Commentaries by Vee Jay Attri during the Book Study – Secrets of Karma
We shall continue with the study on Secrets of Karma. We shall read from karmic obligations towards the peer group. So far, we talked about the karmic obligations towards the self, towards our teachers, parents, our family. We will now continue with our discussion.
Karmic obligations towards peer group
No one ever comes into your life by chance. You have karmic connections with your friends, co-workers and others who come into contact with you.
So, whether it is your friends or your colleagues in your office including your boss, they do not come just like that. If your boss is very kind to you, your employers are kind to you, it means you carry good karma with these people.
If you are having challenging situations at your workplace, you have to remind yourself that you will not attract something that does not belong to you. Therefore, learn to practice acceptance in all the situations. Many at times, you will attract people who are there to deliver you specific lesson that is so vital for you to learn.
Without learning or mastering that lesson, you cannot move forward. Many at times, we come across students who come and say that it is so difficult, unbearable to work in the conditions in the workplace because of severity from their peer group as well as from their employers.
I remind them not be hasty and quit the organization. Whenever you quit an organization, as far as possible, let it be from a resourceful state. You have to demonstrate your power. Power includes all the virtues that are in practice.
If deep inside your heart, you know that you are leaving an organization not because you are frustrated and unhappy but because deep inside yourself, there is a voice that tells you: I have learnt whatever I have to from this place, it’s time for me to move on. That should be the spirit.
If you leave an organization with unhappiness, with frustration, the karma that has been provided to you is not actually neutralized. Together with that, you missed the opportunity of learning a very important lesson.
That is the reason why, anytime you learn to practice acceptance regardless of the condition. Even simple opportunities that come into your life, you have to embrace it very happily.
I just remembered like a flash when I joined a marketing company at the age, I think my body was 19 or 20. First time I was coming to New Delhi from Chennai. This organization asked me to learn scooter driving, two wheeler, with great difficulty somehow I managed.
So, I was slowly getting used to driving the 2 wheeler in a new state, in a new place; that is New Delhi, compared to Chennai, it is very vast. I was managing somehow and then moving around the city for the purpose of sales calls. Then my boss said, “Okay, I am going to take this scooter back from you, use the older one.” My heart was very unhappy for two reasons; first, I was slowly getting used to driving.
Second was, the vehicle that was provided was so tough to drive. It was having a very tough gear and it was quite a challenge for me to get used to the second vehicle but because there is no other choice, I accepted it. Then, I started using this vehicle. After sometimes, this vehicle, as if it became like a puppy for me.
I started becoming a master of that vehicle and after sometimes, regardless of what vehicle is given to me, I always remembered that a challenge that is given, you accept it and you master it. So, this continued with me. So, it so happened that as I grew up in the organization later, coming to business, I had a very small car. Some of you might be knowing it, it is also in Mauritius; Maruti.
Then suddenly, I had been given a mighty car, the biggest car in India, it is actually called Contessa, one of the biggest cars at that time, huge, massive. I think probably it was almost like 18 feet to 20 feet, huge one. So, I had no choice now. I had to master and I had to go to places where you can imagine, the busiest of the busiest streets, in any city.
In Delhi, these are all areas called Chawri bazaar, Sadar bazaar, crowded, crowded, crowded, not an inch to move even for walking. Such kind of places, I had to take this car and over a period of time, I became a master of this car. It started becoming like a puppy for me. So, in this way, I realized that by embracing tough conditions that are given to you, you really become tough.
So, that is why there is a very beautiful saying that says, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.” So, you become tougher. That is exactly is what to be understood. So, consequently, challenges started becoming more like, what should I say, more like an adventure.
So, rather than running away from challenges, I started embracing challenges regardless of the condition, regardless of the situation. So, this actually built in me a sense of fearlessness. So, that is exactly what is the point.
So, if you are having challenging situations, don’t run away quickly. Of course, there are times when it is wise or intelligent to move away from certain situations. It is not that you will say that, “It is a burning place and I will not leave it unless I master this place,” not necessary.
There are extreme conditions which one has to apply wisdom or discernment but as far as possible, avoid quitting too soon, too quick. This is very important. Even in our institution, I am finding that there are many spiritual aspirants who give up so quickly.
They make their own conclusion, they make their own judgment. Unfortunately, what they don’t realize is that a beautiful condition has been set for them to evolve, to develop and they miss that opportunity. Consequently, they find themselves running from one place to another place all the time.
And every place is providing a similar experience and consequently, they do not gather any lesson, any experience. This I can tell you definitely out of my own experience, my friends, my dear brothers, my dear sisters. Do not quit soon.
Generally do not quit but if you have to, at least give 100% effort. Keep checking yourself :“How far have I learned from this situation?” There is always something to learn.
People often indulge in activities that serve little or no purpose, just for the sake of society.
Unfortunately, the society is spiritually sick. The majority of people do not know what they are doing and where they are heading.
This is really very true. If you look into the life of average people, they consider socializing to be a very important activity. So, they go to any extent to maintain their friends.
Now, it has been my own experience again. I am from the marketing background and I was exposed to some of the toughest fields in marketing. Some of you might be knowing what it means to sell computers and communication products in India. It is basically like a bloodbath.
In all marketing seminars, it is not so easy for you to get along with the group. I somehow realized that I was most of the time a loner because to be in marketing, you have to do many things, including partying and whatever, that is the demand to the situation but what I realized is that over a period of time, when I started refraining from the norms of the society, I started performing better.
As a matter of fact, when I quit my last organization, I was, if not the most, but at least one of the most performing marketing personnel. I had been actually performing really very well and all this extra sundry things were not important to me.
That means, if you are one pointed into what you are doing and there is so much of dedication, regardless of what the people are thinking, regardless of what the society thinks what you are, you will be successful. That is a very important point you should remember. So, for the sake of society, don’t sell your soul. “Zameer ko bechna hi nahin hein.”
It is so important that you do not sell your consciousness. It is so important to have self-esteem. Just for the sake of people, do not give up your values. People would not be willing to give up their values for your sake.
Try to do it; tell them do not drink, let’s do something else. People will not come to your level but you have no problem in coming down to their level. Instead of uplifting people, the easiest thing is to come down to the level of the people. This should never happen in the life of a spiritual aspirant
So, people will all the time tell you; let us go for partying, your vehicles enjoy all this, not you the soul. All these entertainments are actually the entertainment for the vehicles, it is not for the soul. That is why you will find that, every week some people want to move out because if they do not do that, they feel so uncomfortable. They feel sad.
There is a huge emptiness happening. Why? Because the vehicles are now demanding all these luxuries, but the soul ‘andar se khokla,’ it is becoming empty and you are not even aware of it. If you are looking for lasting peace, lasting joy, lasting happiness, you need spiritual energy. Why? Because you are a spiritual being in the first place.
So, a non-physical being needs non-physical energy but if you are attuned only to physical pleasures, what is getting satisfied is your vehicle, not you the soul and that is why, no matter how much of pleasure you have, none of these pleasures carry you ahead in your life.
You will always find a sense of emptiness happening, a void. That is exactly what is happening with the people. Many at times, you come across people, whole day they are on Facebook, on WhatsApp, and watching television program.
They are on all kinds of stuff except in facing the reality, which is the self. It is such scary for these people to be in silence, to look into the self, to observe the song of silence. You have to learn to do things that are important for you the soul, not for the vehicles.