The most important lessons to be learnt in life are that of humiliation and failure. Life is not a collection of success stories only. We are to be ready to face shocks too. Wayne Gerard Trotman, the British novelist, once said, “Imagine how many suicide victims would still be with us, if only the right person said the right thing at the right time.” Whatever, Indian culture was never that of humiliating the losers. India knew that it is from similar experiences that the necessary motivational energy burst out. Success and failure are defined in distinct ways, depending on culture and country.
When Swami Vivekananda was in London, a man asked him why doesn’t he dress gentlemanly. Swami Vivekananda replied that in India it is character that decides quality while it is a tailor, who decides it in your land. Individual quality is an important factor that decides one’s capacity to face losses. All those whom we consider successful, may have tons of failure stories to share. They only could be the best to define endurance and patience.
Knowledge and grace are similar to water; they flow from high to low or from have to have not. Every day we face a lot of people. With a mindset that I am a knower, we are not going to get anything from any of them. This theory is very crucial when you are near a guru (master). Even when we yearn for divine grace, keeping the doors open is very important. The main door shall be opened to a hall of humility.
Whom do people like and respect most? It’s certainly those who behave humble and are tolerant! Whom do the world trust most? It is surely those who dares to speak truth even if it is not desirable to the self and never the arrogant. The arrogant never knows that ‘the superiority complex they are trying to demonstrate is inferiority complex in disguise’. The French philosopher and thinker, Voltaire once said, ‘Common sense is not so common’. People to whom exploding is a pleasure easily falls in life. Their fall also could be very heavy.
The world is always filled with possibilities. To many, competing with others is the main activity, for them success is decided by the grade with which one could outsmart others. Those with a commendable character focus on improving their own records. The most powerful is always the one who enjoys every lesson of failure. The one whose focus is not necessarily the volume of material earning, could be the most successful. Here he gets more time to work. Also, they will be free from the rough emotion of jealousy, which eats away much of our latent energy. The very thought that I’m smart could be suicidal in many situations.
There is the story of an anthropologist, who organised a contest among a few children in Africa. He placed a basket of sweets 100 meters away. Further, he asked the children to run. The first to reach was offered all the sweets in the basket. But instead of running fast, they all walked together holding each other by hand. When the Anthropologist asked them why they did so, they answered ‘Ubuntu’. it refers to humanity and being human. It also explains, ‘I’m because you are’. The spontaneous smile which blossoms on any face, when hearing another’s success, is the most beautiful!
