Spirituality

Swa-Par Self Before Others

“Swa means ‘Self’ and Par means ‘Others’ i.e. put yourself before others. This may sound like an anti-thesis to many. However, this is what every Master in the world will advocate if you seek their advice on how to live an extraordinary life. Let’s try to dig a little deep into these two words and the order in which they are placed. ”

Swa means SELF not Selfish, not Self-centered, not Self-absorbed, not Self-consumed, it is just the SELF. Your entire focus must be on self-awareness and self-development. You got to become mentally strong, physically fit, spiritually connected, learn to become more capable, competent, peaceful, forgiving, compassionate, loving and caring. Only when you truly feel centered and experience flow within that you can qualify to help or guide others.

SO HERE ARE THE BIG THREE IDEAS:

1. Practice Solitude:

Solitude is more a state of mind and heart than it is a place. It is a state of inward attentiveness. It is the discipline that calls us to consciously pull away from everything else in our lives.

When you master this ability you will begin to experience a state of flow which will in turn help you:

• Gain intellectual clarity
• Attain emotional balance
• Develop moral courage among other things

Consider silence and stillness as ways to establish yourself in Solitude and you will begin to enjoy the process of spending time with yourself and truly begin to enjoy your own company.

2. Develop Virtues:

Virtue is the quality of being morally good. For most of us the fundamental questions of ethics is – What should I DO? How should I ACT? In difficult situations? My answer is to take refuge in the Universal Truths which directs us to focus on development of habits that promote human excellence and happiness.

Yes, virtues are like habits – they require intense training and practice to develop. Like building muscles or preparing for a marathon race. However, it’s worth the efforts because the greatest reward of developing good virtues is that you begin to feel better about yourself and others.

3. Indulge in Tapasya:

It is a process of controlling your mind, body and speech to attain the higher end of life – which is spiritual realization. Literally it means the generation of heat or energy, referring to spiritual practice and its effects, especially the roasting of karmic seeds. The burning up of karma. Without tapasya there is no spiritual progress.

You may wish to consider external forms of Tapasya like Anasan which is fasting, or Pratisanlinata which is to gain control on all senses to stop pleasant or unpleasant temptations or internal forms of Tapasya like Swadhyay meaning study and reflect on sacred books or dhyan which means to meditate.

So in conclusion, Swa-Par means start with yourself.

• Work on yourself instead of advising others
• Transform yourself instead of changing others
• Master the art of self-control instead of controlling others

The journey has to begin from within. That’s the true essence of SWA PAR.