Ego leads to success !

Ego is what makes a person proud. Ultimately it leads him to ruin - right? Wrong ! Ego motivates to achieve success and develops the ability for success. 

A child behaves as it should. It is from Child ego (Tamas). It learns from parents ‘how to behave’ and develops Parent ego (Rajas). It learns what to desire which then becomes the motive. Critical Parent ego is like being the father. It controls. Nurturing Parent ego is like being the mother. It develops growth. As the child grows, it finds out what works and develops Adult ego (Sattwa).  Everybody has the three types of egos. These motivate and develop the ability to fulfill the need. 

Inputs through senses affect the mind and develop corresponding ego. Food and sensual inputs primarily give rise to Parent ego. The profile of egos of a person corresponds to his or her food habits. Corresponding ability is developed. The predominant ego corresponds to the food taken often.  Hence is the saying, 'A person is what he eats'.

A person with Adult ego likes and mostly consumes pure, hearty and balanced inputs. These give health, strength, longevity, comfort, pleasure, staying power and a healthy heart.  He is truthful, dutiful, optimist, knowledgeable, discriminating, intelligent,non-attached, fearless, professional, happy, and clean. He has clear consciousness and a sharp memory. He is not angry, not fault-finding, not greedy, not restless, not jealous and not proud.

A person with Nurturing Parent ego is kind, sharing resources, tolerant. He is benevolent, project oriented,  harmless, sacrificing, humble, forgiving and enthusiastic. 

A person with Critical Parent ego (Rajas) likes and mostly consumes the following types of food: pungent, sour, salty, very hot, very dry and those causing indigestion or a burning sensation inside the body. Discomfort, sorrow and disease follow. Such a person is brave, angry, fault-finding, rich, shrewd , merciless and proud. He is greedy and frequently disturbed. He knows less and tells lies. He is cynical and has few ideas except in his area of specialisation. 

Sometimes a parent does not do as he says. The child learns to tell a lie to get a benefit at the cost of someone. It is Adapted Child ego (Tamas) - in contrast to Natural Child ego. Such a person likes and mostly consumes stale, tasteless, rotten, brew, leftovers and rejects. He or she is uncomfortable, restless, egoist, liar, unhelpful (selfish), with bravado, prestige conscious, humourous, full of desires and angry. He lacks staying power. He is sad, materialist, unethical, arbitrary, lazy and sleeps a lot. He has crooked intelligence, false knowledge and takes a position opposite to that established by scriptures.

Truth alone triumphs ! Satyameva Jayate

 According to Yoga by Patanjali, ‘When a person is well established in truth by all means, he believes that result comes strictly according to action’. The emblem of the government of every state in India displays,  Satyameva Jayate. It means, 'Truth alone triumphs'. Yet, few people believe that result comes strictly according to action. Many believe that telling a lie when it suits them gets better results. Such opinions are based on seeing short-term results. Often, short-term pleasure leads to long-term unhappiness. Then they blame bad luck !

The word Satya (truth) in Sanskrit is a substitute for Rta. It means as true and everlasting (Sat) as the eternal laws of Nature. The cause and effect relation in Nature is always true. A believer in it does not believe in luck. He does not try to find excuses for his failure. He finds out the truth, learns from the failure and proceeds onward to success in the next attempt. 

Unless impossible, anything is possible and can be true. This is the principle of probability. A pessimist often cites the success of an ineligible person. But such cases are exceptions. They have a very low probability of success. Often what most people believe it to be true is accepted as truth. This is erroneous. It is important to know the truth before action. The carpenter’s rule, ‘Measure twice; cut once’ is emphasised to be sure of the facts before action. An open mind and scepticism are prerequisites to know the truth.

Everybody is biased according to his past experience. When bias is removed, one can see the facts as they are and make the correct decision. The seeds of the future are in the present. By interpreting the signs correctly, a person can predict the future. He can visualise the existence of a peacock in an egg.  
A liar is always afraid that the truth may be found out. The cost of living in fear is often greater than the immediate benefit. So truth alone wins in the end.  

Success is within one's own control !

I was surprised when our management guru said that ninety per cent of the success is within one's own control. Environment can affect up to ten per cent only. Now I know how it is so. Reason is as follows: 

Success comes from the right knowledge, skill and attitude. A person can acquire the knowledge and skill if he has the attitude for success. True knowledge is from direct perception (Pratyaksha) by senses; unbiased inference (Anumana) and reliable text (Agama) or speech that has stood the test of time. Persons do not apply all the three tests but jump to conclusion whatever they know. They fail. 'I hear, I forget; I see, I believe; I do, I know' is apt. 

Yoga develops the attitude for success, that is, growth with happiness. It is through empathy (Yama), 'Rules of conduct' (Niyama) and control of mind through concentration and meditation (Samyama). It develops intuitive true knowledge (Samadhi), which is essential to achieve success.  

Some highly qualified professionals do not have the right attitude. They have growth but are not always happy. Unhappiness is due to self (Adhyatmik), others (Adhibhautik) and Nature (Adhidaivik). It can be minimised by 'Rules of conduct', empathy and control of mind. Thus Yoga develops the attitude to 'be happy' always. 

All the foregoing are within the control of self.

   

Know how to achieve success through Yoga

Friends!

While at the engineering college, I believed in Bhagavad Gita, where it states, 'Yoga is the skill to achieve success'. I achieved the first position in the university and was also selected for All India Service for Engineers. I worked in India, Nepal and Zambia as a construction engineer, structural designer, project manager, valuer and a trainer.  Attitude is the way a person thinks and behaves. Yoga Sutra by Patanjali states, ‘Repetitive thinking and doing develop a person’s memory and attitude. These in turn, give rise to similar thought and action.’  For success, thoughts have to be restrained and replaced by better thoughts. Yoga is achieved in three stages: Team-building through empathy (Yama), 'Rules of conduct' (Niyama) to develop synergy of the mind and the body  and development of intuitive true knowledge through concentration of mind (Samyama). ‘Rules of conduct’ in the profession develop  intelligence (high I.Q). Empathy develops  emotional control (high E.Q). I applied the eight-component (Astanga) Yoga as the 'concern for others (Yama) - concern for self (Niyama) - concern for task (Samyama)’ model of Yoga for success. I grew up to become Additional Director General in Government of India. My children are well placed in life.  Kriya Yoga is self-discipline (Tapa) professional study and practice (Swadhyay) and excellence through dedication to the ideal (Iswar Pranidhan). Matching the egos of with the predominant motive suggests how to modify egos and develop the ability for success through Kriya Yoga. Matching the motives and egos of the members in a team suggests how cooperation can be developed through empathy. I have trained hundreds of graduates and executives through workshops. My book on 'Attitude for Success' is a manual. It is based on Yoga for success. Additional information is available on www.buildbestvalue.com.