Being Negative

At one meeting I was objecting about some of our leaders being negative.

One of the leaders challenged: "Why are you so negative about our being negative?"

Everyone laughed and I accepted the defeat.

I have often observed the same pattern: we try to correct someone by doing the same thing to him that he did to others.

MODERN EDUCATION

Our spiritual teacher Prabhupada made the following points about modern education.

Ignorance is undoubtedly dangerous, but knowledge is even more dangerous when mistaken or misguided. Modern civilization has advanced considerably in the field of mass education, but the result is that people are more unhappy than ever before because of the stress placed on material advancement to the exclusion of the most important part of life, the spiritual aspect.

A godless civilization directed toward the so-called advancement of education is more dangerous than a civilization in which the masses of people are less "educated."

In the language of the Bhagavad-gita (7.15), people who are engaged in gross sense gratification are mudhas - asses. The ass is a symbol of stupidity. Those who simply engage in the profitless pursuit of sense gratification are worshiping ignorance. And those who play the role of helping this sort of civilization in the name of educational advancement are actually doing more harm than those who are on the platform of gross sense gratification.

The advancement of learning by a godless people is as dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra. A cobra decorated with a valuable jewel is more dangerous than one not decorated. The advancement of education by a godless people is compared to decorations on a dead body. In many countries, people follow the custom of leading a procession with a decorated dead body for the pleasure of the lamenting relatives.

In the same way, modern civilization is a patchwork of activities meant to cover the perpetual miseries of material existence. All such activities are aimed toward sense gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and above the mind is the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul. Thus the aim of real education should be self-realization, realization of the spiritual values of the soul.

How to Obtain Wisdom

A young man once went to a guru and asked him how he might obtain wisdom. After some thought, the guru responded, "To gain wisdom, my son, you must have good judgement."

This response gave the young student something to ponder, but he wasn't wholly satisfied. A few days later he returned to the master and inquired what it would take to attain good judgement, if that was indeed the path to wisdom. Once again, the guru pondered the question, then smiled, saying, "To develop good judgement, you must have a great deal of experience."

For a while this answer mollified the young man's curiosity, but seeds of discontent began to sprout. If he needed experience to acquire good judgement, and good judgement to gain wisdom, how he could get the appropriate experience? Once again he approached the teacher. Without hesitation, the wise man responded, "Oh, that is simple. To get experience, you must exercise a great deal of bad judgement!"

Unusual Coaching Session

I had an interesting coaching session in one European ISKCON centre about few months ago.

A devotee came and mentioned a particular problem.

I asked the devotee to imagine being an expert on this kind of problems and to offer some advice and solutions to his client (himself), then I left the room for a few minutes. When I came back, the devotee was smiling, showing me 5-6 ideas about how to solve the problem.

Now, I said, go back to your original identity and give me 10 best excuses why these solutions can't be implemented. I left the room again for a while.

When I came back, the devotee was laughing almost uncontrollably, having found solutions himself and clearly seeing his habit of self-sabotage.

I said, do you know that you can CHOOSE which of the two people you want to be - the solutions one or the excuses one? I said, this is your whole life, right there on paper, and it all came from
you, both things came from you. The devotee laughed even more and was SO happy!

When I came back to that same centre after several days, I saw the devotee engaged in service looking high-spirited and bright.

Success Teacher

Recently I wrote to a famous success teacher Brian Tracy.

Dear Brian
Greetings from London!

Did you read the ancient wisdom book Bhagavad-gita? Perhaps it will be interesting for you to know that one of its verses describes five factors of action:

"The place of action [the body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul - these are the five factors of action." Bg 18.14

One objection I have to success teachers' teachings is that they mainly make us feel as if we are the only doer and that all results depend on us and our willpower or persistence. According to the Gita, the Supersoul (expansion of God in our heart) is the most important factor of action. Gita also says that from the Supersoul comes rememberance, knowledge and forgetfulness and that He is the ability in man. Many times what success teachers say sounds like we are or can become almighty, which I don't think is true, based on experience.

