The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
You see, John, life pretty much gives you what you ask from it. Most people want to feel better, have more energy or live with greater satisfaction. Yet, when you ask them to tell you more precisely what it is they want, they have no answer. You change your life the moment you set your goals and start to seek out your Dharma.
A hotshot lawyer, Julian, far ahead of his heyday, fit to be called a “man of dreams” for all the women out there, suddenly has a heart attack while in the midst of a court session. Julian has “everything” that one could wish for — a grand house ? Check. A car? Ferrari! Standard of living? Heavenly. Except he doesn’t have that one thing without which all of “everything” is moot — happiness.
Julian empties his cup of all he had and sets off to India to meet an enlightened clan, existing on the most insular parts of the Himalayas. The sages of this clan, known as Sivana, teach Julian ways of living, passed down their lineages, which completely change his life but on one condition — he should pass it on to others (as he did to me :) ) and ask them to do the same (as I now attempt to do).
Enriching the Mind
A worrisome thought is like an embryo: it starts off small but grows and grows. Soon it takes on a life of its own.
The mind is like a garden. What you put into your garden is what it will give you back. Most of us, never give a second thought to what content we consume througout the day. A person who watches others’ life is bound to feel insecure. Someone who listens to hate speeches all day wouldn’t surprise anyone on spitting out the same venom when talking to someone. Contrarily, a person who reads books that aggrandize the mind and soul is bound to contribute to the welfare of herself and those of others around her.
But there’s the catch! Not all books are worth reading, not all podcasts are worth listening to. Here comes the choice, or rather the prudence, of what you feed to your mind. Read better, listen best! The book goes on to explain that to achieve the pinnacle of ones talents one should train the mind to not let a single negative thought to sustain. A single seed of negativity soon grows into a tree, and then becomes the most prominent part of your garden. Complementing this wonderful analogy between the mind and garden with a more quotidian observation, it is only natural to notice the biggest tree first when you enter a garden. Make sure that tree is not a negative one.
Awakening the Soul
The Sages of Sivana upheld a Secret of the Lake. Every morning the sages would look in to the waters of the still lake and envision their dreams becoming a reality. If you wish to become a master at playing the piano, envision yourself as one. In case your aim is to become rich, picture yourself as a billionaire first. For all that can be imagined, can be real but first it should be imagined!
And for God’s sake, never get into the petty habit of measuring your self-worth against other people’s net worth. As Yogi Raman preached: ‘Every second you spend thinking about someone else’s dreams you take time away from your own’
A splendid quote. Comparing oneself, to other’s lives is only the start of path ending in sorrow and a squandering of one’s own resources. The book says that truly enlightened people never seek to be like others. Rather, they seek to be superior to their former selves. Don’t race against others. Race against yourself.
Something which I’ve learned through my own experiences and which the book compendiously describes is to never put off happiness for the sake of achievement. Never put off the things that are important for your well-being and satisfaction to a later time. Today is the day to live fully, not when you win the lottery or when you retire.
Kaizen
Besides being a name of a former classmate, kaizen is the Japanese word for constant and never-ending improvement. The aim of life is to grow oneself and in tandem make the world grow. This is achieved through continuous self improvement and a will to be better than yesterday.
Imagine if humans just got satisfied after building ENIAC (the first electronic computer which occupied a room!), I would have to give up my room to a computer to write this blog. Someone out there, imagined a better future and constantly improved upon ENIAC to build a computer that now only takes a small part of my table!
Finishing this post with a quote:
Your life moves to a more magical dimesion when you start striving to make the world a better place. Yogi Raman said that when we are born, we are crying while the world rejoices. He suggested that we should live our lives in such a way that when we die, the world cries while we are rejoicing.
