This CV Is Of No Use – What I Learnt From Exiled Noble Beings
I am sure the sentiment is shared by many who have a rather…er… chequered career. And questions abound. What gets one closer to the seat of power? And the fruits it has to offer?
To begin with the answer is darn simple. It’s only made complex by know-alls or know-nothings or know-half or know-half-but-don’t-know-which-halves. That means virtually all of us. Only a select few (one-in-a-million, according to some researchers) know what it is and benefit from it. Despair not, for now the secret will be revealed. Get ready to enjoy the alluring and elusive fruits of power, which till now, we only fantasized about. From the story of 5 brothers who lost everything in a bitter power struggle with their conniving cousins and had to spend 12 years in exile and 1 year in anonymity to learn the tricks of the trade to have a go at the throne. (You, oh lucky reader, need only the next 60 seconds to know what it takes).
For a good 11 years 11 months (to the 11th hour that is) the brothers kept shaking their heads in disbelief wondering what went wrong for such fate to befell them. Instead of enjoying the fruits of power they are on foot wandering in forests teeming with wild beasts, poisonous ivy, long days, dark nights and meandering thorny paths.
“What have we done wrong? We had everything going for us. We are the good ones. Lived by book almost and asked for what rightfully belonged to us. We are blessed by elders. Seen as a beacon of hope by our subjects. We were loved almost universally. Yet….”
Words failed them and they continued their journey part lamenting their fate and part taking in the beauty of nature, which the trappings of a life happily lived in palaces amongst seemingly well-wishers would have deprived them of. While musing thus and traveling further, one day they came across a tree with one fruit on it. It looked like a fruit for gods, and indeed it was, which they didn’t know at that time. Draupadi, their illustrious wife, feeling hungry by the long walk, said “I want it.”
Zip.
Her wish was their command and in a second the fruit made its way into her hand. She was on the verge of biting it.
Zwang.
Krishna, their mentor materialized there. “Stop” he said. “This fruit belongs to Durvasa, the angry saint. He alone decides whom he wants to give it to, and any ignoramus trying to savor it without his consent will get to know what living hell means. Put it back. Else you will have to face his wrath, for he is known to be short tempered.”
“How?” cried all in unison. “How on earth can we put the plucked thing back?”
Smiled Krishna. “Don’t worry. It needs to be offered the accumulated karma of your good deeds. Powered by that, this fruit here will go back and attach itself to the tree. All will be well.”
So first comes Draupadi, and offers her good karma, a result of her Chastity.
Zoom.
The fruit raises few feet in the air, well short of the branch it was plucked from. Shocked she looks at her husbands! “Oh, I thought the power of my karma alone would do the trick! Alas, such is not the case.”
The eldest brother Dharmaraja, epitome of Integrity, steps forward. Offers his bit and lo, the fruit still is far from being happily hanging in its original un-plucked state. One by one the remaining 4 brothers, each bringing to the table Strength, Valor, Humility and Trust do their bit, but the sum total of their contribution was still a few feet short. Steps forward Krishna, the wise mentor and offers part of his good karma and the fruit attaches itself to the tree, nothing amiss, everything as before.
“Wow! This is a miracle. How in heavens’ name did that happen?” The 6 voices rose in unison above the din of the forest sound FX.
Smiled Krishna. “Don’t worry; that there is Durvasa making his way to the tree now. We will talk after paying our respects to him.” Durvasa came. Durvasa saw. Durvasa conferred, the fruit unto the 5 brothers and their wife. “I know what happened. But you have collectively made the impossible, possible, so you have earned it. Eat it. The effects of it will last on you forever and you will enjoy the benefits of the throne shortly. Everything will work out smoothly henceforth.” Thus speaking the good and soothing words, the short-tempered but benevolent sage vanishes.
Content, with the vision of a good life ahead and the sweet taste of the fruit, the 5 brothers and their wife turn to Krishna their mentor, for enlightenment. Smiled Krishna. “Power”, he said, seating himself comfortably under the blessed tree, “is mistaken to be an easy prey to only one thing or the other from the following: Trust. Humility. Integrity. Strength. Chastity. Valor. (THIS CV).”
“You need a bit of guile to navigate through to the final course. In its absence everything else falls short of the ultimate goal. All the efforts come to naught. You are on the throes of Kaliyuga. The going will be tougher if you continue in the same naïve belief of THIS CV helping you. The dice will be loaded against you every time and you need to adopt new strategies. Add a dash of stealth and pepper it with practicality and the purpose will be served.
“I hope the path ahead is clear for you and that you have got your priorities right. Use this time to work on your weaknesses, add to your network, marshal troops and you will see what lies ahead. I as your mentor can see it. Glory be to thee!”
