I am responsible for my growth

Desire, anger, greed, attachment, pride and jealousy are the six enemies of human.  How to fight against these enemies?  Lord Krishna gives the answer.

#MakeMindYourBestFriend

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् | आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: || Bhagavad Gita 6.5||

Transliteration

uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

Interesting pair of words banduh and ripuh translate to friend and enemy respectively. Often repeating word in this sloka atma has multiple meanings, generally used in the sense to indicate ‘eternal soul’. We can use atma in this sloka to indicate ‘self’. Another pair of antonyms uddharet and avasādayet translate to elevate and degrade respectively.

Now the translation of this ever-meaningful self-development trick from Lord Krishna

Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and not degrade yourself, for the mind can be your friend as well as your enemy.

Interpretation of this sloka is that you will end up elevating yourself if you can make your mind your best friend and you will get degraded if your mind becomes your worst enemy and the choice is with you. Between the choices of elevating and degrading, it is necessary to choose the path of elevation, and you are responsible for that decision and noone else. You are responsible for your growth as well as your decline,

This profound statement encapsulates the dual nature of the human mind and its significant impact on our lives.

#YouAreResponsibleForYourself

What a profound and impactful message! That we are empowered to make ourselves successful. We do not need to depend on any external factors for our success nor should we hold anyone else accountable for our failures. Our own inner self holds the key to ultimate success.

We usually tend to blame others or our circumstances for not being able to progress in life or in spirituality and Lord Krishna says that you should take accountability for your own self and that you are empowered to lift yourself and elevate yourself if you want and you must want,

The mind will keep distracting you because the mind has the power and nature of becoming the worst enemy as well. However, Shri Krishna says ‘udd-haret’, resist the path the mind is trying to take you towards and forcefully uplift yourself. The word ‘haret’ is similar to the word ‘haran’ as used in ‘apaharan’, which means ‘kidnapping’. Krishna is asking us to be mindful of our mind and ensure that it doesn’t do our ‘haran’.

#ImpulsiveMindAndWiseMind

Inside each of us, there's a clear picture of the person we want to be—good-hearted, honest, loving, disciplined, etc. Yet, our mind and our emotions often pull us in different directions, making us act impulsively. Many don't recognize this inner conflict, but once we see it, we realize there's a higher path. This path, guiding us to be our best self, is what leads us towards our absolute goal in life, of self-realization. Our mind can trick us, making us chase short-lived pleasures. But when we use our intellect to guide our mind, we align with our true, noble nature. The journey of making our impulsive side listen to our wise side is the essence of spiritual growth.

As a first step, we must accept responsibility for our growth. Our growth is in our hands and not in the hands of luck or fate or anyone else.

If you want to develop your health and fitness, you must exercise regularly and direct your mind to delve on right eating habits. To learn, you must cultivate the urge to learn and acquire knowledge. Learnings do not come just by attending training programs. To develop your mind, you need to cultivate positive thoughts and shun negativity. #PowerOfMind.

Good thoughts help us to keep our mind a good friend. Fill your mind with good thoughts all the time. Develop higher thoughts and you will get elevated.

எண்ணங்களின் உயர்வு ஏற்றங்களில் நிறைவு – ஜகந்நாதன்

It is easy to say to control your mind and make your mind your friend. How to do that? Lord Krishna has the answer in the very next sloka. But we will discuss in the next episode of #MondayMusings.

Picture Courtesy - Positive venture Ceekr

#PositiveNewsPage

Adapted from www.newindianexpress.com

The death of his father's close acquaintance, as he lay unattended for hours following an accident, shook him to the core; the desperation of a haplessness victim as they lie gasping for their final breathe tore something in him, one that never fully healed.

Rupesh Kumar developed a device which would inform the local police, hospitals and dear ones in case of accidents. Invented by a student of Class 12 in DPS Bokaro, Rupesh’s ‘Rakshak’ can help in saving lives of those who are injured in road accidents. Necessity is the mother of invention.

The device, Rupesh shares excitedly, sends the victim’s whereabouts to the nearest hospitals, the police and family members immediately after an accident, so that swift aid can be sent to their location.

As soon as the accident takes place, the device, Rakshak sends SMS alert to all hospitals within a radius of one kilometer. The device also provides the exact location of the accident site, allowing ambulance service to reach without delay. In addition, family members of the victim and the police are also sent immediate alert of the incident so that timely aid can arrive. The device could be linked to a mobile app developed by Rupesh, in order to make it operational.

“MCU (micro-controller unit), sensors, GPS, SIM card, acceleration detector and artificial intelligence (AI) technology have been used in the device. Details of the user, their name, home address, blood group and mobile numbers of family members can be registered in the mobile app connected to the ‘Rakshak’.

A special type of sensor has been used in ‘Rakshak’, one that detects speed of the vehicle and the shock of the impact, he said, adding that the device would also alert the driver if the vehicle speed exceeds the safe limit. In case of an accident, the sensor detects the speed of the vehicle and the sudden force on the vehicle due to shock and sends a message to the micro-chip, which then sends out an SMS alert to all registered phone numbers.

Sharing how he came upon the idea, a grim shadow descends upon Rupesh’s face: “The idea came following the death of one of my father’s close friends. Doctors said he could have been saved had the ambulance reached on time. That’s when I felt the need for a device that could inform emergency services and loved ones about such incidents, and lives can be saved.”

Rupesh says, if car manufacturing companies come forward, his idea could be implemented on a larger scale.

Government of India has granted a patent to Rupesh Kumar under the ‘Inspire Standard Award Scheme’ for his invention. Rupesh will also get a chance to visit Japan in June 2025, besides a chance to win a `8 lakh cash prize and a stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Rupesh, also represented Jharkhand in the 108th Indian Science Congress at Nagpur University, bringing much pride to the state.

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Conceived, compiled and posted as a weekly newsletter #MondayMusings by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com) every Monday.

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