#27 - Teachers Day Post for Dada

Grandad on importance of meditation, when I used to obsess over winning matches when I was competing in tournaments -

But I notice his obsession with winning in every new tournament (desire to win is OK, but to only think of it, while playing every shot is to invite disappointment). Does he forget his earlier, tentatively arrived convictions? Why, becauseq he has not assimilated the lesson learn't properly. This is what I keep telling him - practicing detachment to the result has to be continuous in order to become a habit. Hence, regular proper meditation (not merely closing ones eyes), slow deep breathing for a while before each game, could put Mudit in a proper mental state to play his best. Playing his best always, has to be practiced.

Importance of meditation and detachment was always emphasised by Dada ^^

   In life, a setback often propels a person to redouble his efforts to make good the loss due to the setback & in the process, this leads to improved performance.

Dada on my journey in US, as I Summed by up college days -

In a sense, you have managed to combine the Semester 8 mail on your Trinity experience & the proposed 9th mail for your overall sense of your Trinity experience, covering your rawness of the Manav Bharati (school) days, when we were not sure whether you should venture abroad. I recall that it was your own insistence on going to Trinity for your graduation that had prevailed even then & your decision was rightly supported by your parents. What then appeared to be a sheer gamble has amply paid off. We have indeed, to thank your grit & blessings of Gurudev & the Almighty.

    Wonderful reading your account of your Semester 8 Trinity experience. It appears to be the culmination of your acquiring maturity on completion of your stay in Trinity. Very well done, Mudit. Every thing went off well with you in the final & last semester. 

Basically, one is what he or she thinks. We become what we cherish. Being observant is essential to keep learning from what you observe. Apart from reading books to acquire knowledge, being observant about all that you experience in a day, is also a way to acquire useful practical knowledge.

Always his emphasis was on being observant. Observe your surroundings, and be alert always. He used to tell me that when you enter any room, or any new setting, it is very important that you look around, assess and absorb everything that you see around yourself. This slowly becomes second nature, and then one starts to practice the same in all walks of life.

Tips on Meditation while playing Squash / Doing the Activity that one takes up -

  For that, meditation as you have been practicing in the past would be useful - (slow deep breathing for five to ten minutes at a time, expanding your stomach while inhaling & compressing it while exhaling & simultaneously thinking of every part of your body while exhaling, feeling strength coursing through every muscle of yours), writing Gayatri Mantra say, 10, times if not more every day, not overtiring yourself in daily practice, proper nutrition & sufficient sleep.

    It would be useful to practice concentrating on every muscle of your body while walking to the squash court, every day, without thinking of how good your opponent is. Even on the squash court, deep breaths with mind on the breathing, between rallies, would be useful to help you to be precise. You would figure out your precise match strategy by the end of the first game. 

    Quality of your meditation would give you mental strength to help you play precisely. All the best wishes & our blessings to you from

Dadi & Dada. 

Happy Teachers Day to him wherever his today! Dearly Miss him always, and will keep pushing towards his vision of strengthening the country!