beinsa Douno advises us to entrust the inevitable restoration of balance precisely to those forces:
“You shall live without thoughts of revenge. The world may live according to its own laws; people have the right to act as they wish. But we shall act according to our laws, the laws of Love, Wisdom, Truth, Righteousness, Justice, and Virtue. And if we walk according to the Divine Laws, not a single hair shall fall from our heads.”
Also within the discipline of the feelings lies the ability to overcome irritation and offense the very moment they arise. Everyone knows how difficult this is and what unwavering self-mastery it requires.

The World Teacher expresses it in these words:

“The strong person does not become irritated. Taking offense is a dangerous weakness.”

We must also be disciplined in the way we use our time. Time is an irreplaceable treasure in earthly life. Once spent, it cannot be brought back.
To squander time is a form of idleness. It is a spiritual transgression which, although underestimated by many, brings long-lasting adverse consequences for the evolutionary growth of the human being.

Therefore, let us heed the words of Master Beinsa Douno:
“A person must value both his own time and the time of others. Do not misuse the time of your fellow human beings. A courteous person is not merely attentive and patient, not merely willing to listen to others, but also does not waste anyone’s time.”
Prof. Konstantin Zlatev, PhD, DSc