I am curious to hear your thoughts on this.

This is Brian's reply:

"I absolutely agree with you on the importance and centrality of the Supersoul."

You Are Responsible

Recently I read this in one book.

Perhaps the most important personal choice you can make is to accept complete responsibility for everything you are and everything you will ever be. This is the great turning point in life.

The acceptance of personal responsibility is what separates the superior person from the average person. Personal responsibility is the pre-eminent trait of leadership and the wellspring of high performance in every person, in every situation.

The acceptance of complete responsibility for your life means that you refuse to make excuses or to blame others for anything in your life that you’re not happy about. You refuse, from this moment forward, to criticize others for any reason. You refuse to complain about your situation, or about what has happened in the past. You eliminate all your “if only’s” and “what if’s” and focus instead on what you really want and where you are going.

This decision of yours, to accept complete responsibility for yourself, your life and your results, with no excuses, is absolutely essential if you truly want to succeed. From now on, no matter what happens, say to yourself, "I am responsible."If you are not happy with any part of your life, say, “I am responsible” and get busy changing it. If something goes wrong, accept responsibility and begin looking for a solution. If you are not happy with your current income, accept responsibility and begin doing those things that are necessary for you to increase it.

The acceptance of personal responsibility lies at the core of the personality of every outstanding man or woman. On the other hand, when you make excuses, blame other people, complain or criticize, you give your power away. You weaken yourself and your resolve. You turn over control of your emotions to the people and situations you are blaming or complaining about.You do not escape responsibility by attempting to pass it off onto other people. You are still responsible. But you give up a sense of control over your life. You begin to feel like a victim and see yourself as a victim. You become passive and resigned rather than powerful and proactive.
This way of thinking leads you up a blind alley, from which there is no escape. It is a dead end road on which you should refuse to travel.

When you accept complete responsibility for your life, you refuse to make excuses. Instead, you make progress.

Four Steps

There are four steps you can take to improve the quality of your life and service.

First, you can do more of certain things. You can do more of the things that are of greater value to you and those you serve and which bring you greater rewards and satisfaction.

Second, you can do less of certain things. You can deliberately decide to reduce or discontinue activities or behaviors that are not as helpful as other activities or which can actually be hurtful to you in accomplishing your goals.

Third, you can start to do things that you are not doing at all today. You can make new choices, learn new skills, begin new projects or activities or change the entire focus of your work or personal life.

Fourth, you can stop doing certain things altogether. You can stand back and evaluate your life with new eyes. You can then make definite decisions to completely discontinue activities and behaviors that are no longer consistent with what you want and where you really want to go.

In this blog, you will learn how to think the way the most effective people think, and to then take the actions that the most effective people take.

Letter From Your Goals

I got this letter in one e-zine.

Dear Sir,

You probably already know what this letter is about. You've seen it coming; I know you have. It's about us, Sir. It's over. I'm leaving you!

I've hung on as long as I could. You've got to give me credit for that. I mean, the way you swept me off my feet and talked lovingly about the future we would have together. I have waited so long for your embrace, your attention, and your love.

Why have you neglected me? Why have you made so many excuses? Your inaction and addiction to procrastination is tearing me apart. I simply must move on!

For years, I would get so excited every time you talked about the business we were going to start, the places we were going to visit, and the home on the water where we could watch the sun set every night. My heart would pitter-patter every time you talked about me to other people, only to be let down once again because you were afraid.

John, what are you afraid of? It's only me! I am your hopes, dreams, and goals. I wanted you as much as you wanted me, but you have left me no choice. I simply must move on!

Please do not attempt to talk your way out of this. The years of indecision and lack of discipline tell me everything I need to know. If you really—and I mean REALLY—wanted me, you would have found a way for us to be together.

I am tired of having my hopes soar so high just to just to see them dashed. I simply must move on!

Time is marching by without us, and my greatest fear is suddenly becoming visible on the horizon. I am so afraid that we could come to the end of our lifetime and never have the chance to really know one another. It breaks my heart to even entertain this thought, but I simply must move on!

