Will is not power. But it is all the power that we have.
Therefore what we call will power in us is, more accurately, Will power. A power which increases by us recognising it. This proves to be one of greatest mysteries in life. The more we apply Willpower to ourselves in the form of diet, lifestyle, codes of ethics, service, delivery of work, adding value, kindness and how we behave, the more powerful we get.
If there is any secret behind the mystery of the world of success that can be learned, it is through the power of Will.
Will power is a combination of physical and mental strength. Our hands, with all their perfect mechanics, cannot hold a glass of water if there is no Willpower to support it. If Willpower fails us, a seemingly healthy person, will not be able to even stand.
It is not only the body nerves and muscles which give us the strength to stand-up, it is actually governed mostly by our Willpower. It is not the power of the physical that makes us move about in life, it is Willpower that thrusts the body forward into motion. Therefore, birds do not fly with the wings, they fly with Willpower. Fish do not swim with their body; they swim with their Willpower. And when a human has the Will to swim, they swim like fish.
Humankind has been able to complete tremendous things by the strength of the power of Will. Success is its result. Will brings us to success, and when Will fails, however intelligent the person, they fail. Therefore it is not the human power solely that moves us, it is a spiritual power found in the human body that makes unbelievable feats possible. This spiritual power is Willpower.
The work of the mind is great, because no human can hold a single thought in their mind for a single moment if there is not the strength of their Will to hold it. If a person cannot concentrate, cannot keep their thoughts still for a moment, it means that Willpower fails them, as it is Willpower which holds a thought.
Willpower is developed in many ways. A child watching a computer screen or television is focussed on the game or movie is actually developing in the fastest way possible, what once took a lifetime, the power of Will.
Willpower is another word for love; in metaphysical terms love is Willpower. If one says “Universe is love”, it means in reality Universe is Will. For the energy of the entire Universe manifested the parts, but the Will of the Universe caused creation. So the most original aspect of love is Will. When a person says, “I love to do it” it means, “I Will myself to do it”, which is a stronger expression and means, “I fully love to do it”.
To the progressive world of advanced thinkers, this Willpower is the key which reveals how everything came into existence. It’s existence came into being, in answer to the Will which expressed itself in saying; “be”, and it became”. This does not only belong to the origin of things, it belongs to the whole being of things, to the whole process of manifestation.
We were all born with Willpower. Just listen to a baby cry for food or warmth. We received Willpower as our own divine heritage, and it is our increasing consciousness of that Will which makes it greater. We don’t just get more Willpower. We have it inherent. And, in contrast, if we are not conscious of it, it becomes smaller. It is the optimistic attitude towards life, which develops the power of will, and the pessimistic attitude which reduces it and robs it of its great power.
Therefore, if there is anything that hinders our progress toward happiness, fulfilment, success and achievement in life, it is ourselves. It is proven a thousand times over that there is no one in the world who can be a worse enemy to us than ourselves, for at every failure we see ourselves standing in our own light, surrendering our Willpower to others or, through pessimistic outlook, or fear, shrinking it.
The ground holds the seed and the result is that a plant grows and eventually bears fruit. So it is with Willpower; the Will holds the seed of the thought, and within this, a plant springing out and brings forth the fruit of fulfilment. But it is not only the power of creating the thought that makes fulfilment and achievement grow, it is the power of holding the thought which is of very great importance.
Therefore, the thought of the affirmation and visualisation and the act of holding the thought in the mind are both of great importance for the fulfilment of an individual’s chosen destiny. Often a person will say “I try my best but I cannot get my mind to concentrate , I cannot make my mind still”. It is true that they cannot concentrate, but it is not true that they try their best. Best does not appear here. Best really brings Willpower – a purpose to fulfilment.
Willpower can be compared to a wild horse. Many have broken in a wild horse and made the horse trained and capable of doing work for them. It is such a strange experience to be controlled and tamed, that the horse will kick and jump and run and try to destroy the ropes and the holder of the ropes. So it is understandable for the mind to kick and jump when you yoke it to one thought and try to hold it for a while; the mind becomes restless because it is not accustomed to discipline.
