Tips for Success

By Dr. Sunil Jogi

Like a blow of fresh air, this book has brought a new set of thoughts about life, your karma and results. The author motivates you to hope, work hard and achieve your goals. There are many practical tips in this book, besides new examples about the great people of the past. Read from the first page to the last one. After reading it, you would become a new, changed person, willing to succeed! Everything is possible and every target can be achieved. Define your goals, work hard and achieve those goals. Never give up. Trust your abilities. Above all, have faith in God. Always learn to acquire new sets of knowledge and give something as charity. Be good, do good and expect the best! This is the best tip for success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diamond Books
• Release date: Oct 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9798128819024

Book preview

1

Simple Living, High Thinking

A famous poet has concluded that the philosophy of simple living, high thinking is the quintessence of life. The great saints and sages of India have always followed a simple life style. They preached the value of high thinking to their disciples as well as the masses. The ancient scriptures, holy books, Puranas and Upnishadas have narrated influential stories of the great saints of India. These saints sacrificed everything they possessed and went to jungles to practise deep meditation. All they had on their body was minimum cloth cover that was unable to save them from the vagaries of nature. They were satisfied with the simple food available to them such as fruits and cow’s milk. Their primary aim was to preach knowledge derived through enlightenment. These are clear indications of supreme thoughts these great people nurtured in spite of the simple life style they followed. They have taught us that leading a life full of superficial vanity cannot let us attain divinity.

The best way to achieve success is to follow the spirit of sacrifice. This is the essence of happiness. An eminent English poet has said:

He hath nothing, but he hath all

This line refers to the fact of life—a person, who remains satisfied with what he has, enjoys real happiness and success.

Take the example of simplicity of our great saints and sages of the yore. When kings used to visit these saints and distribute precious gold coins, they said, Your highness, we request you to keep this wealth with you. We have nothing to do with it. This is nothing more than a heap of mud for us.

A common man would jump with excitement upon attaining such wealth. He would praise the graciousness of the king who would give him the riches.

The kings of the yore used to visit such saints and explain their problems. The learned saints would give them valuable advice regarding the administration of kingdom. When these saints went to the palaces of the kings, the latter would serve them well; riches was never a part of what these saints used to get from kings.

Once, the Mughal emperor, Akbar the great, told Tansen, one of his nine gems, about his desire to hear this mentor, Swami Haridas’ music. Upon this, Tansen said, Your Highness, swami ji will not visit the palace. So, you are kindly required to visit his place. Akbar followed Tansen’s instructions. He visited Vrindavan in disguise and listened to the melodious music of Swami Haridas.

Do not cling to happiness if you get it. Let not sorrow fill your heart with fear or depression. The essence of life is to display balanced emotions during the times of happiness and sorrow.

One of the most famous examples in this context is that of Lord Rama. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and could have enjoyed all the happiness and prosperity in his life. However, these luxuries did not stop him from sacrificing every thing when he was told to set out of exile for fourteen years. He sacrificed everything, wore simple clothes and went through jungles barefooted. He thrived only on fruits and food that was available in jungles. Even as he lived a simple life in jungles, Lord Rama did his duties well, maintained will power and followed those values that were dear to him.

Lord Rama’s wife, Goddess Sita, was also born in a royal family and had led a life full of luxury and comfort prior to her marriage. However, when the time came (after her marriage to Lord Rama), she did not wait for a moment to abstain from the life of luxury. She joined her husband in his struggle.

Lord Rama’s step-brother, king Bharata, expressed his love and dedication to his dear brother by leading a saintly life for fourteen years in the palace itself.

Lord Buddha and Swami Mahavira also travelled a lot to attain enlightenment.

They were royal princes who had sacrificed happiness, riches and comforts to become divine and adorable.

Do not cling to happiness if you get it. Let not sorrow fill your heart with fear or depression. The essence of life is to display balanced emotions during the times of happiness and sorrow

A simple man is not slave to comforts. Instead, he preaches others to be the same so that they may be able to face worst situations with courage.

If we read the life stories of great men of the ancient times, the life of king Maharana Pratap seems to be extremely influential. He, along with his family members, went through many hardships. He was deprived of the comforts of life during his fight against emperor Akbar. During the war against the Mughals, Maharana Pratap chose to eat bread made of grass but never agreed to surrender.

