There is an inner compass that all of us possess. It gives us an instant, innate sense of right and wrong. The compass is an Impromptu Checklist of an Impending Action. It is also an Immediate Scorecard of an Action Just Completed.
It is a tool and like all tools it shapes itself by how it is used. If one heeds the intrinsic, spontaneous guidance and respects the subtle nudge it offers, our compass helps us. And if one doesn’t, it lies unused and slowly starts rusting away.
कळत आहे पण वळत नाही – I know what isn’t right, but I still do it.
कळत आहे पण वळत नाही – I know my bad habits, but I still have them.
कळत आहे पण वळत नाही – My inner compass gives me a direction, but I walk where my conditioning takes me.
जानामि धर्मं न च मे प्रावॄज्ञिल्त:|जानाम्यधर्मं न च मे निवॄज्ञिल्त:| – Knowing what is right, I couldn’t follow it; knowing what is wrong, I couldn’t desist from doing it.
So then, what is the way ahead? How does one get out of this endless loop? शनै: शनै: Slowly, slowly. One step at a time. One decision at a time. Step by step, day by day, the new lake will get filled drop by drop.
शनै: शनै: Slowly, slowly. Slowly but surely. Let the inner compass guide. One small step at a time; one small decision at a time.
The virtuous cycle is also a feedback loop. Each next step is easier, and every step you are stronger because the first step was the most difficult anyway.