I love motivating/guiding individuals, I was wondering how do I reach the masses & spread the message of leading life with purpose. Nonetheless, last night a thought crept in, why not start blogging. So, I decided to get started immediately.
There is so much to share, therefore, I have decided to split the article under various sections or else I will digress & will not convey my message.
Most of the content you will read is reproduction of someone else’s work barring a few which are my personal experiences; wherever possible I will quote the author.
Life
Purpose
Motivation
Leader
Choices
Religion
Spirituality
Charity
Discrimination
Self Improvement
Principles
Physical Fitness
Social Responsibility
Professional Responsibility
Personal Responsibility
Positive Thinking
Knowledge
Journals (Dream Book, Journal of Gratitude)
Life is beautiful; however, we confront difficult circumstance frequently and are disheartened. We are immensely talented individuals; close your eyes & imagine how you will feel having achieved your goal. Believe me it feels good.. isn’t. Sometimes when we fail; we try again & again and if we give up we will forever classify ourselves as losers/escapists. Instead should we not continue to try until we reach our goal? Difficult times & problems are part of our life; the way we deal with them makes a difference. Like Shiv Khera says “Extra ordinary human beings are not different; they do things differently”. Swami Vivekananda said – The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the greatest cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment.
Therefore, confront the circumstances with unconditional faith in your abilities & the almighty. Result will be in your favour.
Personally I am deeply influenced by motivational speakers; self improvement books; motivational videos & not to mention the inspirational/motivational works of Swami Vivekananda and teaching of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Before I proceed further; I have highlighted quotes of Swamiji in red italics throughout this letter. Over the last year & a half I have personally made amendments in my life and I have to confess it has made a difference for good.
Bear in mind throughout the letter the interpretations of quotes & leading life are mine; I have no intention to influence anybody; however; if you do not believe in them please ignore them.
Find below few quotes of Swami Vivekananda:
Arise! Awake! Stop not, until the goal is reached.
All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that. Do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. Stand up and express the divinity within you.
Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience, and indomitable will must show.
Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.
With hard work, honesty, determination, patience, perseverance & faith someday we will embark into the world of our dreams, nevertheless, always remember where you come from & thank GOD for the beautiful life he has blessed us with.
Wait with patience and love and strength. If helpers are not ready now, they will come in time. Why should we be in a hurry? The real working force of all great work is in its almost unperceived beginnings.
Life is difficult & will continue to be, until we change our perception. Believe me it is beautiful, my advice to all of you, we live one life let’s do justice to it.
Thank God for giving you this world as a moral gymnasium to help your development, but never imagine you can help the world.
Purpose:
It is extremely important to lead life with purpose. Paulo Coelho’s quote from The Alchemist – Follow your dreams achieve your goal.
Set goals for yourself & make an effort to achieve them. You may not be successful on your first attempt, however, do not give up. There are no short-cuts; like I say to my team to get to the first floor you need to take each & every steps or else there is a risk you will fall soon.
Definition of Lead life with Purpose is subjective; however; to me it means to contribute to society, to humanity, to my motherland. This could be achieved by various ways - man making (meaning not only teach kids but to build their character) ; through my profession (build old age home; hospices; orphanage etc.); through charity etc. etc. Bear in mind the efforts should be unselfish.
Part of purpose also relates to my description of items under Self Improvement.
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced. Others are mere talking machines.
Motivation:
This is an important aspect of our life. Make an effort to keep individuals you are associated with at work or at home motivated. This will improve productivity of your team & family life. A colleague of mine had once told me – Team work divides work but multiplies success; having experience it I can only second it. In the due course you will also have to keep yourself motivated; this can be achieved by positive thinking. Like Nick Vujicic; motivational speaker (www.lifewithoutlimbs.org) says close your eyes and imagine your dream and tell yourself …. It is coming… it is on the way… It helps!!!
The body is the servant of the mind. Watch your thoughts as they result into an action.
The will is stronger than anything else. Everything must go down before the will, for it comes from God. A pure and strong will is omnipotent.
Leader:
Read the book – Leadership wisdom & Family wisdom by Robin Sharma, it’ll enlighten you. The key is not just read it but to implement it. Like Benjamin Franklin said – Tell me & I forget; teach me & I remember; involve me & I learn.
To be successful in this role, it is imperative to earn respect from the individuals at work & also at home. It can be achieved by not imposing your ideas alone, but to be patient & listen to an individual’s advise/suggestions. A human approach will lead to success.
Stand up, be bold, and take the blame on your own shoulders. Do not go about throwing mud at others; for all the faults you suffer from, you are the sole and only cause.
This is the first lesson to learn: be determined not to curse anything outside, not to lay the blame upon anyone outside, but stand up, lay the blame on yourself. You will find that is always true. Get hold of yourself.
Choices:
Another extremely important aspect of our life; we will always find ourselves in this situation. These can be categorized as Good & Bad. Bear in mind Honesty, sincerity & integrity is the key to success. Do not digress an inch from the path of righteousness; analyze the circumstance you are in without compromising these principles; I can assure you success will knock your door.
