Wednesday 4 February 2009

At What Cost?

Hi there,

Sticking my neck out: That’s what I thought I was doing as I sat down to write on the subject ‘success’. There is a fairly established idea of what success is, and the public opinion is more or less unambiguous, and even cut and dried. Any attempt, therefore, to take a radical view of it would certainly render me liable to be labelled old-fashioned, regressive, and a stick in the mud. But I must speak my mind lest I should regret later not telling what I believe to be the truth. In my experience it is far better to face the wrath of the crowd than to suffer the pangs of one’s own conscience.

Let me now state the bone of contention. Our age is suffering from a neurotic obsession with success. Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong in anyone trying to be successful in life, but what I am curious to know is, whether we have a comprehensive idea of success. Basically, success is a multidimensional idea, and as we try to understand the subtle aspects of it, we may be in for a few surprises, if not shocks. We may discover certain complex issues at the core, which will convince us that our road to success has led us far away from the destination rather than nearer to it.

To start with, we shall first consider the idea of success from the historical perspective, and then in the contemporary context. In olden days, success was the prerogative of kings and emperors while the subjects lived a mundane life. Not that they wanted to, but they really had no choice. From times immemorial, man’s struggle for, as well as his enjoyment of, success has been on two planes: the physical and the psychical.

At the physical level success meant wars won, territories conquered, and treasuries looted. But seldom was a king pleased with the spoils of invasion alone, without a deep psychical gratification. He, therefore, indulged in gruesome acts like torturing and executing his captives, and occasionally paraded his generosity by showing lenience and clemency, mostly to women whom he later admitted to his harem. He organized several public celebrations to gloat over the ruin of his rival and crow over the fallen enemy. It was a matter of great emotional fulfilment to see people bow before him awestruck by the aura of glory which he imagined surrounded him.

In evidence of what I have said, let me now present the case of two legendary heroes. In Homer’s “Iliad” Achilles slew Hector, the charismatic warrior and the son of Priam, the king of Troy. He knew that in killing Hector he reached an exalted state, and therefore wanted to make a show of his triumph. He tied Hector’s legs to his chariot and drove around the Trojan city for the whole world to see and tremble before him. His psychical thirst remained unquenched until Priam himself pleaded with him to release his son’s body for a decent burial.

The other legendary hero was Rama, the heir-to-throne living in exile, who waged a war on the demon king of Srilanka. The battle was drawing to a close as the demon king stood disarmed, yet defiant. The epic extols Rama as a paragon of magnanimity, not totally untrue though, when he spared his enemy a day to re-arm and come to fight the following day. On the surface level, Rama’s act seems laudable, but I am tempted to interpret his so-called magnanimity as the front-end emotion, the obverse of his feeling. The real motive or the back-end emotion was to deal a psychological blow to his foe who he knew, was a great musician, a powerful king and a conqueror of several kingdoms. Nothing would have pleased Rama as much as smashing his ego. That was exactly what he did when he denied what Ravana desperately wished for: a clean, honourable soldier’s death. He thus reduced the stature of his great foe to the size of a worm writhing in the heat of humiliation. The next day, he ended the abductor’s life with a single shaft. It was like a fearsome bowler bullying a tail-ender with a barrage of bumpers and bouncers in the last over of the day before polishing him off in the first over on the following day.

Alexander led his army across alien sands and hostile terrain, conquering nations, plundering, pillaging, executing kings and marrying their wives and women of all races. In all his escapades, he was fuelled by an invisible glory that elevated him to the status of a super human being or a mini-god around whose head was a halo of celestial light, 'the great', indispensable only to him, but invisible to others. Adolf Hitler was mad enough to declare openly his maniacal obsession with his Aryan supremacy. One man’s insanity cost the lives of millions of Jews, as Hitler arrogated to himself the divine role of cleansing the world with his anti-Semitic hatred.

Historians and storytellers have romanticized the adventures of kings and emperors, but the plain truth is all these great rulers were great fools. Firstly, they were foolish enough to believe that those around them were happy to share their sense of glory. The bitter truth was that not even the most faithful of their friends showed any interest, leave alone the sycophants and flatterers. In the end the king was alone, living within himself, listening to shouts and echoes of applause all within his head. He was well on the way to becoming a paranoid. Hitler became mad; Alexander died in Babylonia, even as he was trying to grab at the elusive glory. Captured and incarcerated in St. Helena, Napoleon died dreaming of his ‘emperorness’, which had already died in Waterloo. The Bourbon king Louis XVI must have cast a searching look around to spot the faded glory, even as his neck was put under the heavy blade. Stripped of all glory, the bullet-ridden bodies of Benito Mussolini and his dead mistress were hung upside down outside the royal palace. Secondly it never dawned upon them that there were options better than war that could have brought them rich material and mental returns. Thirdly, they were too blind to see that success is the resultant of the perfect combination of many personal and impersonal factors and such a combination is hard to obtain and harder to sustain. This, then, is the historical perspective of success, or the failure of success.

