A Triumvirate approach towards Habits

Above Picture Courtesy: https://gods-and-demons.fandom.com/wiki/Trimurti

An interesting concept in Hinduism (Sanaathana Dharma or Way of life) is that of a Triumvirate consisting of Lord Brahma the creator, Lord Vishnu the preserver, and Lord Shiva the destructor. In normal parlance, it refers to creation, preservation and eventual destruction of life. Well, there is a lot of philosophy that goes along this school of thought. We could however apply this concept into a non-philosophical concept such as Habits; how to create, preserve and destroy habits. A popular quote goes like “Habits Maketh the Man“, some have rightfully added that “and un-maketh him too“. If habits make or break a person, its very important that we give it some serious thoughts.

We all aspire to achieve greatness, in whatever way we look at it. As its been written and told, greatness doesn’t come cheap, it comes with strings attached. One such string is about the need for specific habits. Be it reading, exercising, awareness, focus, etc. In pursuit of becoming a better version of ourselves, we need to continuously evolve and adopt new habits. Waking up early probably; Eating a nutritious & right amount of diet maybe. We need to let the Lord Brahma in us to manufacture such enriching habits. First step though is the self realization that we need some changes in life and which new habits we could acquire for the same. List them down and mobilize Lord Brahma to create these non-negotiable habits.

Well, just the creation of habit is not enough. It doesn’t actually become a habit until it becomes a natural routine. The habits need to be cultivated and sustained over a long period of time. This is where we employ Lord Vishnu to strengthen our resolve in honing these daily/weekly habits. Wake up early everyday, exercise every day, read everyday, for example. The exact duration is not important, but doing it everyday is the most important. Empower Lord Vishnu in us to preserve these must-do habits. Be careful dealing with this Lord though!. Change is something that is inherently resisted by our system, so most of our lives Lord Vishnu is in total control, happily sustaining both the good old and bad old habits. We need serious contemplation and list down the habits that we currently have that must be preserved.

Destruction is normally used in a quite negative way. However, when applied in the right context, it makes a world of difference. When we talk about habits, everyone knows that one should strive towards destroying bad ones. Lets be honest, we all have those annoying bad habits that HAS to go. I have this impulsive behavior that makes me act or talk before thinking through. This leads to anger and whole menu of negative emotions, quite detrimental to both my personal and professional life. Lets seek help from the Lord Shiva within us to destroy these ridiculous habits. There are well known bad habits such as Smoking, Drinking, Gambling, Adultery, etc. that jeopardizes one’s health, wealth and relationships; Identify the ones in your lives and rip them apart. Over the years we would have “learnt” and accumulated vast set of “bad” habits and unlearning & letting these go is where we must spend more time and energy on. Hence, more older we are, more extra baggage we have and more we need to channelize on the Lord Shiva aspect and go on a destruction mode.

Taking a triumvirate approach to habits should take us on a path that we are destined; to be the BEST version of our self. Lets compile and list the new habits that we NEED to create, list the good habits we have and MUST be preserved, list the bad habits that we HAVE to destroy. Its time to relinquish the total cruise control from Lord of equilibrium and start seeking more guidance from the other two powerful Lords to create new habits and destroy old habits, one habit at a time. Good Luck!