jaya p
In a famous scene in the movie Enter the Dragon Bruce Lee describes his fighting style as the art of âfighting without fightingâ, (jitkondo). Strange and paradoxical as it may seem, that is precisely what Gandhijiâs ahimsa is all about!
Resistance without the violence, verbal, emotional or physical is more potent than all the nuclear weapons on the planet. In a similar way, competing without competing is far more powerful than overt, aggressive, âin your faceâ competition that is so prevalent today.
Preoccupation With External World
Our attention, all too often, is fixed on the external world. We are transfixed by stimuli from the Net, news sources, peers, competitors, friends, family⦠the list is endless. We are forever busy answering phone calls and emails, attending meetings and reviews, travelling mentally and physically, by car, train and aircraft.
We are hurtling like asteroids through space trailing a cloud of cosmic dust in our wake. Debris of all kinds follows us: hurt feelings, broken relationships, oversized CO{-2} footprintsâ¦.In all this frenetic action the real person inside is forgotten.
So much so that we donât even know who we really are. Only a superficial concept of ourselves as a bundle of specific skills and attitudes, position and personality remains. We operate out of that superficial concept and understanding and so get snagged even more on the outcroppings of the external world.
Since we have not mastered the art of introspection and contemplation we are unfamiliar with the internal mindscape. Itâs unfamiliar and scary territory so we revert to the familiar hurly burly of the external world. In the process we perpetuate our engagement outside, with all its attendant misery.
Understanding the Internal Mindscape
When we spend more time and effort on understanding our internal mindscape the territory becomes more familiar; we then discover capabilities that have remained unnoticed and dormant.
Every one of us possesses infinite endowments; however we have to dive deep down and expend effort to identify, understand and use them. This is something that our spiritual heritage has enjoined us to do.
Practitioners of the ancient Sidha Yoga tradition of Tamil Nadu, notably Boganathar, were, for example, said to have mastered the art of immortality through a combination of meditation, bhakti, yoga, kaya kalpa and alchemy. In fact, their detailed writings serve as a self-development manual for any aspirant wiling to invest the effort.
Scale of Life
Every one of us lives on what I call the Scale of Life; scales vary from person to person and therefore are not comparable.
So benchmarking ourselves against others is not really a productive exercise simply because the combination and interaction of tangible and intangible parameters in every individualâs life is qualitatively different.
On the surface level many people may seem to be âsuccessfulâ but there are so many facets of their lives that are unknown to us that may be beset with innumerable sorrows.
Complete data can never be available to validate an accurate or comprehensive comparison of our respective lives. We can and must, however, learn from the lives of others.
Competing without competing is all about focusing energy and attention inwards to discover and utilise our true capabilities. We must learn to identify our own scale and constantly move up on it. Let me explain. All of us have some dim and hazy idea of our own Ideal Self, the perfect person weâd like to become.
This Ideal Self encompasses the physical, emotional, intellectual, behavioural, and financial aspects of ourselves.
We can visualise this Ideal Self by iterative practice. Suppose we allocate a score of 10 (perfect) on a 10 point scale to that Ideal Self. If 10 is our Ideal, what score are we at now? Suppose we are at four currently; our task and indeed the focal point of our life is to move from four towards 10 on our own Scale of Life.
Moving Up The Scale of Life
Moving up the scale entails inward focus. That means we look at ourselves continuously and identify our strengths and weakness, a kind of deep and profound SWOT. By watching and observing ourselves and our behaviour we learn to balance ourselves.
By listing and then eliminating negative thoughts and emotions we detox ourselves from within. Meditation and chanting the mahamantra are tools designed specifically for this purpose. We then discover patience and draw new insights. Our sixth sense develops. We transform into positive and productive beings. Thatâs when our interface with the external world becomes positive and fruitful. In high pressure confrontations we are calm and able to respond effectively. We become capable of nurturing long-term relationships. We become teachable and so learn every minute from every experience instead of being bogged down by emotion and pain.
We are continuously polishing ourselves by dusting off negatives and thereby gleam like diamonds in the light of the external world. In short, we become the best we can be. In my book, that is the definition of success. All else is ephemeral and irrelevant; we simply have to strive towards the Ideal Self.
Competition Withers Away
When we traverse this path on our own Scale of Life, many doors open, within and without. We enter realms of success that we never thought possible. Possibility thinking becomes a way of life and so success feeds on success as we ascend the scale. We are really competing with ourselves instead of anyone else. And so, when we find ourselves in the fray with others, our capabilities are so complete and formidable that the competition, like the ideal Marxian state, withers away.
Introspection, contemplation, internal practice and personal visioning guarantee victory by helping us compete without competing. This is what Krishna exhorts Arjuna to do: sukha dukhe same kritva, labha alabhau, jaya ajayau, tato yudhaya yudhasva, naivam paapamavapsyasi: victory is assured and no sin accrues if you compete by holding yourself in internal balance.
Answer
This is the absolute Truth and the real Success undoubtedly.I have experienced it myself courtesy my gurus.