Like the Genie that grants three wishes, I wanted to give you your heart's desire. All I wanted, needed, and asked for was your attention, your devotion, and your willingness to work hard for me. If that was too much to ask for, then I'm sorry. I simply must move on!

All things of value must be earned, and I've grown tired of your excuses and lack of patience. On numerous occasions, I was within your grasp, but you quit too soon. Why did you leave me when you were so close?

I'll let you in on a little secret. Every day I would call out to you, “I am your goal, here I am, come and get me!” I'm curious. Did you ever hear me? I repeated this question day after day, month after month, and year after year. But now, I've grown tired of hearing that the timing is not right, that you're tired, or that someday you'll get around to it.

It's now time that I get around to it myself and find someone who is committed, focused, and proactive. I simply must move on!

On behalf of all of your hopes, dreams, and desires, there is something you should know about us. We will never fail you, nor will we ever let you down. The main reason why we have not embraced one another is that you have failed us by not taking action! Why?

Sincerely,

Your Goals

The Best Leader

The best leader gives much more to the people he serves than he takes from them. By giving them knowledge, attention and care, by showing them that he has their best interest at heart, he earns the right to lead them, to accept service from them and to correct them when needed.

Focal Point

I read this story recently.

Once upon a time, there was a major technical problem at a billion-dollar atomic power plant. It was slowing energy generation and reducing the overall efficiency of the entire operation.

The plant's engineers could not identify and solve the problem, so they brought in one of the nation’s top consultants on atomic plant construction and engineering to see if he could determine what was wrong. The consultant arrived, put on a white coat, took his clipboard and went to work. For the next two days, he walked around, studying the hundreds of dials and gauges in the control room, taking notes and making calculations.

At the end of the second day, he took a black marker out of his pocket, climbed up on a ladder and put a large black "X" on one of the gauges.

"This is the problem,” he explained. “ Repair and replace the apparatus connected to this meter and the problem will be solved."

He then took off his white smock, drove back to the airport and flew home. The engineers disassembled the apparatus and discovered that, sure enough, this was the cause of the problem. It was soon repaired and the plant was back up to full capacity.

About a week later the plant manager received a bill from the consultant for $10,000 for “Services rendered.”

The plant manager was surprised at the size of the bill, even though this was a multi-billion dollar nuclear facility and the problem had been costing an enormous amount of money in lost generating capacity. After all, he reasoned, the consultant had come in, stood around for a couple of days, written a black "X" on one of the gauges and then returned home. $10,000 seemed like a high fee for such a simple job.

The plant manager wrote back to the consultant. "We have received your bill. Could you please itemize your charges. It seems that all you did was to write one "X" on a single gauge. $10,000 appears to be excessive for this amount of work."

Some days later, the plant manager received a new invoice from the consultant. It said, "For placing "X" on gauge: $1.00. For knowing which gauge to place "X" on: $9,999."

This simple story illustrates the most important single principle of success, achievement and happiness in life. Your ability to determine where you put the "X" in each part of your life is the critical determinant of everything that you accomplish, or fail to accomplish.

This "X" is your focal point. This is the one thing that you can do, at any given moment, to get the very best result possible for you in that area. Your ability to choose the correct time, place and activity to place your "X" has more of an impact on your life than any other factor.

In this blog, you will learn a practical, proven and powerful ideas and tools that you can apply in every area of your life to achieve better, faster, easier results than you ever imagined possible.

Just as the sun’s rays, focused through a magnifying glass, can create intense heat and fire, your intelligence and abilities, focused and concentrated on a few key activities, can enable you to accomplish vastly more than the average person, and in far less time.

Just as normal light and electricity concentrated into a laser beam can cut through steel, your ability to choose and decide upon the most vital element of any situation will enable you to perform at extraordinary levels in any area of endeavor or activity.

Welcome to Gita Coaching!

Here you will find free ideas and tools for your spiritual and professional success.