Moral Education: Self-Restraint v. Self-Indulgence

Those who believe in self-restraint must not become hypochondriacs. The letters that come to me show that many correspondents brood over their ill-success in the exercise of self restraint. Like everything else that is good, self restraint too requires an inexhaustible store of patience. There is absolutely no reason to despond, and there must be no brooding. There should be no conscious effort to driven away evil thoughts. That process is itself a kind of indulgence.

The best prescription perhaps in non-resistance, i.e., ignoring the existence of evil thoughts and a continuous pre-occupation with duties that lie in front of one. This presupposes the existence of some kind of all-absorbing service requiring the concentration of mind, soul and body upon it. “Idle hands some mischief still will even find to do”, is never so applicable as in this case. Evil thoughts, much more evil deeds are impossible when we are thus pre-occupied. Strenuous labour in accordance with one’s physical capacity is, therefore, absolutely necessary for whose who will obey the law of self-restraint which is indispensable for individual as well as universal progress.