History is a great teacher, but we are poor learners. What we have acquired from it is only rat’s wisdom. Timid as they are, rats live in perpetual fear of death and so, they spare no efforts to secure their safety. They burrow into any field for food and flee back to their alleys when they sense danger. Looking at the colossal loss of lives and large-scale destruction that one man’s hunger for glory had caused, we have swung to the inglorious extreme of security and self-preservation. We have redefined success as the attainment of economic stability with little or no loss of life and property. The kings of the past said: ”Your pain, my gain.” We say, “No pain only gain.”

Let us face the truth. The moment you begin to think of security as the chief good in life, you cease to be the unique individual endowed with rare talents and skills. You consign yourself to a machine that heats, melts and beats you into any shape of its choice. An authoritative voice yells: “You can’t be what you want to be; you have to be what we expect you to be.” Can you see that just to secure economic stability you have already paid a price? A part of you is dead. There were days when I looked over my shoulders with pride and joy at the six wonderful years of school teaching. Now with a heavy heart, I see the finest sensibilities, sharp intellects and sensitive souls trapped in chemical labs and IT corridors. Minds that would have shaped into brilliant lawyers, charismatic lecturers, efficient administrators, inspired artists, articulate orators, impressive journalists, and enlightened preachers have been bought into slavery, frightened into submission and buried under the tomb of security and self-preservation. Alright, you have surrendered so much of ‘you’ to earn that big money. Can you with all the money buy back a small bit of the lost ‘YOU’?

The edifice of life is supported not merely by economic stability. Social adaptability and emotional security are equally important to it. It is a basic life lesson that happiness depends upon how well you handle your social obligations and emotional ties. Now tell me: Caught in the rat race, do you have an idea as to how you are going to equip yourself to handle these sensitive aspects of life? Remember, you are already at a disadvantage, thanks to the schools and colleges, which have done a disservice by bleaching and sterilizing your sensibilities and sensitivities. In the rainbow of your mind, all the colours seem to have merged into one. A graceless grey.

I think I have presented as objectively as possible some of the subtle and not-so-pleasant aspects of success. Though in form the historical personalities differ from us, in essence we are all the same. The king wanted glory and for that purpose he needed an external enemy, a loser or the vanquished. We don’t need an external enemy. We have found one in ourselves; our own higher self on which we have waged a war, taken it captive and put it away in some dungeon for good. Can’t you see that we are wiser than those kings? No bloodletting, no violence, no wailing and no tears. The kings had genocidal urges. We have suicidal tendencies.

Who, then, are the really successful people? Before I answer this question let me first discount the word success as derogatory and use another word ’victorious’, though it sounds a little pompous.

There were, are and will be a class of people, the chosen ones who neither crave for glory, nor seek security. On the contrary, they are keenly aware of that mysterious spark in them, the basic carbon that constitutes their personality. They have a clear vision of the mission which they are called upon to fulfil in this world. They have a fine sense of discrimination, which tells them what is worth seeking and possessing in life. Their inner worth radiates centrifugally, lighting up the world around them.

Madame Curie’s struggle to find her feet in Poland and UK did not deter her from pursuing her chosen goal. When Ronald Ross, the inventor of quinine, sang for joy, “Oh death, where is thy sting?”, it was the triumph of a mission. Old Socrates emerged victorious in his death for he knew that he had sowed in young minds the seeds of logical reasoning, spirit of enquiry and rational thinking. They are the great warriors fighting not against mankind but for mankind, invisible enemies. And they are the ones who are remembered and respected more than the Alexanders and the Czars. They knew that victory was an integral part of a mission and they felt it at every stage: in conception, in organising, in execution, in trials and troubles, in failures and in fruition of it. I don’t think Madame Curie or Thomas Alva Edison would have felt less victorious if radium had not been extracted or the electric bulb had failed to work. Would you feel the same way if your degree failed to land you in a lucrative job?

I am positive that you are beginning to see clearly the third dimension of success. I would not like to create an impression that I am urging every one of you to try and become an Einstein or an Edison. But certainly I would go to any length to make you do one fundamental thing, which those great minds felt compelled to do. Just take a dispassionate look at yourself to discover that special or unique material you are made up of.

You are victorious,

When you become conscious of this material that sets you apart from others.

When you are convinced that this basic carbon is a potential diamond and all it requires is your patience and perseverance to convert it.

When you assert your unique personality in the face of stiff opposition.