It is an irony that the mind will hold by itself a thought of disappointment, of pain, of grief, of sorrow or failure. The mind will hold it so tightly that you cannot take the thought from its grip; the mind holds it of its own accord. But when the mind is requested to hold a particular affirmation or visualisation, a positive proactive complimentary thought, then it will not hold it, responding instead by saying “fuck off, I am free and I will not be controlled”.
When the mind is discipline by concentration, by the power of Will, then the mind becomes yoked to your work. It becomes your servant rather than your master. Once the mind has become your servant, what more can you wish? Then your world is your own, you are the king or Queen of your kingdom. But some people will argue, “why not let the mind be free, as we are free?” But this is like saying: “let the horse be free and the rider be free”. The horse will go one way and the rider will go the other. Who will win? They cannot go in separate directions or there is madness. But how, under these circumstances can they go together?
Some people will say; “let me be free, and the Will should also be free. I can eat and drink whatever gives me satisfaction.” But without discipline, we are nothing.
Self-discipline, however difficult and tyrannical to ourselves it may seem in the beginning, is that which makes the master of the Self.
Self mastery is a combination of discipline and applied Will. It is not in vain that the great ones of all walks of life, lead aesthetic lives, with great purpose. It is not something to imitate, but it is something to understand. All SUCCESS comes out of self-discipline, it is the development of Willpower.
The best way to cultivate Willpower is by first systematically putting the body into a certain discipline. It must sit in the posture that is prescribed to it; it must stand in a place where it is asked to stand. The body must not become restless, or fatigued by what is asked of it. You’ll see this in yoga. The body must answer to the demands of the person to whom it belongs. The moment we begin to discipline the body we begin to see how disobedient the body has always been. Then we find out that this body, which I have called mine, myself, and for whose comfort I have done everything possible, given it rest, nourishment, even closed my eyes to the unpleasant things of life, remains faithless and disobedient. So the body is trained with physical exercises by the mind using Willpower.
after the body is trained with physical discipline using Willpower, the next is the discipline of the mind. This is done by concentration. It can only take place after the body has become disciplined.
When you wish the mind to think about one particular thought, while the mind is thinking another thought, then the mind becomes very restless. It does not want to stand in one spot, because it has always been moving about without discipline. As soon as you discipline it, it becomes like a wild horse. Very often people tell me that during the day their most difficult moment is the moment that they want to concentrate. At this time the mind will start to jump, at other times it moves. This is because the mind is an entity. It becomes restless. It feels like a wild horse would feel in the taming process. At the same time this mind is meant to be an obedient servant. This body is meant to become your tool with which to experience life. If mind and body are not in order, if they do not act as you wish them too, then you cannot hope for real comfort or for real happiness in this world.
In contrast to what I am saying here most people are taught to be run by their body and their mind. The body seeks pleasure, the mind always wants to be right. You ask a child “what do you want for breakfast?” and with this question you teach them to follow their body. You ask a person how they feel and you are enabling them to follow their emotions and therefore their mind makes them a slave. Most people who abhor slavery and the savagery of it, are themselves slaves because they have not harnessed the wild horses of body and mental discipline. They exercise without demand and eat, drink and follow their mind wherever it takes them in moods, emotions and opinions. They are slaves in a free world in the worst way. Destroying their potentiality, their Will and their heritage thrown away.
There is a difference between concentration and silence. Concentration is holding a certain thought before you. Silence is relaxing mind and body, it is repose, and healing. Further, concentration is the beginning of Willpower, and Willpower is the end of concentration. Discipline of holding a thought is an advanced form of concentration. The subtle working of the mind is called meditation. Willpower is a more profound concentration, but once concentration is accomplished fully, it becomes easy for a person to meditate.
Consciousness and Willpower are fundamentally the same thing.
It is therefore by putting the human Will in contact with the universal laws that life mastery is accomplished. Resignation of the human Will to the real power of the universal laws is a true taming of mind and body.