DISCOURSES Volume II - Avatar Meher Baba Trust

THE NATURE OF THE EGO AND ITS TERMINATION : I 63Conflict can be solvedthrough true valuationcourse of mental life. The eliminationof conflict is possible only through consciouscontrol over the psychic forces inthe sub-conscious; and this control can bepermanently attained only through the repeated exercise of truevaluation in all the cases of conflict which are presented to themind.If the mind is to be freed from conflict it must always makethe right choice and must unfailingly prefer the truly important tothe unimportant. The choice has to be both intelligent and firm inall cases of conflict—important as well as unimportant. It has toNeed for intelligentchoicebe intelligent, because only through the pursuitof true and permanent values is itpossible to attain a poise which is notdetrimental to the dynamic and creative flow of mental life. Anunintelligent choice, if it is stern, may temporarily overcomeconflict, but it is bound in the long run to curtail the scope of life orto hamper the fulfillment of the whole personality. Moreover, theconflict will surely reappear in some other form if it has not beenintelligently solved. An intelligent solution, on the other hand,requires an insight into true values, which have to be disentangledfrom false values. The problem of the conflict of desires thus turnsout to be the problem of conflicting values, and the solution ofmental conflict therefore requires a deep search for the realmeaning of life. It is only through wisdom that the mind can befreed from conflict.Having once known what the right choice is, thenext step is to stick to it firmly. Although the competingtendencies in the mind may be quieted by choosing oneFidelity to right choiceobstacles in making theparticular course in preference to otheralternatives, they still continue to act as