Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Lights glittered in smiles of Free Press readers as His Grace Gaur Gopal Das walked down the stage at Labh Mandapam sharing his ‘Words of Wisdom’ celebrating 40 years of Free Press in Indore.
Enchanting the city with wisdom, charm, humility, love and embracing every reader with his connect, Das addressed the special gathering of our readers on Saturday evening.
He showered love through his words, gestures and expressed awe for Indoreans through local dialect as ‘Kaise ho bhiya!’
Das said, “This is my 4th time in Indore. "Kaise bhiya?"
I have researched enough. Don't know why people call Mumbai the food capital... It has to change. Indore is the true food capital.”
Following are some key takeaways in the words of His Grace Gaur Gopal Das from the inspirational session:
Beware of the circle of time, give up ego!
It's extremely important to give up ego. The biggest ego is when we say that we don’t need anyone. And, the biggest illusion is when we say that everyone needs me.
A-1 CREATION
Hence, it is important to get down and connect. Stage is like success. One gets lonely there. The higher you go, the lonelier you get. People always connect with you because of what you have and not who you are.
Explaining the point, he said people often come to asking for a selfie stating that they are my followers and disciplines. However, once selfie is clicked, they simply disappear and I wonder where have my disciples gone.
He again shared his story to give a complete insight: I have been doing this for 30 years. But only it’s now that people are calling me. Those who never messaged or said hello are now calling me. This is what happens when time changes. So, I am living in a time when even my neem tree is bearing mangoes.
Those who stay with you in bad times are blessings
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Good or bad times never stay forever, but relationships certainly do. Many people will want to connect with you in your good time. However, only a few will come because of you. Those who support you in your good times are relationships but those who are with you even in your bad times are blessings.
Don’t become a pressure cooker
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Don't pressure yourself to be positive. It gives you stress.
Our feelings and emotions are true. We must learn to live with it. If you're bored, accept it, don't go browsing Instagram. Start learning to live with your emotions. Don't force yourself to feel pepped up.
You're hurt, it's ok. If you're feeling sad, it's ok.
Don't force yourself to feel positive or great.
When a bird shits on you, be grateful that elephants don't fly. It's good to think like that and be grateful, but you still have to clean the bird shit. Your positive mindset can compliment your journey, but won't solve your issues.
Don't take pressure in life, you're not a pressure cooker.
Appreciate yourself, don’t punish
Even small wins and growth are good.
A child answers 9 x 8 equals 152. His father rewards him. The mother wonders why. The father explains that the child had given the answer as 192 yesterday.
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So, the child got closer to the answer and hence, deserved the award.
Have self worth, appreciate yourself. Don't punish yourself for mistakes. We are all human. We all make mistakes.
Story-time: It’s easy to be happy than to show it
There was a king. The king was strolling with his minister. He saw a farmer, his wife and their 17-year-old kid. They were so energetic. The farmer family was singing and enjoying themselves while working in their small farm. They had a tiny house but were still happy.
You don't need much to be happy but to show that you are happy is tough. You can be happy with unbranded roadside tees, but to show that you are happy, you buy expensive branded clothes.
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Hence, you must add life to yourself. Life will go anyway, so add life to your life before it's gone forever.
Add life to your life
We always worry what people will think, we are even doing what we don't like just for it. We think that we should do what people want from us, but life is going back. Our heart and life is passing away. Everyday we are dying more than we are living .
Before you leave, add life to your life. The farmer's family was living life to the fullest.
Stop comparison
We have a disease of comparing our lives with each other. Don't know when and how we got this disease of looking at others. I don't say my parents were wrong when they always compared me with other students, but the society was running as such that we compared with each other. Even today, we judge our success by comparing ourselves with others. This is a big mistake we make in life.
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He further said: At a wedding, women look at each other's jewellery and men stare at each other's wife. Both comparing and feeling envy.
Water your own grass
What happens when we look at other people's life? We feel jealous. That's all we can feel. We should focus on our life and success.
It's a disease of the mind. It never ends. All the good ends because we look at others. We should look at what we have.
The grass is greener on the other side of the mountain.
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But the grass near you too can be greener if you water it regularly.
In Mahabharat, there are two characters: Karna and Arjun. Both wanted to be the greatest archer. Karna always looked at Arjun and wanted to beat him. Arjun just worked on beating his previous goal. Stop running and racing with others, do it with yourself. Be Arjun, not Karna.
Focus on what you have and take care of the grass that you have.
Don’t forget 99
Returning to the farmer story, he said when the king asked why the farmer was happy, the minister replied:
"The farmer is happy because he is not a part of the 99 club." To explain it, the minister placed a bag full of 99 gold coins at the door of farmer’s house. The farmer found it at night. He checked and rechecked it.
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Doubtful, he asked his wife and son to count the coins. The number always stood at 99. He was bugged. Why 99, why not 100. He lost peace of mind and the entire family too.
Similarly, we all overlook the 99 blessings that we have received and concentrate on the one that is missing.
No one is perfect
No one is perfect. Everyone will have a flaw. There is always something lacking in everyone. There will always be one coin missing. We are always looking at the one missing. I am not saying don't take one. But don't forget the 99 because of one.
To explain the point, Gaur Gopal Das narrated the story of Dhritashtra who had power equal to 100 elephants but was blind. Throughout his life, he focused on his impairment and not his power. He spent his entire life focusing on impairment. Surdas didn't focus on his impairment. He focused on his music and lyrics.
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Nobody's life will have a bag full of 100 coins. Everyone will miss out on at least one. Is it right to forget the 99 just because of one missing one?
Revise: I am blessed
How many of have had coriander or bhutte ka kis fibre stuck in your teeth? Where does your tongue go? We focus on that one tooth and not the other 31. We are not amazed by the clean 31 ones. That's the nature of your tongue and mind. I am not saying that you must not remove it. You must, but celebrate the rest of your teeth too.
On a lighter note...
Teacher: Potatoes are Rs 30/kg and ship is sinking.
How old am I?
Student : 32
Teacher: You're perfect. How did you know?
Student: My sister is 16 and half mad so you should be
32.
Words of Wisdom
Follow 3Cs:
Connect to yourself
Connect to people
Connect to the one beyond this world
Remember: It's not the happy people who are grateful,
it's the grateful people who are happy.
