NEVER ABANDON VIRTUE

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

26. NEVER ABANDON VIRTUE
The path of wisdom leads one to peace and joy, to one’s renowned and good name, unto
one’s divine perfection and liberation. To be unwise is to take the downward path, to court
misfortune and to create one’s unhappiness, downfall and ultimate failure in this field of life where
one was sent to make effort, to be wise and to succeed.
God’s plan for man is ascent unto divine perfection which is inherent, latent, in every
human individual because of the fact that the inner, subtle, hidden, essential, true identity of the
human being is the God-nature. For the individual soul is part and parcel of the Universal Soul.
Therefore, God’s plan for man is not sorrow or failure, it is ascent unto perfection, a successful
journey culminating in liberation, a transcendence of all sorrow, pain and suffering and an entering
into a supernal state of eternal joy and peace.
The wise sadhaka always keeps this in his or her mind and proceeds to fulfil God’s will in
their life by being wise and striving diligently to awaken and unfold the perfection of God that lies
within their innermost centre, where one is not man but one is God, where one is not human but one
is Divine.
The wise, therefore, pursue the path of virtue, for they know that wisdom lies in the practice
of virtue. They know that God Himself coming as Lord Krishna has stated that divine virtues,
spiritual graces, lead to liberation, and their contradiction, their opposite, lead to bondage and
misery. And to bring this home in a still more forcible manner, He goes on to state that three of the
vices—lust, anger and greed—are gateways to hell. They destroy the spiritual nature of man;
therefore, they have to be given up.
When the Lord has given us both sides—what leads to a downfall and what leads to
liberation—we have to be wise sadhakas and throw our weight fully on the side of that which leads

to our own liberation. The path of virtue should never be given up. Even when one is assailed by the
greatest temptations, even when one is assailed by the winds of carnal passion, greed, fear or even
threat to one’s own life, even at the risk of this, the path of virtue should never be given up.
One should ruthlessly abandon all that is the opposite of virtue, all that threatens the path of
virtue. No matter how attractive it may appear, no matter how pleasant it may seem, yet there is in it
danger like poison. If it is sweet in taste, it does not become less dangerous. It is the same poison; it
is lethal; it is fatal; it will kill; and, therefore, it has to be abandoned ruthlessly. Even so, wisdom lies
in adhering to the path of virtue, and no cost is too great.
The practice of virtue, a life of virtue, is not just silly sentiment. It is not just a beautiful
emotion, a sort of a theoretical, artistic, aesthetic urge in man. Far from it. It is in dead earnest; it is
very serious. It is a science. From the point of view of Yoga and Vedanta, it is a science.
It is the adherence to virtue alone that burns up all unspiritual latent impressions in the mind.
There is no other means of burning up wrong samskaras and vasanas except by the fire that is
produced by strict adherence to the path of virtue.
Virtue is a purifying force; virtue is a divine power. Just as they say that all karmas are burnt
by the fire of jnana, the fire of transcendental wisdom, even so all unspiritual samskaras or vasanas
are burnt up in the powerful fire of virtue. Virtue is a blazing fiery power that has the possibility of
burning up everything that stands in the way of full Divinity.
The practice of virtue is scientific because virtue creates sattva, and of the three gunas it is
sattva that has an upward propulsion, a force that lifts one up, makes one take the ascending path.
Vedantists insist upon virtue, because it is the one way of going deep within—to the subtlest depths
of our being and burning up asuddha samskaras. Raja yoga prescribes virtue because virtue refines
the mind stuff, makes it subtle; and, therefore, one is able to practise concentration which requires a
refined and subtle mind. Also, spiritual instructions that are heard or imbibed from svadhyaya will
only stay in a mind that is subtle, that is pure, that is sattvic.
Therefore, it is that they say that one should adhere to the path of virtue. And one should
practise virtue as if it is the last chance that one has, as though tomorrow one may die. The pursuit of
knowledge should be done with patience, as though one will live a hundred years. Because you
cannot imbibe knowledge in a hurry; it is a slow process of evolutionary growth of the
understanding and intellect. But the wise person practises virtue as though this is the one and only
chance; it is not to be missed. It is to be practised immediately, never postponing it, never hesitating,
never allowing any time to pass between a virtuous thought and a virtuous deed.
This is the great necessity. In virtue lies wisdom. In wisdom lies your success in life, your
highest welfare. It is the guarantee and assurance of your peace, bliss, illumination, immortality and
liberation. Therefore, virtue should never be abandoned, come what may.
The practice of virtue is not something that has to do with morality and ethics only. It has to
do with human culture. It has very much to do with spirituality.