Utsaha Camp - Art of work from Bhagavad Gita!

Character Description
SCENE 1
(2 friend are having debate)
Friend According to me, if you don't stand in top three ranks in the class, you are a failure. And if you ask more
precisely, I will say that if you are not having the first rank, your life is useless.
Devotee My dear friend, I know that most of the times you were getting first rank in the class. But in the last
exam you went down and you got the 3rd rank. And now in this 3rd year, you got average marks in one
of the subjects and your rank came down to 8. and i know that you are trying now again to get the 1st
rank. You have the aspiration to be a topper in the class. This is very good but at the same time you
should know that even if you don't get the first rank, it doesn't mean that you are a failure.
Friend Ohhh really? This is exactly what I wanted to know. Actually, when I got 8th rank, I was planning to
commit suicide. I thought what is use of my life? Whole world is going to laugh at me. But I came to
know that you go to this Hare Krishna's so I thought i will ask you before i do something to my life.
Devotee First of all you try to understand that everyone cannot be first. First can only be one person. And
sometime you come first, sometime someone else comes first. These ups and downs are the nature of
this material world. There are always ups and downs. But we can know that, we can't be the first all the
time. You see these Miss India, Mr India they are not at the 1st number for whole of their lives.
And sometimes everthing you want may not me good for us. This means sometimes we keep getting
first rank and then we tend to ridicule others, tease them. So, God wants us also to experience what it
means to be an 8th rank or 10th rank. SO we will become sympathetic to others. There are people who
are dhanandha, kamandha, madandha.... So to curb our pride, God keeps us in such situation and as a
devotee i have to accept it whatever it comes.
And i also feel that it is not a failure not to have the first rank...
Friend Ohh really? Do you really feel that it is not a failure even if I don’t get the 1st rank? Please tell me how it
is so?
Devotee There is a beautiful saying in the English - "Success is not in the trophy won but it is in the race run!"
For example - a boy is writing CAT exam but he couldn't make it to IIM. