The Facets Of Character Building-Part II

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The Importance of Character Building

The importance of character-building occupies a vital and central place in spiritual life. Spiritual life sans character-building is like constructing a house without any mortar or cementing agent. Though all mystic traditions speak of moksha or spiritual liberation, a state beyond even the issue of character-building, no one denies that it is character-building which alone can be the guiding principle in all spiritual matters. Through the rigours of character-building the light of spirituality shines forth.

The word character, however, has several connotations.

One meaning is the behaviour of a person. When a person misbehaves or violates some accepted forms of social and moral practices, he is often said to be a man of loose or weak character.
Another meaning of character, in literary circles, is simply the way a person"s personality or life is portrayed in a book or story or article. This means a mixture of his good and bad traits. It is an evaluation of an individual"s moral qualities through the role he or she plays in a story or situation.

The word character, hence, could mean both good and bad qualities.

One could be a man (or woman) of good or bad character. Or, as is the case generally, one can be a person with a mixed character. Though this is true, the most striking connotation of character, however, lies in an interesting fact: it is almost always used to mean good. The expression that so-and-so is a man or woman of character invariably means good character. So deep is this identification of the term character with good that if one has to use it to mean differently, one has to use a particular adjective to specify it (bad, evil, mean, etc).

Swami Vivekananda, however, goes a step ahead and gives a most complete definition of the term. He also goes into the dynamics of character-building process and says: "Every work that we do, every movement of the body, every thought that we think, leaves such an impression on the mind-stuff, and even when such impressions are not obvious on the surface, they are sufficiently strong to work beneath the surface, subconsciously. What we are every moment is determined by the sum total of these impressions on the mind.

What I am just at this moment is the effect of the sum total of all the impressions of my past life. This is really what is meant by character; each man"s character is determined by the sum total of these impressions. If good impressions prevail, the character becomes good; if bad, it becomes bad. If a man continuously hears bad words, thinks bad thoughts, does bad actions, his mind will be full of bad impressions; and they will influence his thought and work without his being conscious of the fact.

In fact, these bad impressions are always working, and their resultant must be evil, and that man will be a bad man; he cannot help it. The sum total of these impressions in him will create the strong motive power for doing bad actions. He will be like a machine in the hand of his impressions, and they will force him to do evil. Similarly, if a man thinks good thoughts and does good works, the sum total of these impressions will be good; and they, in a similar manner, will force him to do good even in spite of himself. . .1"

What a complete picture of character building!

Repetition, or repeated thinking of a thought or happening of an action creates what we call character. It is an outcome of experience, of thoughts and actions, of reactions and responses—of life itself. In Swamiji"s insightful words: "Karma in its effect on character is the most tremendous power that man has to deal with. Man, as it were, is a centre, and is attracting all the powers of the universe, towards himself. Good and bad, misery and happiness, all are running towards him and clinging round him, and out of them he fashions the mighty stream of tendencies called character and throws it outwards.2"

About the author

Swami Atmashraddananda

Swami Atmashraddhananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and editor of The Vedanta Kesari from the year 2004 .