If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads, bursting like a bombshell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word “fearlessness.”
The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.
Religion, I believe has been misinterpreted over centuries. We are following the rites & rituals blindly without questioning them. The misinterpretations have resulted in Superstition; to break the cage of the same Swamiji proposed to start College of Vedanta. Religion when understood in its true sense will definitely benefit the human kind; in today’s world it is important to create balance between Religion & materialism. To be honest I am in the process of exploring the same & have realized it is the relationship with God & Soul that matters. Until our heart & mind is not pure; it will always be a difficult subject.
Religion as a science, as a study, is the greatest and healthiest exercise that the human mind can have.
Religion has no business to formulate social laws and insist on the difference between beings, because its aim and end is to obliterate all such fictions and monstrosities.
Spirituality:
It is connection between God & Soul; according to Hindu scriptures; when Brahma was creating the world the God head’s got together to decide where to store the knowledge of self realization. After contemplating it was decided to hide it within the human beings, since this location will never occur to them.
The only way to realize is meditation – japa (chanting), chanting helps to bridge the gap between the lord & the soul.
The secret of life is not enjoyment but education through experience.
Stick to God! Who cares what comes to the body or to anything else! Through the terrors of evil, say—my God, my love! Through the pangs of death, say—my God, my love! Through all the evils under the sun, say my God, my love!
Charity:
So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every person a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.
Over and above monetary benefits it is important for an individual to serve the mankind, by teaching, by serving patients, by feeding poor etc.
Swamiji said life is not worth without serving others and it is important to be involved in charity; My Mom had told me in the beginning of my career to donate atleast 10% of total salary. I am glad to announce, better late than never (bear in mind it took me 8 years) I am living up to mom’s expectation, this is just the beginning.
Discrimination:
Do not believe in this aspect; Gandhiji referred untouchable as Harijans, meaning People of God. In today’s India we continue to believe in different forms of discrimination – Caste, Creed, Religion, Sex etc. etc. which is sad. However, we can only hope someday it’ll be eradicated from our community. I am absolutely against it; Belur Math had been incepted with the idea that anybody & everybody will be allowed access to the shire.
The disciple must have great power of endurance. Life seems comfortable; and you find the mind behaves well when everything is going well with you. But if something goes wrong, your mind loses its balance. That is not good. Bear all evil and misery without one murmur of hurt, without one thought of unhappiness, resistance, remedy, or retaliation. That is true endurance; and that you must acquire.
The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful.
Self Improvement
Principles:
You may be aware of; however, an individual should stand by his/her principle. Honesty, Sincerity, Discipline, Integrity are few aspects.
Physical Fitness:
If there is no strength in body and mind, the Atman cannot be realized. First build the body by good nutritious food—then only will the mind be strong.
Build your muscles, God realization will follow.
Health is wealth, what is the purpose of abusing the body? Better late than never; I have finally realized it. However, it requires discipline & I have to confess, I am struggling to be consistent.
Social Responsibility
It is important we contribute to our society, to our motherland – thanks to Atkins, the multi-national culture & financial independence has made me think about my contribution to the Society. I am sure given the opportunity you will fulfill your share of responsibility soon.
Professional Responsibility
One can contribute to the society through work; in my case through my work (Architecture) I can spread awareness of sustainability; health & safety; good design; charity etc.
Personal Responsibility
In context of Indian culture, every generation wants to provide the next generation with better facilities. Likewise we should aim to provide the best facilities to our parents & relatives.
Those who grumble at the little thing that has fallen to their lot to do will grumble at everything. Always grumbling, they will lead a miserable life, and everything will be a failure. But those who do their duties as they go, putting their shoulders to the wheel, will see the light, and higher duties will fall to their share.
Positive Thinking
Stay positive. It does not matter how difficult the circumstances are; think about your dreams; think about people who are in difficult situations than you. You will realize you are lucky – you are the chosen one.
The mind is but the subtle part of the body. You must retain great strength in your mind and words.
Knowledge
Knowledge is POWER; at least at work your colleagues will respect you for the knowledge you have acquired.
Journals (Dream Book, Journal of Gratitude)
Dream Book – It is a treasure of your dreams, pen down your thoughts on a daily, weekly, monthly basis suit yourself. The key is to make an effort to achieve them.
Journal of Gratitude – Maintain a notebook to record positive events/acts you are associated with. You will realize that the journal is pushing you to engage in these activities.
Find below few more quotes of Swamiji:
Strength is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal. Weakness is constant strain and misery; weakness is death.
The weak have no place here, in this life or any other life. Weakness leads to slavery. Weakness leads to all kinds of misery, physical and mental. Weakness is death.
To believe blindly is to degenerate the human soul. Be an atheist if you want, but do not believe in anything unquestioningly.
Thank you for reading this piece of writing & I hope you will be benefited. Please bear in mind self improvement is not an overnight process. The key is to get started, stand by your vow/pledge and most importantly build your endurance. I have to confess with each passing day I am getting closer. Now, I have become a person who walks his talk and lives his message.
All the best! Stay Positive!
Abhijeet Dutta
