A very nice article in today's Times of India, speaking tree section, written by Mr. P.V.Vaidyanathan. If you want, you can write him to his mail ID, vaidyanathan.pv@gmail.com
He talks about two major qualities of any human being "perseverance" and "letting go". A lot of times, because we are so attached to the subject, that its difficult for us to let go. We do not understand the importance of letting go. Also a lot of times, we do not understand the meaning of letting go. In this article, he has tried to make us realised that perseverance and letting go are not two different sides of the coin, but they both are required to succeed in life.
This article says that we need to follow perseverance for sure, but finally we don't need to stuck to that idea, if its not working. And this happens lots of time , life is a hit and trial. Unfortunately, GPS was not discovered before life... :) Hence we need to do our best, and after that just leave it to that higher one, universal power, who is there to steer our life. Though we can push the car of our life to our best, still once it starts, our driver ( that universal power) knows where it has to go.
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Perseverance and letting go are both positive qualities that we all possess. However, despite their being life-enhancing qualities, these are often complementary and even antagonistic to each other, and need to be employed in sequence, and at the right time, rather than in isolation for us to achieve success, peace and harmony.
‘Try, try till you succeed’ is something we’ve all been taught in school. Success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration, we’re told, to highlight the importance of hard work. And work we must, for that is the very nature of life. Karma Yoga, as outlined in the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna speaks highly of work as a form of worship. Swami Vivekananda persuaded his followers to work ceaselessly till the goal is reached.
Success is determined by a combination of factors. Hard work is only one of them. Besides hard work, we also need talent, inspiration, creativity, luck and destiny. While most of us work hard, true success and joy come only to some, while most others have to remain content with whatever they get.
This brings us to the relationship between perseverance and letting go. Perseverance is the quality of sticking to one’s job and to one’s goals, come what may. Letting go, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite. It consists of putting one’s faith and trust in a higher power, whether we call it God or destiny, waiting patiently for results. While these two qualities may seem to be opposites they are, in fact, not so; they are complementary to each other.
Every venture, dream and project needs divine grace for its successful completion. Those who decline to believe in the power of the unknown are likely to continue struggling and will have to depend solely on their own efforts. They could meet with limited success, often hitting roadblocks which seem insurmountable or which drain away tremendous amounts of time, energy and money. The human mind and the ego are such that giving credit does not come easily. This is not only true where other people are concerned, but our mind and ego often do not even want to acknowledge the Power that runs the universe, day in and day out, without exception. Not wanting to give credit to God, destiny or fate, and wanting to corner all the praise is one reason why people find it difficult to let go and trust.
Hard work and perseverance are absolutely necessary, doubtless. But somewhere along the course, after having exhausted all human possibilities, one must learn to sit back, be detached from the outcome of our efforts, and hand over our endeavours to a higher power. How and when to do this is purely an intuitive or instinctive phenomenon. When we sincerely let go, not out of laziness, complacency and lethargy but after having done our very best, it is then that the process of life shifts to another plane, with the unseen hand coming into play. And the power or destiny works in myriad ways. A chance meeting, something overheard or read in the newspapers, the stirring of a memory, a different thought process, sudden release of funds that had dried up – something is likely to happen, which would put our work and project back on track.
When success becomes palpable, it is important to remember and acknowledge and give thanks to existence, without proudly proclaiming that everything was achieved only by our own perseverance.
source: timesofindia, dated, 19th May 2011
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/To-Persevere-And-Let-Go/articleshow/8419976.cms
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