prasad1
Active member
I grew up in an orthodox South Indian Hindu family where success was defined in terms of high educational qualifications and a prestigious job title, preferably in the United States. As a 3rd grader, I distinctly remember my mother pointing her finger out of the bus on our way to my aunt's home. She was pointing to the Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T), which is equivalent to M.I.T and accepts one percent of its applicants each year. She said, "You must worship this place from your heart. This is where you must study." Sure enough, it left strong impressions in my mind and I wanted to shine in her eyes.
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I motivated myself by constant comparison to the students whose success I covertly envied. Each time I equaled them or surpassed them, I felt on the top of the world, for all but a few hours. And then it was back to the emptiness. I had to concede that my notion of success had a very short shelf life. I was getting tired of this relentless pursuit that had no real longevity, in spite of the accolades that friends and family showered upon me.
Perplexed and internally confused, I turned to Hindu scriptures and its broader understanding of the meaning and goal of life. I found that Hindu scriptures consider success an important part of life. It is called artha. Artha means that which is an asset or that which is meaningful. Hinduism classifies success according to stages of life - the first half of life and the second half of life.
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Ironically, according to Hinduism, you need a very strong and disciplined ego structure before you let go of the ego itself. The creation of that disciplined ego structure is considered to be success in the first half of life.
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According to Hinduism, we "fall" into the second half of life. Usually that fall manifests itself in the form of an existential crisis that we cannot avoid using first of life success formulae. In the modern day context, such existential crisis is usually referred to as mid-life crisis. Hinduism says that such crises keep appearing in our lives. We usually respond to them by starting new projects, finding new relationships or pursuing new careers. The crisis disappears, only to reappear in the form of a bigger, deeper and unexplainable anxiety that is brought out by life's unplanned events.
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I have been able to ask the question that truly mattered. The question is, "What is my essence, my soul, really calling me to achieve?" According to the Vedanta Sutra, it is not possible to ask this question if the first half of life has not been done right.
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We can drive ourselves to be successful and realize later that we are further and further from ourselves, the more so as the goal of success has driven our efforts. True success, according to Hinduism, is in relentlessly living the second half of life question. It is not in the achievements of the first half of life, but in the unraveling of a deeper mystery of our authentic identity and relationship with this transient world.
What Hinduism Says About Success | Ramnath Subramanian
I am still confused, even though I am past 2nd phase of life, LOL
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I motivated myself by constant comparison to the students whose success I covertly envied. Each time I equaled them or surpassed them, I felt on the top of the world, for all but a few hours. And then it was back to the emptiness. I had to concede that my notion of success had a very short shelf life. I was getting tired of this relentless pursuit that had no real longevity, in spite of the accolades that friends and family showered upon me.
Perplexed and internally confused, I turned to Hindu scriptures and its broader understanding of the meaning and goal of life. I found that Hindu scriptures consider success an important part of life. It is called artha. Artha means that which is an asset or that which is meaningful. Hinduism classifies success according to stages of life - the first half of life and the second half of life.
.......................
Ironically, according to Hinduism, you need a very strong and disciplined ego structure before you let go of the ego itself. The creation of that disciplined ego structure is considered to be success in the first half of life.
.............................
According to Hinduism, we "fall" into the second half of life. Usually that fall manifests itself in the form of an existential crisis that we cannot avoid using first of life success formulae. In the modern day context, such existential crisis is usually referred to as mid-life crisis. Hinduism says that such crises keep appearing in our lives. We usually respond to them by starting new projects, finding new relationships or pursuing new careers. The crisis disappears, only to reappear in the form of a bigger, deeper and unexplainable anxiety that is brought out by life's unplanned events.
...............................
I have been able to ask the question that truly mattered. The question is, "What is my essence, my soul, really calling me to achieve?" According to the Vedanta Sutra, it is not possible to ask this question if the first half of life has not been done right.
................................
We can drive ourselves to be successful and realize later that we are further and further from ourselves, the more so as the goal of success has driven our efforts. True success, according to Hinduism, is in relentlessly living the second half of life question. It is not in the achievements of the first half of life, but in the unraveling of a deeper mystery of our authentic identity and relationship with this transient world.
What Hinduism Says About Success | Ramnath Subramanian
I am still confused, even though I am past 2nd phase of life, LOL
