With this issue of Gurmat Sedhan, we are starting a series of Articles in installments from a New Book by Dr. Pushpinder Singh Jee. The art of learning to live life successfully & fruitfully based on qualities inherent in Plants, Birds and Animals etc. in Nature. We are very fortunate to have all this visualized very beautifully in Gurbani.
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Secrets of Success – In Nature-1st Installment
Lessons from Nature – in Gurbani
Introduction:
Each of us strives for success and happiness in life. Success is not accumulation of wealth and materials alone. Many rich men are failure in life. True secret of successful living are not material but contentment and joy of usefulness. Guru Nanak Sahib Jee says,
No One Can Get Happiness, By Indulging In The Passions Of Lust, Anger, Greed And Conceit.
The Guru is the tree of contentment, with flowers of faith, and fruits of spiritual wisdom. Watered with the Lord’s Love, it remains forever green; through the performance of good deeds, virtues and contemplation of His Naam, the soul merges in the Eternal God
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, p-147)
ਮਃ 2 ॥ ਆਖਣੁ ਆਖਿ ਨ ਰਜਿਆ ਸੁਨਣਿ ਨ ਰਜੇ ਕੰਨ ॥ ਅਖੀ ਦੇਖਿ ਨ ਰਜੀਆ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਹਕ ਇਕ ਵੰਨ ॥
ਭੁਖਿਆ ਭੁਖ ਨ ਉਤਰੈ ਗਲੀ ਭੁਖ ਨ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਭੁਖਾ ਤਾ ਰਜੈ ਜਾ ਗੁਣ ਕਹਿ ਗੁਣੀ ਸਮਾਇ ॥2॥
(ਗੁ.ਗ੍ਰ.ਸਾ. – ਪੰਨਾ 147)
We can learn from behaviour and lives of birds, animals and nature. Honeybees, Ants and Butterflies show us road to success. Leadership inspirations can be taken from Eagles, Geese, Horses and Elephants. Giraffes, Ducks and Penguins are management experts. The patience of the devotees has been compared with the trees in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, the humble devotees have the patience and endurance of trees.
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, p-1381)
ਫਰੀਦਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਕੀ ਕਰਿ ਚਾਕਰੀ ਦਿਲ ਹੀ ਲਾਹਿ ਭਰਾਂਦਿ ॥ ਦਰਵੇਸਾਂ ਨੋ ਲੋੜੀਐ ਰੁਖਾਂ ਦੀ ਜੀਰਾਂਦਿ ॥60॥
(ਗੁ.ਗ੍ਰ.ਸਾ. – ਪੰਨਾ 1381)
Life is full of problems and mistakes .Don’t worry about them. Rather understand them and learn the art of solving them as birds and animals do. Everyone faces hardships in chosen path. Enthusiasm makes one to work like Spider and Woodpecker and not to quit. Since we are the inhabitants of this pious land and benefit from its innumerable benedictions, it becomes our duty to protect and sustain it. Walking on the path of virtues, we should take care of the treasures bestowed on us by the Lord as He takes care of the whole humanity.
The compilation of this book is to help the youth to live successfully and help in maintaining ecological balance and preservation of environment.
WHAT IS SUCCESS ……..
To some people, success means acquiring & enjoying worldly wealth. To others, it is recognition, good health, good family, happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind. What this really tells us is that success is subjective. It can mean different things to different people.
If it pleases the True Guru, the mind and body are dyed in the deep red color of devotional love,. He departs with his life embellished and successful, taking the merchandise of the True Name.
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee -p751)
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥ ਸੂਹੀ ਮਹਲਾ 1 ਕਾਫੀ ਘਰੁ 10 ॥
ਮਾਣਸ ਜਨਮੁ ਦੁਲੰਭੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਇਆ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਤਨੁ ਹੋਇ ਚੁਲੰਭੁ ਜੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਭਾਇਆ ॥1॥
ਚਲੈ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਵਾਰਿ ਵਖਰੁ ਸਚੁ ਲੈ ॥ ਪਤਿ ਪਾਏ ਦਰਬਾਰਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਭੈ ॥1॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
(ਗੁ.ਗ੍ਰ.ਸਾ. – ਪੰਨਾ 751)
Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal. “Progressive” means that success is a journey, not a destination. After we reach one goal, we go on to the next, the next and the next. It continues endlessly to scale further heights.
Let us try to comprehend this in a story given below:
A man was travelling on his path he was determined to reach his ultimate goal. Along the way, he started feeling hungry. He now had a new goal: To eat, he also felt thirsty so he left his original path and started walking towards the river. Reaching the river, he thought it is best to wash my hands before eating or drinking – yet another goal. So, he bent down. The river was still he could see a golden bracelet deep down. All of a sudden, he forgot his hunger and thirst, he forgot about washing his hands and thought only of possessing the golden bracelet. He jumped into the water but could not find it; a passerby saw him jumping in and out of the river and asked why. The passerby said; ‘O Friend, the bracelet is not in the river. It is high up on the branches of the tree, you are chasing the reflection!’ The man now had yet another goal to climb the tree . . . and so on.
Success without fulfillment is empty. Success does not mean getting acceptance from everyone. There may be some persons or groups; you would not want to be acceptable to, out of choice. You would rather prefer criticism by fools than appreciation by unsavory characters.
