When Lord Rama was sent to gurukul, his teacher was Vasishta Muni, a renowned and very wise sage, said to his students, please do not take on my bad qualities, and please accept any good qualities I may have. This was his humility, and that too, fitting for a great sage, and in the context of great students. Srila Prabhupada, a great teacher of the essence of the ancient Vedic principles particularly in the West, had a disciple who was a particularly talented artist. One day he was speaking to this disciple, and he said, “I can write, but you cannot write. You can paint, but I cannot paint. Let’s work together in Krishna’s service.” Whilst these examples are fundamentally spiritual in their objectives, when principles are extracted from such perfect scenarios, when even a small effort is made to apply them in the situations and contexts we are in today, the results can be astounding. As part of arranging a nicer situation, one should take stock of where they lack; even if it may not be ability, but simply time, and engage others according to their inclinations. This requires introspection, awareness, and an interest in others. Only then can one successful expand something. The Vedic system has always placed emphasis on the training of the future generations. We see in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the great King’s, Queen’s, families, would take keen interest in the next generations upbringing. This is very important. A few weeks back, we held an event, and rather than inviting another senior speaker to say some words, we decided to have the youth speak. With some training, they were able to engage their energy positively to great effect. The result was simple; inspiration for the current generation, and promise for the next.
If someone sets low targets, then they don’t need discipline; they don’t need to abstain from certain things, they can be lax, and still come through. If we are striving for high goals, in whatever field; then we will need discipline; we will need regulation; we will need continual inspiration and encouragement from those better than us. When people strive high, and do things in the right way, they will need certain values. As one of the students pointed out to me today, the only place you can find success before work, is in the dictionary. In order to work, we need to be regulated. In order to repeat success many times, if we want to deeply understand the principle, we will need humility. UFC legend, and welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre is a great example of humility and success. He openly posted a video of him trying to do a one-armed pull up. He said, I cannot do this, I do not have the power, but if someone can, then please show me and with your help, maybe I can learn. Earlier this weekend, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Rugby Union to discuss a few things. In addition to that role, he is one of the head coaches for the Hong Kong Youth Team, and often has the likes of Martin Johnson alongside to train with them to impart his knowledge and experience. He shared that, we try to make them better people through rugby, and that he firmly believes they do become better people. He said when they lose, they should learn to lose with humility, and congratulate the winning team humbly. When they win, they should be humble and tone down any celebrations, and console the other team. His words were those of deep experience, not only of the greatness of such values, but also of the dangers of not having such values. In extreme scenarios and situations, with positive advice, comes implicit warning in not heeding the advise. So goals should be set high; even if we may not achieve them, the transformation that will happen to us in the process, will yield values that we would never imagine could be cultivated if we had set the bar lower.
