Yoga Vasistha : SELF CONTROL.

VASISTHA continued:
Rama, there are four gate-keepers at the entrance to the Realm of Freedom(Moksha).They are :
Self-control.
Spirit of enquiry.
Contentment.
Good Company(Satsang).


He alone is the best among men,O Rama, whose mind rests in the eternal and is therefore, fully self-controlled and at peace.He sees that pleasure and pain chase and cancel each other, and in that wisdom there is self-control and peace. He who does not see this sleeps in a burning house.
He who gains the wisdom of the eternal here is freed from samsara and he is not born again in ignorance. One may doubt that such unchanging  truth exists! If it does not, one comes to no harm by enquiring into the nature of life for seeking the eternal will soften the pain caused by the changes in life. But, if it exists, then by knowing it one is freed!
The eternal is attained neither by rites,rituals, pilgrimages nor by wealth; it is to be attained only by the conquest of one's mind, by the cultivation of wisdom. Hence everyone - gods, demons, demi-gods ro men should constantly seek the conquest of the mind and self-control  which are fruits of wisdom.
All that is good and auspicious flows from self-control. All evil is dispelled by self-control. No pleasure in this world or in heaven is comparable to the delight of self-control. The delight one experiences in the presence of the self-controlled is incomparable. Everyone spontaneously trusts him. Noone hates him.
Self-control , O Rama, is the best remedy for all physical and mental ills. When there is self-control the food you eat tastes better.He who wears the armour of self-control is not harmed by sorrow.