Divide & Unify
If you know what to expect, then when it comes, you’re ready for it. Or
at least as ready as you will ever be. There was an interesting quote I came
across recently on pain. It said that pain can be overcome by awareness that
pain exists. We’ve recently been practicing yoga, loosely as part of our Jiu
Jitsu curriculum. Interestingly, initially, the injuries you have in your body,
you can feel even more. Yoga brings about awareness. It gives one time to study
everything from posture to thoughts. More often than not, we are doing things
at a pace that doesn’t enable any stopping and thinking. Yoga aims to break
this cycle; perhaps this is one of the reasons why it’s so successful as a
promotion today also. Another reason for yoga’s success I feel, is that it does
away with designations, with labels, with pigeon-holing. It focusses on
commonality. Oh we are from the same apartment, the same company, the same
country, the same continent, the same religion, the same race; but we all
breathe, we all exist. I feel this with martial arts for sure, in a very nice
way there is nice comradery between team mates, and with people training in
other gyms etc also. Things which remove boundaries are extremely unifying, and
in line with our inherent nature of being in harmony with each other. Creating
divisions is done by the lower part of us. Building closeness and unity is done
by the higher part of us. Divisions are created by selfishness, by greed.
Unification is created by selflessness, by sacrifice.
Nowhere to hide
Unification relies on respect. Many people, and increasingly so,
disagree with hierarchy. I’ve had many conversations with people saying the bad
thing with Asia is that there is too much hierarchy, whereas the West, the
culture tends to be less hierarchical. I certainly don’t disagree with the very
negative effects of abused hierarchy, but there is a reality; hierarchy is
natural, and the success of it in creating a nice environment, depends on how
it’s used. The animal kingdom also has a hierarchy. One just has to watch a few
documentaries about the wild to realise this. It is the way nature organizes itself.
Why should it be any different in the human species? Indeed in the most supposedly
democratic of places in the world, there is still great imperfection in the way
things are governed. Recently, having spent more time around Jiu Jitsu
practitioners, the lessons have been immense. There is a clear dojo etiquette, and
there is a system of belts to reflect one’s technical ability. I don’t think I’ve
seen anything that is as meritocratic in the various systems I’ve seen in my
life. Why do I think that? Because people are tested, day in, day out. In a jiu
Jitsu dojo, there are very few places to hide. And if you hide for some time,
it won’t be for long. You cannot achieve your position and then say, am going
to sit on my throne now I’ve achieved it. You will be tested, over and over,
and indeed the reason for your black belt will be that you have earned it. The
etiquette is there in our dojo where you shake the hands of all of the senior
belts when you enter. It is a traditional etiquette, and something quite nice
when compared with the less traditional attitude of ‘do what you want’. When we
become aware of ourselves, of others, in an environment that upholds
collectively the right values, then naturally respect will emerge and continue.
“Whether you are able to use the things
your teacher has taught you, or not, a teacher is always to be respected.”
Dronacharya to Karna, Mahabharata