When you feel that you don’t have to be less than you, simply because someone else by doing so is able to earn a few dollars more.

When you believe that an enlightened mind is in itself a victory and so whatever it does is victorious.

When you realize that your unique mind has been created for a specific purpose and start doing what you ought to do, you become a part of the grand plan of life, its mystery and its beauty.

With Love,

Your English Sir

Original Post: Dated Saturday, the 7th of October 2006

PS: This viewsletter is a tribute to all those who have had the courage of conviction to listen to their inner voice and consequently suffer insults and scorn from an insensitive society.

10 comments:

Vikas said...

jus GREAT
"Your pain, my gain.” We say, “No pain only gain.”
dats my favorite phrase ever.... i mean its so surprisin how he put the general tendency of ppl startin frm d ancient kings 2 todays man in jus one line.... mayb dats y hes called THE ENGLISH STORM.. and also itz amazin how he is talkin bout Rama's attitude in one line and is talkin bout a bowler's attitude in d nxt..... and at last i find one thing common in all of his posts... he urges us 2 discover wat v really r.... in short he wants us 2 b "VICTORIOUS"

Commented on 08/10/2006

Jeswant said...

my $0.02
alrighty...
first of all it was a very well written article.it has been a few years but the style of writing is still as impressive as i remember it.
my only complaint against the article is that it seems to belittle us doing engineering courses...

Now with a heavy heart, I see the finest sensibilities, sharp intellects and sensitive souls trapped in chemical labs and IT corridors. Minds that would have shaped into brilliant lawyers, charismatic lecturers, efficient administrators, inspired artists, articulate orators, impressive journalists, and enlightened preachers have been bought into slavery, frightened into submission and buried under the tomb of security and self-preservation.

this is a rather telling observation and is, for the most part, very true. however it is also a stereotype against all engineers etc and something i dont quite agree with.there remain plenty of us engineers that still find time for other pursuits. i believe most companies have come to teh realisation that their own interests are better served when their personnel pursue interests other than what their jobs require. a case in point is google inc, who insist that all their personnel dedicate at least 10% of their time to 'other interests'. orkut was born out of this.
and throughout the world, most engineering firms, are looking for more than just grades in graduates. good grades only go as far as getting you an interview.after this most/all companies look at the 'hobbies/activities of the people concerned before hiring them.
i guess i got sidetracked there...i guess what im trying to say is that just because someone chose engineering doesnt mean that he/she is giving up his creative abilities. i cant speak for anyone else but i havent.i spend about 14-16 hrs/day in uni working on my design and my research projects. but i still find time for drama activities,salsa dancing,music,community work,cricket etc.
now im not sure how much of my viewpoint i have conveyed here, but i do believe that this stereotype needs to change.

Commented on 12/10/2006

Nivedhan said...

The king had genocidal urges. We have suicidal tendencies. the first time i went through this line i burst out laughing. the second time i was pushed into deep thoughts. how many times have i compromised myself to get the best out things, if i am this way even before i get a job how would i be when i am workin to get a high pay i would be willing to give up my self respect and the rest now that i think of it it is unimaginable.

Commented on 14/10/2006

Venkat said...

A wonderful article indeed!!
I really enjoyed the article very much.. When Success is the topic and the way in which it was dealt here was very refreshing and interesting indeed..
Success.. It is the harsh reality indeed that Success is "What am I willing to sacrifice for what I want to become?"

From the article I will quote 'Just take a dispassionate look at yourself to discover that special or unique material you are made up of.' But the sad reality is most of us have to maybe sacrifice that unique material to be successful in the eyes of the society. Lets think for a moment here. If a person's unique ability is his or her sense of humour, in most cases when he or she goes to a work setup they almost lose that quality. They restrain themselves giving a reason that how would others see it. Over the due course of time, they forget that quality which was always present in them and thats the price they pay for being 'Sucessful'..
I know I paid the price for being what I am today. I am far away in a different country, without my friends and family who have always been a source of strength. I used to and still am musing from time to time, on whether I paid too high a price for being successful. I know I would get a job. I know its going to be a well paid one and yes the society would brand me successful. But was I?? I know I would be, because A man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win and I know I am doing that right now.
For me to be a happy person who is content in life is a victory in itself. Contentment differs from person to person.

To be victorious is one thing. But how we achieved it is the most important question to ponder. As Roosevelt once said "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." I would rather fail a few times in what I truly want to achieve rather than not trying it at all in fear of facing failure.

Because the ultimate is not to win, but to reach within the depths of your capabilities and to compete against yourself.
That a very fine article Sir and I am looking forward to your next post.
Regards
Venkat

Commented on 15/10/2006

Kanakadhara said...

