A Mini-Series on Depression (Low Phase of Mind) GROW THROUGH WHAT YOU GO THROUGH

Ananta koti dandavat at your lotus feet oh revered Swamiji’s. The more I am seeing your smiling face and humor clad wisdom, the more I am getting attracted to your charisma. It is really your magnetic field which has bound my entire existence. I can sense the change in me. Everyone surrounded by me is acknowledging that I am a changed person now. The bliss and peace I am experiencing is just un parallel despite craving for nonveg food 😉. I wonder Mulla also would have been taking nonveg too roaming around on his donkey 😉. Mulla has even found his way into my son Sahil’s School books. (Class V, DAV Hindi book). All funs apart, let us finish my learnings from the low phase which I experienced. For part 1 of the analysis click (here) and for part 2, click (here)

7.       Everything cannot happen overnight:

If you think that you can settle everything overnight, you are the biggest fool. Here comes another Famous Murphy’s law “In nature, nothing is ever right. Therefore, if everything is going right… something is wrong!!!”. I failed in this aspect. Time slips very slowly, but one needs to utilize it properly. Even if one takes a single step towards his / her goal every day, it is sufficient. But sleeping all the while and then whining over the lost time is a very bad idea. The pressure of last minute is tremendous enough to blow anyone’s lid. After all, not everyone is pressure absorber like Virat Kohli 😉. Then when I tried to set things right, I was expecting that things should work out as magic or miracle and I should get the result instantly. But the universe does not work that way. If you have wasted enough time, how on earth can you think to make for it within little time?

Take Away: Constant endeavor, however simple or small it may look, must be made to strive towards one’s goal. Never forget the target, goal of your life putting it off till the last-minute thinking that the same will happen somehow. It may happen somehow, but what will be the quality of the output? Will it be up to the mark? If a problem has arisen, it needs time, patience and persistent work to get resolved. It cannot vanish into thin air overnight.

For example, if you are a student, keep on learning and revising. If you have not understood any concept, please read it several times instead of putting it off until exam. This particular thing will scare you the day before exam and may affect your overall performance in the exam as everything cannot happen overnight. 

8.       The burden of Self-expectation:

Somewhere I read that all our body cells renew themselves in a span of a year. If this is the case, you cannot be the same person that you were once. It is as simple as that. Who has set the benchmark for you? The answer is you, yourself. I set my standards with which came the burden of self-expectation. Then all the if, then clauses will start flooding your mind. If I fail to do some ‘xyz’ stuff, then I will lose all my reputation. What others will think about me? But believe me no body will bother about you. All have their own share of problems, worries etc. You will only be suffocated under the burden of you own expectations.

Take Away: Do not pile up unnecessary pressure on yourself. If you think what others will think, you are a big fool. Nobody has enough time to ponder over all these damn things. Do not think that your efficiency / throughput will remain constant. We are not machines. We are human beings with emotions. Sometimes, we get bogged down limiting our efficiency. For understanding purpose, we can take example of the form of a player. Sometimes, he / she is able to beat the world record while some other time it is a no-go at all. But please do not panic at these times, because the best in the business also experience it. So, take a break and have a kit kat 😉.

9.       Overconfidence and overindulgence in technology

In some cases, I was overconfident on the output of the work I have done. Confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence leads to destruction. Here another famous Murphy’s Law comes into play “Nothing is as easy as it looks”. Unless you spend time exploring it on your own, you can not asses how much effort is required to be put to achieve the result. It may seem to you as a cake walk, but once you start doing it, things will unfold, and intricacies may be understood. Overindulgence in gadgets, gizmos and excess dependence on technology can drive you away from nature. The more you distant yourself from nature, the more you are trapping yourself in problems

Take Away: Being overconfident in any aspect of life or taking things for granted can hit back hard at the time when you are off-guard and least expecting the same. It will devastate you and blow your confidence. Be a friend of nature, not a stranger. After all our body is made up of nature’s elements not with man made materials. The greenery of the leaves of a tree, the blossoming flowers, the singing birds cannot be substituted with social media or PUBG or the latest Play Stations😉. Just plant a tree, dirty your hands with soil, the feeling you will get will be much richer than the social media status or comments which are mostly nothing else than dikhawa (show off).

If you are a student, do not think that once you have learnt something, you will be able to reproduce it in the exact same manner. Put on hard work so that it is soaked into your soul and keep practicing. Always remember the golden words “Practice makes a man perfect.”

10.       Escaping from responsibilities

After all the mishaps which were spiraling out of control, I tried to get myself transferred to another place of lesser importance. But the moment I revealed it in office, nobody was ready to buy my theory. My division Head who is such a kind-hearted person, affectionately explained me that if I didn’t clear up the messy situation I created and leave the place, I would not be able to dwell happily at my new workplace. Voila! He was bang on. For one day, he transferred to my desired location, but instead of feeling happy, I felt that I was not justifying the salary I was receiving for the work. Yes, I felt like going from bad to worse. At that moment I understood that I was trying to run away from my responsibilities.

Take Away: Swamiji himself has said that if nature has bestowed some power up on you, then it will definitely get the job done through you. There is no question of escaping or running away. If you try to run away, it will catch you wherever you go. Instead of running away, it is a better proposition to confront the same head on. The toil through you pass through will teach you many things. Your personality will see a sea change. This is god’s way of preparing you for tough situations in life and corresponding response evocation.

For students, it is your primary responsibility to study along with good ethical behavior and manners learning. So please don’t come up with any excuse to bhag away from your responsibilities 😉

With this, let me stop boring you beyond the stretching point 😉. Now it is a strategic time out for all of us to recapitulate the experiences I shared with you all by grace of Swamiji.

Jai Shri Hari, the conclusion follows…