The father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was an epitome of simplicity, virtue and sacrifice. He ought to be a role model for today’s generation. He spent his entire life as a common man. Sir Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Great Britain, had said during the round table conference organized in London, It is alarming and nauseating to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious middle-temple lawyer now posing as faquir of a type well known in the east, striding half-naked up the steps of Viceregal palace, while he is still organizing and conducting a defiant campaign of civil disobedience, to parley on equal terms with the representative of the king emperor.

Churchill was actually praising the simple life style followed by Gandhi Ji—people leading life full of simplicity tend to gather so much courage and will power that they are capable of challenging even the most powerful kingdoms across the globe.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru maintained abstinence from all the comforts and luxuries to take part in the movement to liberate India. He adorned khadi, walked barefooted and even bore the brunt of the police during lathi charge (during the course of independence struggle).

Former Prime Minister of India, Shri Lai Bahadur Shastri, abandoned everything to contribute towards his country’s freedom. You would be astonished to know that Shastriji never adorned a coat in spite of the fact that he was holding powerful positions in the Government of India (after independence). He had only two pairs of khadi clothes and jackets.

People, who like simplicity, do not believe in showing off in spite of holding top positions in their field. They also remain unmoved by critique of people around. Let us narrate an instance from the life of Lai Bahadur Shastri Ji. When he was supposed to exchange wedding vows with his would-be wife, he had proposed her to take the position of priest. This act of Shastri Ji was opposed and criticized by people present on the occasion but Shastriji was adamant. He wanted his wife to some vows and one of them was to wear khadi throughout her life. His wife, Smt. Lalita Shastri, pledged to do so; she kept her word till she breathed her last.

There is another incident from the life of Shri Lai Bahadur Shastri that dates back to the period during which he was the railway minister in the union government. He was provided with coolers in his bungalow. People close to him were very happy. However, when Shastriji learnt about this fact, he immediately ordered the dismantling of coolers from his bungalow. His children were sad because of the removal of coolers. Upon this, Shastriji made them understand. He said, I am a minister today. We have been given a cooler. Tomorrow, I may not hold this position and we may have to return to our old home. I cannot afford to install cooler there. Once you get accustomed to the comforts of cooler here, you would not be able to adjust without one in the future. Hence, I have ordered for the dismantling of the same. Further, Shastriji’s children never used the government car to reach school. Instead, they used to travel by a horse-driven carriage.

People, who appreciate simplicity, are capable of influencing people around them with their supreme thoughts. They do so in a manner that the masses get ready to follow them.

A simple man is not slave to comforts. Instead, he preaches others to be the same so that they may be able to face worst situations with courage. Charity begins at home. This is the policy followed by any common man. Hence, before recommending the same to others, he himself follows them.

Simple people possess pure thoughts. They do not think about themselves but aim towards the well being of general public. They also despise any kind of wastage of money.

Acharya Chanakya is a wonderful example of people with wisdom. With his sheer simplicity and determination, he resolved to decimate the Nanda dynasty of Magadh. He did attain success in his mission. He could have declared himself as the successor to Nanda after the latter’s downfall. However, he chose Chandragupta Vikramadiya for the throne of emperor instead. His sole mission was to bring an end to the atrocious Nanda’s reign.

Once a foreign visitor came to meet Acharya Chanakya. Since the Acharya was engaged in an urgent piece of work, the visitor chose to wait at the window. He noticed that Acharya extinguished one lamp and lit another. Once, Acharya was free, the foreigner enquired about the mystery behind the process of lighting and extinguishing the lamp. Upon this, Chanakya replied, When I was engaged in a task provided by the palace, I was using the lamp provided to me by the palace. Thereafter, I resumed my household tasks and thus, used the lamp purchased from my hard earned money.

A person with high thinking possesses the wealth of determination. He is not reluctant to adopt a resolution when he is required to do so. Once a resolution is made, he accomplishes it at any cost.

One, who follows the path of simplicity, has a strong foundation. Due to this strong foundation, he can create a building of success and excel in his lifetime with ease. The one which is rooted lowest in the foundation possesses the highest of thoughts.