"Success" i don think the subject matter could be explained in any better way..Sir has once again proved tat he is the storm.....had a gr8 feeling reading the article...dono y...It is really hard to come by articles which r soo rich in language n knowledge as well...

success has a relative measure...differs frm ppl to ppl... like said in the article... kings had a different measure for success...n we hav a dif perspective to it...am convinced wit one thing here...success in life is definitely not the material welfare we
gain over a period of time...Like wat sir said

"You are victorious,

When you become conscious of this material that sets you apart from others.

When you are convinced that this basic carbon is a potential diamond and all it requires is your patience and perseverance to convert it.

When you assert your unique personality in the face of stiff opposition.

When you feel that you don’t have to be less than you, simply because someone else by doing so is able to earn a few dollars more.

When you believe that an enlightened mind is in itself a victory and so whatever it does is victorious.

When you realize that your unique mind has been created for a specific purpose and start doing what you ought to do, you become a part of the grand plan of life, its mystery and its beauty"

But the present scenario is such tat...thr r too many elements around us...that influence our thoughts and actions...we can even call them distractions...this has become like a big wall tat prevents us for reaching the "real US"...we let the extrnal environment drive us,our lives in any way it likes...for an example "u shld take science group" phenomenons or myth or watever u name it,in schools...

after reading the article i think i should "Be the CHANGE i want to SEE in the world"...only then i think i can call myself successful...

Thank u sir once again...for such an wonderful article...

Commented on 17/10/2006

Dhinesh said...

Moved
There were days when I looked over my shoulders with pride and joy at the six wonderful years of school teaching. Now with a heavy heart, I see the finest sensibilities, sharp intellects and sensitive souls trapped in chemical labs and IT corridors.


very true observation... Atleast in my case...
I am really moved by your words sir...
I feel i ve given in to the forces of the society...
I realise that I m no longer living for myself..

Commented on 19/10/2006

Ramanathan said...

cant agree wid anyone more than this.... i dont have anyhtin to say....i agree completely...u r jus too good sir..

Commented on 20/10/2006

Ajay said...

comments:

1st one was awesome
2nd one was mind boggling
3rd one made me spellbound

Commented on 10/10/2006

Sridevi said...

Sorry for the delay sir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now with a heavy heart, I see the finest sensibilities, sharp intellects and sensitive souls trapped in chemical labs and IT corridors. Minds that would have shaped into brilliant lawyers, charismatic lecturers, efficient administrators, inspired artists, articulate orators, impressive journalists, and enlightened preachers have been bought into slavery, frightened into submission and buried under the tomb of security and self-preservation.Rightly said sir!WE SHOULD NOT LIVE LIFE COZ WE HAV TO,WE SHOULD LIVE LIFE COZ WE WANT TO.Unfortunately not many realize tis and i top tat list.But sir i wouldnt hav been in tat list if the letter came sooner.when i read tis i felt the same way when u taught me tat poem!every word carved a niche in my heart and took me to a different world.Only when we do something which we like we will hav the true satisfaction.In tat way i salute Iswarya!Hats off to her!!I WOULD HAV BEEN MORE HAPPY HAD U MENTIONED HER SIR!At the end of our graduation if someone asks us wat u hav gained we will hav a degree to show them.Tat might be sufficient for living a contented life.But not enough for a happy life.On the contrary if they ask wat hav u lost we will hav a big list to say!These are wat i thought of when i read tis letter sir!I can never 4get tis sir!Thank u for giving the taste of ENGLISH language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Commented on 21/10/2006

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading the letter. Everyone's idea of success is rather one-dimensional which is true. Everyone has an image of 'what should be' drilled into their heads and it is constantly tweaked and made bigger as the 'most ideal' by peer pressure, parental pressure and as the letter so articulately stated a sense of 'self preservation'. But doesn't it seem logical to think that a mind that truly doesn't fit inside the small frame of such a drab canvas will do what it can to break out of it? I speak for only the handful of peers that I've discussed this with. I think a big problem is this terrible habit people have of 'settling'. And their overall personality takes a huge hit from one simple act of settling. It becomes a habit they affectionately latch onto. Mediocrity is like a safety net. I think its a rather Indian mentality ma'am. I feel it may happen because of many reasons right from the total lack of dignity of labor here and especially the sad lack of a backbone in people.Everyone wants approval.A degree, an MBA, a job abroad and a playlist with some popular songs they might not even appreciate. At the cost of letting go of what they might otherwise really want.
The historical references were icing on the cake. Especially the dig at Rama pulling a facade of this virtue-filled man. I've watched and read the Ramayana quite a few times and always found him narrow minded and rather over-glorified. Perhaps people wanted a figure like him, and so made him just that?