-Robert Lianzathang Hangzo

                 If a layman on the streets asks you, “What do you mean by success?”, how would you possibly answer it? Would you tell him that success means picking himself up off the street and capitalising on his limited talents and intellect? Or, what would you define intellect as? If one of these questions struck you, this read will be an interesting one for sure.

                     An individual with his beliefs set on a capitalistic venture would see Adam Smith as his “Prophet” while a Communist  would look up to leaders like Sun Yat Sen who formed the Communist Party of Chinaor Kuomintang. Notwithstanding these beliefs, life seems difficult if you’re out of focus on the past and the future, but most individuals often forget to keep track of their breath in their daily lives. Moreover, the mind is an absurd place if you dive too deep into it – causes more confusion than not. The ever intelligent, Sadh Guru says that everything in life, be it local or global is damaged due to one man’s belief clashing against another man’s belief. That could very much include the clashes between capitalism and communism;  racial, religious, social and economic differences have separated so many individuals on a global level that they often forget to separate their minds from their bodies. 

                             Capitalism is an act of instilling a consumerist mindset in individuals’ consciousness and is being followed by most, blindly rather than understanding that they are all becoming slaves to the Earth that they live in, rather than looking at the bigger picture – which is the universe, in its literal sense. The same idea goes with the other “isms” that have been articulated by historical figures. Astronauts would suggest that the universe is inconceivable and they are often correct. But, what if access to another dimension through a better understanding of the universal sense of the world around us, is possible? The answer is yes, it is possible to the extent of your own mind. 

       That smirk you make when you understand a concept of a sophisticated film like Inception or a book series like “Harry Potter”; they make you think that it’s completely relevant to the reality we live in, or when certain jokes made in the animated show, “Rick and Morty” make you think from a slightly different perspective, you grow a bit. And that bit, over many little bits, adds abundantly to the growth of the consciousness. The answer, honestly, doesn’t lie in climbing the peak but rather, in the challenges a person faces on the trajectory towards the top. 

             Moreover, success should not be defined by how many digits a person can earn nor by how much of a failure a person is due to his inability to resist temptations, but through experience. One learns that happiness comes from being satisfied with the very moment that we are living in – regardless of where we are in the universe, if we aren’t happy now, we will not be happy when we reach the top of the mountain. It’s more about the mindset, and meditation helps evolve our mindset throughout our lives. We do not necessarily have to cross our legs under a banyan tree to meditate, but whenever we are faced with a challenge in life, the ability to resist the spiralling of the mind into negative thoughts, the act of stopping them is when you are in control of your mind and the perseverance of this action, is success in itself.  

                  Success should not be defined by results, but how hard a person has fought to get to the top even though it means that the result will not be what we have pictured. At least, the person worked for it.