One who practices truth, righteous living, charity and good deeds, follows God’s Path, worldly success shall not fail him.
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee -p743)
ਜੋ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੋ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥ ਆਪਣੀ ਕੁਦਰਤਿ ਆਪੇ ਜਾਣੁ ॥1॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਸਚਾ ਧਰਮੁ ਪੁੰਨੁ ਭਲਾ ਕਰਾਏ ॥ ਦੀਨ ਕੈ ਤੋਸੈ ਦੁਨੀ ਨ ਜਾਏ ॥2॥ (ਗੁ.ਗ੍ਰ.ਸਾ. – ਪੰਨਾ 743)
The definition of success is a manifestation of good luck that results from Inspiration, Aspiration, Desperation and Perspiration; generally in that sequence. Success and happiness go hand in hand. Success is getting what you want and happiness is what you get! Existence alone is not success! It is a lot more!
Success does not mean the absence of failures; it means the attainment of ultimate objectives. It means winning the final frontiers of war, not just winning every battle.
One may have met people who literally wander through life. They simply accept whatever fate brings them. A few may succeed by accident, but most suffer through a lifetime of frustration and unhappiness. Human nature generally resists change. Regardless of its positive or negative effect, change can be stressful. Sometimes we get so comfortable with our negativity that even when the change is for the positive, we do not want to accept it. We stay with the negative.
Let us learn this from a narration from another small story:
A man once owned an Eagle, and for many years kept the Eagle chained to a stake. Every day the Eagle walked around and around that stake, and over time wore a rut in the ground. When the Eagle was getting old, his master felt sorry for him and decided to set him free. Therefore, he took the metal ring off the Eagle’s foot, lifted the Eagle from the ground, and tossed him into the air. The Eagle was free now — but he had forgotten how to fly! He flip-flopped to the ground, walked back over to his old rut, and started walking in circles just the way he had done for years. No chain and shackle held him, just the habit!
There is a saying: “The chains of bad habits are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken” — and that would be true if it were not for the Lord and His Power. You may think it is not possible for you to change, but if you really want to and are sincerely willing to, God can change you by the miracle-working power of His Spirit. He will do things you cannot do! You may have to put a great deal of your own will to the transformation process as well, but with God’s Strength and His Intervention, you will find that Now You have more Resolve, Determination, and Building Habits Ability to change than you ever thought possible.
Have you ever wondered why some individuals, organizations, or countries are more successful than others are? None of them works unless they have the right foundation, and the right foundation is TQP.
What is TQP? TQP is Total Quality People — people with Character, Integrity, Good Values and a Positive Attitude.
Always remember; Success is not an accident. It is the result of our attitude and our attitude is a choice. Hence success is a matter of choice and not chance.
Here we are sharing one more story to elaborate this point:
A priest was driving by and saw an exceptionally beautiful farm. He stopped his car to appreciate the bountiful crop. The farmer was riding on his tractor and saw the priest at the corner. He drove towards the Priest and when he got there the priest said, “God has blessed you with a beautiful farm. You should be grateful for it. The farmer replied,” Yes, God has blessed me with a beautiful farm and I am grateful for it, but you should have seen this farm when God had the whole farm to himself!”
“The Lesson of Focus” – Woodpeckers
Woodpecker is much smarter than we are. Yes, he pecks his beak & beats his head against a tree, but he does it so very successfully. His goal is always realistic – he never tries to split the tree in half and in a single motion, as many of us do. Woodpecker stays focused. He never knocks at all sides of a tree at the same time. He focuses his effort on a single point, slowly getting to his worm. What we always want is not a worm but at least a snake. We want to find the snake under lose leaves sprinkled on the ground leaving hard to reach places unchecked.
“Stream Lesson” – Fishes
The fish always swims against the current and rarely downstream. This is crazy! Why would they complicate their lives when they could use the force of the current to move down the stream? In fact, moving upstream allows more water to pass through their gills. It brings more oxygen and food. Therefore, life of the fish swimming upstream is several times richer. In contrast to the fish, we always try to go with the flow or ‘swim in the stagnant water’. As a result, instead of 40 years of experience, we repeat a one-year experience 40 times. We do not want to leave our comfort zone, and then wonder why our life was so dull and unsuccessful. We want to win the lottery of life, not even buying a lottery ticket.
“Soil You Face With Blood” – Lions
Lion cubs know how to learn. They do not learn from textbooks but rather from the older, more experienced lions. They know exactly – in order to learn how to hunt, they should soil their muzzles with blood. We are even afraid to soil our hands. We learn hunting as we sit in a classroom and look at the board dressed teacher-hare. Alternatively, even worse, – we lock ourselves in a room and study ourselves, but when it comes to real hunting, we do not know how, we are afraid of the smell of blood.
“Wiggle Your Social Tail First” – Dogs
In the 21st century, is not important what you do yourself. What is important is how efficiently you motivate others. A perfect example of this is a dog. The dog does not think in the following manner: e.g., “First, you bring me home, feed and wash me and then I’ll wiggle my tail and play with you.” No! Dog first shows his good feelings, and only then gets what it wants in return. Dogs do not force you to do anything; they make you want to do everything for them.
(To be continued in next issue …..)
