” ‘विशिष्टता’ के साथ ‘शिष्टता’ भी होनी चाहिए…”

Swami ji said…

What happens when one plants seeds in the soil ? A few perish within the ground itself on not receiving adequate water and nutrients – and turn into soil themselves. Some show promise and grow into small saplings. But , some of these saplings get trampled upon accidentally ; are flooded by water or eaten by an animal – and their dream to grow bigger ends there itself – for no fault of theirs. Yet, there are some that grow into trees. And, even among these trees – some are cut down for wood ; some are trimmed down every time they grow. And, then, there are some which grow into huge beautiful trees, bountiful with fruits and flowers – and live to see years and generations pass by.

Our fate, our lives are similar to those of the seeds. There are billions like us on the planet – each one of us filled with dreams and hopes to achieve something big. And , like some of those seeds that grow into big trees later ; some of us – from among the millions – might succeed in building our dreams into reality; while the remaining mostly are unable to do so – sometimes due to various circumstances ; sometimes due to lack of knowledge and a plethora of other reasons. We all aim for the stars, but, not each one of us can shine bright like them. It is only a handful of us who are able to leave a legacy; leave an imprint on the echelons of time and have our names remembered by future generations.

And, yes, while all this requires hard work, sacrifice and effort – one must not forget, that just like the seeds, one also needs fate to be on his side. One needs the stars to align for him to get all the right opportunities at the right time. And, thus, those select few of us who are successful, must never forget that without God’s Grace our lives could have turned out a lot different from the one that we enjoy today.

But, heavy is the head that wears the crown. Success doesn’t come easy. One has to go through the grind and a demanding time period before he is able to taste success. But , to remain successful is even more demanding. In such circumstances, it is very easy to forget how one has reached where he is. All that God’s benevolence and our efforts have given us – is eventually taken for granted. The humility that once arose within us from the realisation that one had been very lucky as compared to others – is slowly replaced by entitlement and pride – that tells us that we rightfully deserve the success that we have. We find it difficult to enjoy the success of others, as we now feel it is something that we alone must have. This is the transformation that we must be wary of. Do not fall prey to the dogma of a dog eat dog world. We must remind ourselves that
excellence need not be accompanied with arrogance and wealth and money need not be just for the greedy.

Being successful, being envied for our skills and talents – these are not just our achievements, but, also characteristics that God has blessed us with for a particular reason. There is certainly no way that He would like to see us being coercive, aggressive or dishonest in our behaviour with others. He, in fact, puts us in such positions to only further accentuate and show the world our good qualities and habits ; our principles and beliefs that have made us worthy of His love and Grace in the first place.

To guard ourselves against an undesirable change in our attitude, temperament and nature in future – one must always reflect on how fortunate he is to be unique and exceptional. One must not think that his struggles of the past have made him deserving of something better in the present moment ; but , he should be grateful that God put an end to those struggles for him. Every time we see others struggling in life, we must be thankful for what we have. The more we ‘get’ in life, the more we must ‘detach’ – and think of what God would want us to do next.

Our winnings and triumphs in life are only meant to enable us to do good ‘karma’ more easily. Even victorious conquerors had to rule as good and just kings – to be respected by the masses. Success itself is not the end all. It must be accompanied with kindness and humility.