I strive not to dwell on past mistakes or sufferings, as doing so can only bring sadness or make you ill. However, it’s important to learn from these experiences and use them as opportunities for improvement.
The Wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita
In the Bhagavad Gita, this is beautifully expressed in the following verse:
Bhagavad Gita 6.5
Verse: उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्।
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन:॥
Transliteration: Uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet Ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
Interpretation: One must elevate oneself by one’s own mind, not degrade oneself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
Explanation: This verse highlights the importance of self-effort and self-improvement. It underscores the idea that one’s mind can be the best friend if used positively, or the worst enemy if used negatively. This is a reminder that while past mistakes can be disheartening, it’s crucial to harness the power of the mind to learn, improve, and elevate oneself.
Inspiration from Swami Vivekananda and Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev
Recently, in a blog post published in the Times of India, in my favourite column, The Speaking Tree, the famous spiritual master Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev quoted Swami Vivekananda:
Swami Vivekananda: “You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita.”
It is so because, in sports, one invariably plays to win and cannot afford to play half-heartedly—it demands the full attention of all the members of the team. You may win or lose, but as a sportsperson, you are expected to learn from the loss of a game and correct your course in the next game. Likewise, you cannot afford to be complacent because the effort and talent of your rival can always be better than you in the next game. Yet, while working hard to win, you are expected to keep your mind steady and focused. The following verse from the Bhagwat Geeta constantly motivates us:
Bhagavad Gita 2.47
Verse: कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥
Transliteration: Karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana Mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
Interpretation: You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.
Explanation: This famous verse emphasizes the importance of focusing on one’s actions without being overly concerned with the outcomes. It’s a reminder that while we should strive to learn and improve from our past actions, we should not get disheartened by the results. Instead, we should continue to act dutifully and learn from our experiences. As a sportsman, one has to follow it in letter and spirit.
Life as a Continuous Learning Process
In some sense, life is akin to a football game that happens over many years! One has to keep learning from mistakes and keep improving oneself just like a sportsperson. Swami Vivekananda has been my inspiration in life too. Nearly 56 years ago, as a teenager of 16, I started reading a small booklet entitled, “Thus Spoke Swami Vivekananda,” and picked up a few inspiring quotes from it:
Swami Vivekananda: “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you; none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
This quote underscores that one should have faith in oneself first and then in God.
Swami Vivekananda: “You must learn to make the least interest in all things; the interest is not necessary. It is the steady, constant work that keeps your interests alive, and you must do it with all your heart.”
This emphasizes the importance of diligence and perseverance, regardless of whether one is initially interested in the task.
Personal Reflections
These quotes constantly guided me when I strayed from my path as a student and performed poorly in engineering exams. They guided me when some people laughed at my poor performance and used highly derogatory language to pin me down as a hopeless case. I said to myself, “Well, I got strayed, but there is still hope—I can correct myself and get over it. I have to fulfil the dream of my parents to become an engineer.” I resolved to work harder to fulfil my parents’ dream. It is only human to get allured and strayed. One should have the courage to accept mistakes, learn from them, and constantly improve.
In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned that Sikhs revere the Holy Guru Granth Sahib, which embodies the teachings of their Guru, the same as their Guru.
I agree with Swami Vivekananda that one’s soul is one’s best teacher. To guide us further, there is a wealth of guidance in our scriptures in Hinduism. Moreover, Hinduism encourages us to find our own path to salvation. In the cycle of birth and rebirth, one birth and death can be an infinitesimally small period of time. So, I decided to go at my own pace, learning and slowly improving at my own pace.
Conclusion
The point that I want to make is that one should never stop learning and improving until the goal is achieved.
Inspire Positivity 