A simple man leads a life full of simplicity. There is no place for’ complication, hatred and vices, for his life is as pure as a child’s heart. His heart is crystal clear, just like a clean pond. This person believes in practicing religiously what he preaches. He also suggests others to do so without thrusting his principles upon them.

Once, a woman visited Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first Guru of the Sikhs. She pointed at her son and complained that he ate a lot of jaggery (gur). She wanted him to persuade the child to stop eating jaggery. Guruji thought for a while and asked the woman to visit him after a week. When the woman paid a visit again after a week, Guruji tried to make the child understand by saying, Son, consuming a lot of jaggery is a bad habit. Forsake it immediately. The woman was surprised at this. She said Guruji, you could have told the same thing to my son seven days ago. Why did you call us after a week?

Guruji explained, "I also used to eat a lot of jaggery. First of all, I controlled my habit and then, convinced myself that I could influence the child to give up this habit. Such is the purity of thoughts! A simple person possesses purity of thoughts. There are people in his world who preach others what they don’t practise themselves. This habit must be eschewed. Practise what you preach.

Simplicity is priceless. One does not have to spend money to obtain it.

A famous poet has well said:

Gamon ka koi khariddar nahin hota hai,

Jahan pe dard na ho, pyar nahin hota hai.

Zevaron ke liye showroom khuley hain lakin,

Sadgi ka koi bazaar nahni hota hai.

The poet meant that no one wants to buy sorrows and love cannot exist without pain. He goes on to state that jewellery can be sold in showrooms but simplicity cannot be put on sale in market.

To summarize, one must make efforts to obtain valuable and intangible things in life as these cannot be bought with money.

Many of us have been keen observers of nature. Sunrise, sunset, the twinkling of stars in the sky, chirping of birds, blossoming of flowers and other natural activities are full of simplicity and truth. In case you try to replace real flowers with artificial ones, you would miss the fragrance of the real ones. If you replace stars and mountains with artificial ones, you would miss their grandeur, although they would look like stars and mountains. Suppose that you draw river and beautiful birds on canvas. They may look beautiful but fail to provide you real happiness and satisfaction. These replicas of natural elements would never be able to provide you the beauty of natural scenery you relish in natural environs. The same thing applies to simplicity versus superficiality. Simple living is natural and divine whereas a life full of luxury and pomp is artificial.

A woman looks beautiful even without makeup. There is a natural glow on her face. However, when she applies layers of makeup on her face, her natural beauty tends to get hidden behind talcum powder mascara and artificial eyelashes.

These days, women and men are crazy about various facial treatments available in markets. However, have you ever noticed their faces carefully? Once the effect of facial treatment is over, their faces start looking pale. In order to get rid of this look, they require another visit to beauty parlour.

A woman, who does not visit beauty parlours regularly for facial treatment, shall possess a natural glow on her face. This glow is a result of simplicity she possesses from within.

I remember an incident related to a zonal official’s wife. She was in conversation with the better half of a senior police official. She asked, Hey miss! What is the secret behind the freshness of your face? I am tired of the dull look my face has adorned off late. Upon this, the wife of the senior police officer said, I don’t visit beauty parlours. I maintain my body through natural routines.

It is true that no amount of facial treatments or ornaments made of precious gems can compete with the beauty of a single woman. She has utilized simplicity in conjunction with etiquettes to groom herself. Hence, all kinds of cosmetics and facial treatments would prove to be futile against natural grace portrayed by a simple dress and natural looks. A woman may try to appear fashionable but she would ultimately lag behind the grace of a simply dressed woman without any makeup.

Saare rishte baandhe rakhte hain,

Jaise kacche dhage.

Saare gehne Jeeke pad gaje,

Ek saadgi ke aage.

The aforementioned phrase indicates that all relationships can be bound together strongly in connection with the help of a weak thread. All precious ornaments would fail to shine in front of the glow of simplicity.

Such is the glory simplicity portrays.

In ancient times, simplicity had a different meaning but things have changed today. However, the essence of simplicity is still what our ancestors used to believe. They emphasized on the following:

Eat solid and wear solid

and

Eat less and eat sorrow.

