Author: Dr. Ajit Varwandkar
One day, Laddu was very anxious. He had a target to accomplish some important goals. He had been chasing these for some time, and he went through many ups and downs in the process. There were some very disappointing moments during his journey. Those were the times when he used to go to the temple and pray to God.
One such day, when he was very sad and dejected, someone advised him to offer some penance to the almighty. If you commit something, in return, your work shall definitely be done. Laddu did precisely the same. He went to the priest carrying fruits and sweets in one hand and flowers and money in the other. He shared his concern with the pujari and offered him all those items.
On understanding Laddu’s need, the Pandit said – DROP it.
Laddu was confused as to what needed to be dropped. He thought it was about the flowers, so he dropped the flower on the pujari’s feet. He then looked toward the priest. But the man was not satisfied and again said, DROP it. Now Laddu realised it was about the sweets, and he dropped them.
But the priest was unmoved and again said, DROP it. At this moment, Laddu had fruits and a ‘rupee two thousand note’ in his hand. He then dropped the bag of fruits on the ground.
The pujari, however, seemed to be adamant about something which Laddu was unaware of. He again said, DROP it. Laddu then realised that he was left with money in his hands. Yes, it was about the money,he guessed. He then dropped the currency note which was in his hand.
But the priest continued saying, DROP, DROP DROP
That’s when Laddu got a bit anxious and, in anxiety, asked the priest, “What exactly do you want me to drop pandit Ji?”
The priest replied,
Drop your ego
Drop your disbelief
Drop your lack of confidence
Drop your doubts
Your offerings of material things to the omnipotent in exchange for achieving desirable life situations do not complete the equation. On the contrary, all you need to offer the deity is your commitment and a steadfast belief. When you ask for something from the almighty, ask it with 100% trust.
Friends, metaphorically thinking, sweets represent lust, and fruits represent goals.While flowers represent the expectations of good times, money represents wealth accumulation. A supreme power manages the flow of all these human desirables. You may call it the ultimate superpower or the Universe etc. I prefer to look at it as God – the supreme giver.
If we want our wishes fulfilled, we must first learn the art of asking for them. The repeated instructions by the priest to “Drop” was, in effect, an attempt to create space within to manifest all wishes. The art of allowing all dreams is the ability to walk freely along with the flow of unquestionable belief.
I remember a story of a rope walker. He did a public show where he walked over a rope connecting two high-rise towers. The most impressive part of this event was that he was carrying his infant daughter on his shoulder while he was on that rope.
The fellow walked a lot confidently. Initially, the public watching his act was scared, but after some time, they all started cheering him. When the rope walker reached the other end of the rope, the crowd roared in praise for him.
After some time, the rope walker was invited to participate in a media show. During the interactions, the person asked the audience, “Do you think I can do this act successfully again?” Almost everyone said, ” Yes, you can”. Ok, ” said the rope walker and asked another question, “ Do you really believe in my abilities to repeat this performance?” Everyone replied, Yes, we believe in you.
The rope walker said, “Now that you believe in me, how many of you can lend me your child to carry along with me during my next show?”
As expected, no one replied in affirmation.
The rope walker said, “You all have a belief in me, but you do not believe 100%.”
Do contact me in case you have any career queries.
Dr. Ajit Varwandkar is the Director of myaglakadam.com. He is a leading career counselor and can be contacted on 9826132972 or email him at info@fsindia.in
This column was originally published by the author in The Times of India