Chanakya Thoughts: Three best advices based on Chanakya Neeti that will help sail through the third wave and 2022

Chanakya Thoughts: Three best advices based on Chanakya Neeti that will help sail through the third wave and 2022

With the third wave raising its head and the threat of another lockdown looming, what are we expected to do? Just relax, take a deep breath and think of solutions rather than focusing on the problems we are facing.

Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai Updated: Sunday, January 09, 2022, 08:29 AM IST
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Mesquita & Pollyana

New year wishes are still pouring in and they will continue for a few more days. Yet, 2022 hasn’t taken off on a good note. The world is battling the new Covid variant, Omicron, which is fast spreading its tentacles and has become a topic of discussion at dinner tables and office desks.

“When will all this stop?”, is the commonly asked question. With the third wave raising its head and the threat of another lockdown looming, what are we expected to do? Just relax, take a deep breath and think of solutions rather than focusing on the problems we are facing.

Let us take a look at the Arthashastra to get tips from Chanakya to sail through the storm successfully. I would like to pick three ideas that I feel will help us manage the crisis and make some good memories in 2022

1) Aanvikshiki (Reflection)

This is a golden time for self-reflection. Till 2019, we were in a rat race — running without even asking ourselves some basic questions like, ‘Why am I doing this?’, ‘What is the purpose of doing this?’, ‘What is the objective?’ among others.

For human beings, it is not possible to go without thinking. But a person who is running a mad race can never do quality thinking… We have been missing the quality time to realign ourselves with our inner compass, which will show us the right direction to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

While our travelling will be restricted, meetings will reduce and we will get more time to be with our loved ones, let us not waste the extra time we have in hand. Let us not just spend this time mindlessly watching movies or web series or catching up with thousands of unread messages on social media or junk mails. Entertainment to some extent is good, but let us not get addicted to unwanted, thoughtless screen time. Let us devote some time to ‘quality thinking’.

From your busy schedule, take an hour off for ‘me time’. Meditate, reflect, think, contemplate… just be one with yourself. If you cannot enjoy your own company, don’t expect enjoyment in the company of others. For those who have great thoughts, start penning them down — poems, short stories, personal experiences... Writing can act as a stress-buster. And, you may never know, you could just end up publishing your book of poems or a novel.

2) Swadhyaya (Self-study)

This is also a good time to catch up with your reading backlog. There would be many books, articles, magazines that have piled up. Get them out and start reading and you might discovering some real gems in the knowledge storehouse that you have accumulated.

There are lots of new books that are published daily — new authors, new ideas, new subjects. With home delivery at our fingertips, you can get the books that you want without walking out of your house. Don’t think twice when you have to buy a book as it’s the best gift you can give yourself and others.

I have personally followed this: If you don’t have a place to keep books in your house, convert your house into a library. I have over 7000 books in my library and the collection has only grown during the pandemic. I had taken up the target of reading 100 books last year and I managed to complete that easily.

You can broaden your perspective and learn new subjects. You can also take up online courses, listen to podcasts and even complete a degree that many universities are offering.

3) Mitra sambandh (Make new friends)

While the best way to make friends is to meet in person, we can still make use of the second-best option — the digital connections. Social media has broadened our virtual world and this is a good time to make use of the tools at our disposal and make some new friends online.

Check your WhatsApp groups and LinkedIn profiles. If you find people with common hobbies, similar interests and some professional benefits, this is the best time to network. Send a message, get on to a call, exchange some ideas. You never know this new friend may become a life-long friend.

In the last two years, not only have people connected digitally, but some have also found their life partners, business partners, jobs and even investors online. That is the magic of the internet. Of course, as the pandemic situation improves, meet these new connections in person!

Finally, it is about manasthiti (mind) over the paristhiti (situation) we are in. So, look at this new year with a positive mindset… Just remember with all the negative discussions about corona: “Be careful… but not fearful.” Smile at life, it smiles back at you.

(The writer is Founder Director of Chanakya Aanvikshiki Pvt Ltd, a bestselling author and an expert on Chanakya’s teachings. He can be followed on Twitter @rchanakyapillai)

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