Oh wise reader, the era of Mahabharata has long ended. Kaliyuga has indeed entered. THIS CV is now some 3000+ years past its expiry date. It was once a necessary condition but not sufficient to get you what you desired. Now it’s an invalid anachronism.
You will like these as well!
|
Featured Tickles  Heal Your Relationships to Heal YourselfIt has been rightly said that this world is a mirror. It reflects back our inner/true reality to us. As within, so without. Everything in our life; our job, our economic condition, our dwellings, and the people in our life reflect one or the other aspect of our reality. Isn’t this a beautiful arra The Power of UnlearningAs I picked up the vacuum machine and started vacuuming the carpet in my living room, a sense of dissatisfaction loomed over me. It had been just about a year since I bought this vacuum cleaner and it was already low in its efficiency. The buzzing sound of the motor from that machine sounded healthy 15 elephant tethers that stop you from being creative!The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it. - Dee Hock When still a baby, the elephant is tethered by a very thick Smoking a cigarette is like talking to your mother-in-law because...Once upon a time, many years ago, in prehistoric times, at a time when there were no cities, no buildings and perhaps even no villages, there was a hunter. He had had a successful day and was walking through a forest back to his tribe. He had slung a deer across his shoulder with some homemade rope Here Is Your D-I-Y Kit For A Leading Edge LifeManagement gurus and their disciples, thinkers, strategists and business process re-engineers have been busy propelling the modern world into not only coping with, but also keeping in step with the rapid changes of an ever shrinking, increasingly competitive and exhaustingly demanding global market. I Wish I Were A GoldfishI am told that a goldfish cannot remember anything beyond a 3 minute time frame. One of my favorite pastimes is to sit and watch our goldfish swim around lazily and rising up only to gobble at the food before going back to their contented existence. Their swimming around actually reminds me of chil The Fine Art of Persuasive Communication!There are many areas to look at in communication: a message is communicated through visual, vocal and verbal means. From that, comes the importance of body language, how we present ourselves, and so on. The visual and vocal elements are indeed very important to effective communication, but we will Teaching the teacherThe arbiter of knowledge and skills, the teacher, is a revered figure around the world. In India, the teacher is known as the guru, the wise one who can be trusted to lead the knowledge-blind and shine the light of competence and skills in the darkness of ignorance and incompetence. Over time it ha How To Nurture A Successful RelationshipHave you ever wondered how certain couples were able to stay together for many years? What are they doing right? What are the factors that contribute to the success of healthy, long term relationships? There are a few fundamental components that will improve your chances of having a successful relat Waves Of InspirationI stay in the coastal city of Chennai and one of my favorite pastimes is to explore the coastline that borders one side of the city. Starting from the crowded marina and Eliot’s Beach to the less crowded and secluded ones that dot the East Coast Road (or ECR as it is called), I have always found How To Be Depressed"Depression was, indeed, the hand of a friend trying to press me down to the ground on which it was safe to stand--the ground of my own truth, my own nature with its complex mix of limits and gifts, liabilities and assets, darkness and light." Parker Palmer I've never been through pregnancy depress Make an ass of yourself but do not let the world know...Many a time we are swept by that overwhelming feeling to bare all. Not to be mistaken with confession which is done after ensuring that there is nothing further to lose on account of reputation. I am referring to pure tear jerker stuff. Born out of righteous indignation. Or plain stupidity. The form Time management with the monksOne mile south of Georgia O'Keefe's beloved Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, thirteen miles down a cliff-hugging dirt road in the heart of Chama Canyon, you will find Christ In The Desert. The Benedictine Monastery is cloister to about twenty monks. I'd fantasized about retreating to the remote monastery Forcing yourself to get up early in the morning is pointless!A google search on early rising gives 1,500,000 results. Amazon has 6699 books on getting up early. Countless self-development ‘gurus’ have written books and articles that extol the benefits of getting up before your friendly neighbourhood rooster does. They have together compiled a list of 10 5 Reasons Why I Got Off My Tail And Found A New Passion!I've taken some time this month to clean out my Gmail inbox, the main goal being to have a completely empty inbox. I went through each email one by one, until I got to the very last entry. It was labeled "journal" and dated 12/14/06. I knew it was there for me to print and tape into my actual jour If Excellence Is Your Ideal Everything Else Will Fall Into PlaceA young man went to Gautama Buddha and sought the Master’s guidance on how to achieve Enlightenment. The conversation, which in my opinion must be required reading for anyone, went roughly as follows: Young Man (YM): Master, how long will it take for me to achieve enlightenment? Gautama Buddha ( |
Loading ...
Twitter 
Facebook
Subscribe
Brilliant thought process….
enjoyed reading!