This is the absolute Truth and the real Success undoubtedly.I have experienced it myself courtesy my gurus.
write one like this?
jaya p
In a famous scene in the movie Enter the Dragon Bruce Lee describes his fighting style as the art of âfighting without fightingâ, (jitkondo). Strange and paradoxical as it may seem, that is precisely what Gandhijiâs ahimsa is all about!
Resistance without the violence, verbal, emotional or physical is more potent than all the nuclear weapons on the planet. In a similar way, competing without competing is far more powerful than overt, aggressive, âin your faceâ competition that is so prevalent today.
Preoccupation With External World
Our attention, all too often, is fixed on the external world. We are transfixed by stimuli from the Net, news sources, peers, competitors, friends, family⦠the list is endless. We are forever busy answering phone calls and emails, attending meetings and reviews, travelling mentally and physically, by car, train and aircraft.
We are hurtling like asteroids through space trailing a cloud of cosmic dust in our wake. Debris of all kinds follows us: hurt feelings, broken relationships, oversized CO{-2} footprintsâ¦.In all this frenetic action the real person inside is forgotten.
So much so that we donât even know who we really are. Only a superficial concept of ourselves as a bundle of specific skills and attitudes, position and personality remains. We operate out of that superficial concept and understanding and so get snagged even more on the outcroppings of the external world.
Since we have not mastered the art of introspection and contemplation we are unfamiliar with the internal mindscape. Itâs unfamiliar and scary territory so we revert to the familiar hurly burly of the external world. In the process we perpetuate our engagement outside, with all its attendant misery.
Understanding the Internal Mindscape
When we spend more time and effort on understanding our internal mindscape the territory becomes more familiar; we then discover capabilities that have remained unnoticed and dormant.
Every one of us possesses infinite endowments; however we have to dive deep down and expend effort to identify, understand and use them. This is something that our spiritual heritage has enjoined us to do.
Practitioners of the ancient Sidha Yoga tradition of Tamil Nadu, notably Boganathar, were, for example, said to have mastered the art of immortality through a combination of meditation, bhakti, yoga, kaya kalpa and alchemy. In fact, their detailed writings serve as a self-development manual for any aspirant wiling to invest the effort.
Scale of Life
Every one of us lives on what I call the Scale of Life; scales vary from person to person and therefore are not comparable.
So benchmarking ourselves against others is not really a productive exercise simply because the combination and interaction of tangible and intangible parameters in every individualâs life is qualitatively different.
On the surface level many people may seem to be âsuccessfulâ but there are so many facets of their lives that are unknown to us that may be beset with innumerable sorrows.
Complete data can never be available to validate an accurate or comprehensive comparison of our respective lives. We can and must, however, learn from the lives of others.
Competing without competing is all about focusing energy and attention inwards to discover and utilise our true capabilities. We must learn to identify our own scale and constantly move up on it. Let me explain. All of us have some dim and hazy idea of our own Ideal Self, the perfect person weâd like to become.
This Ideal Self encompasses the physical, emotional, intellectual, behavioural, and financial aspects of ourselves.
We can visualise this Ideal Self by iterative practice. Suppose we allocate a score of 10 (perfect) on a 10 point scale to that Ideal Self. If 10 is our Ideal, what score are we at now? Suppose we are at four currently; our task and indeed the focal point of our life is to move from four towards 10 on our own Scale of Life.
Moving Up The Scale of Life
Moving up the scale entails inward focus. That means we look at ourselves continuously and identify our strengths and weakness, a kind of deep and profound SWOT. By watching and observing ourselves and our behaviour we learn to balance ourselves.
By listing and then eliminating negative thoughts and emotions we detox ourselves from within. Meditation and chanting the mahamantra are tools designed specifically for this purpose. We then discover patience and draw new insights. Our sixth sense develops. We transform into positive and productive beings. Thatâs when our interface with the external world becomes positive and fruitful. In high pressure confrontations we are calm and able to respond effectively. We become capable of nurturing long-term relationships. We become teachable and so learn every minute from every experience instead of being bogged down by emotion and pain.
We are continuously polishing ourselves by dusting off negatives and thereby gleam like diamonds in the light of the external world. In short, we become the best we can be. In my book, that is the definition of success. All else is ephemeral and irrelevant; we simply have to strive towards the Ideal Self.
Competition Withers Away
When we traverse this path on our own Scale of Life, many doors open, within and without. We enter realms of success that we never thought possible. Possibility thinking becomes a way of life and so success feeds on success as we ascend the scale. We are really competing with ourselves instead of anyone else. And so, when we find ourselves in the fray with others, our capabilities are so complete and formidable that the competition, like the ideal Marxian state, withers away.
Introspection, contemplation, internal practice and personal visioning guarantee victory by helping us compete without competing. This is what Krishna exhorts Arjuna to do: sukha dukhe same kritva, labha alabhau, jaya ajayau, tato yudhaya yudhasva, naivam paapamavapsyasi: victory is assured and no sin accrues if you compete by holding yourself in internal balance.
Answer
All the above is true.But what is the question?
All the above is true.But what is the question?
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