“Some act till they meet obstacles, others act in spite of obstacles, and conquer them; but some act not, fearing the possibility of some obstacles that might arise en route.”
– Swami Chinmayananda
The very word OBSTACLE indicates to us the attitude required to overcome obstacles. Invoking these attitudes is to invoke the Ganesha within us –
O – Objective Knowledge – “Knowledge is Power.” Gain functional knowledge and skills in your chosen field. Lack of knowhow poses many obstacles.
B – Broadmindedness – “life, when properly tuned, can round the sharp edges in our character.” In a broader vision of Life in its entirety, obstacles are stepping stones to cultivate an inner perfection and an outer excellence.
S – Sensitivity – “Be like a flower. Give happiness and fragrance to all.” A flower produces fragrance from mud, dirty water, manure, etc.
T – Toughness – “The Suffering depends not on the factual happening but on the texture of one’s mind.” Cultivate a ‘tough’ mind through study of the scriptures, faith in a Higher Reality, value – based life, etc.
A – Alertness – “Alert and vigilant living is a sadhana by itself.” Alertness helps one to foresee the ‘obstacle’ and nip it in the bud.
C – Concentration – “Never complain, about the number of hours you have put in to do a job. How much of you was put into each hour of your daily work ?” The sun’s rays (mind) when unified through a convex lens (concentration), burns away a piece of paper(problems & negativities) below it.
L – Love of God – “Don’t tell God how big your problem is. Tell your problem how big God is.”
E – Enthusiasm – “Real men of achievement are people who have the heroism to fuel more and more enthusiasm in their work when they face more and more difficulties. Be Aggressively good.”