Eating solids means consumption of whole wheat, millet, barley, maize, nuts, grains etc. Including whole grains in our daily diet improves our overall health. Wearing solid relates to adorning clothes made with pure cotton. These clothes adapt the human body to extreme changes in temperature.

In earlier days, simplicity was related to healthy and clean body with neat and clean clothes on. People belonging to the early period possessed a wealth of pure thoughts that included divine qualities such as compassion, generosity, devotion, sacrifice, the will to serve and honesty. These qualities generated real happiness among individuals.

This is the age of synthetic clothes and fast food. Today, people survive on fast food and purposely invite a lot of diseases to their body. The irony is that once they are infected with disease, people start following the solid food regime.

These days, the trend is to wear branded clothes. However, a person wearing khadi or cotton clothes gets significant attention due to the contrast. People can’t help getting attracted to a person wearing plain cotton clothes. The synthetic variety of clothes has resulted in a major change in the way an individual feels. These artificial items are generating excitement in every person, young or old. However, cotton tends to provide the wearer the willpower to tolerate and be close to his basics.

In this age, people easily adopt the practice of gluttony, the policy of eat less followed by our ancestors seems to be the most apt one.

In India, people have always followed the ritual of fasting. This ritual helped people eat less and enhance their health. Fasting helps in eliminating harmful toxins from the body, thus purifying it. When that body is pure and free from all toxins, mind is filled with pure thoughts.

The policy of eat sorrow refers to handling each task with patience and enhancing the power to tolerate. When you eat sorrow, you tend to develop divinity within you. The youth belonging to the current generation tend to get provoked easily. This is the effect of bad diet regime they follow. If they eat well, they would face less health problems. They would also start developing pure and good thoughts. A wise man has said, Follow your dreams with self-confidence. Lead a life of your imagination. As you add simplicity to your life, all universal rules would seem to be simple and straight.

Leading a life full of pomp and show is easy, even inviting. However, one cannot live in peace if one follows such a life style.

While leading a simple life, you don’t have to hide anything. Whatever is within you, is displayed to the world outside. However, one needs to cover one’s face under one thousand masks to lead a life full of artificiality and sham. This artificial veneer covers the real face and identity of a person. Such a life is extremely chaotic and agonizing. This kind of a life style can also be compared to glassware that turns into pieces as soon as it receives a blow.

The famous scientist, Albert Einstein, had said, Move out of a dispersed lifestyle and bunt for peace.

If you achieve success in making your way out of a dispersed lifestyle, you would understand the true value of simplicity and find peace.

The essence of life is to wear simple but neat and clean clothes. It is necessary to spend a lot on clothes. You can find good-quality clothes at a much less price. Keep your body clean, wear a smile on your face. Do not live to eat but eat to live. Include simple food in your diet such as lentils, chapatis, vegetables, milk, fruits etc.

Be true to yourself. Further, treat others with compassion. Your life should be full of simplicity. Happiness thrives where there is love for young people and respect for elders.

If you keep all these virtues in mind and follow them religiously in your life, your body shall become the epitome of pure, good thoughts. This would make you more successful. You would find eternal bliss because of the inner happiness.

2

Grab the Opportunity

Once an opportunity slips from jour hand, there is nothing left but regret. It is futile to cry over spilt milk.

Opportunity plays a significant role in every individual’s life. We always look for the right opportunity to achieve success in a mission. Hence, we constantly strive to achieve that goal. We keep everything at stake to achieve that goal. There are risks, even failures, during the course of journey of life. We are considering all endeavours of the life of man here.

There is a famous saying in English:Strike when the iron is hot. This means you need to grab the opportunity when it comes to you. Striking cold iron with a hammer would not give the desired shape to the iron. Hence, it is important to heat up the iron and wait until it reaches the right temperature. We must strike the hot iron with full vigour at the right time.

On the other hand, indulging in some other piece of work when the iron is hot would prove to be disastrous. All our efforts would go in vain. We would solely be responsible for the failure. Nothing would be achieved by cursing others.

If you want to run the engine with the help of steam, you must heat water up to 100 degrees Celcius. Once the water is heated, start the engine. In case you fail to start the engine, your efforts to heat water and produce steam would prove to be futile.

Once an opportunity slips from your hand, there is nothing left but regret. It is futile to cry over spilt milk.

Once the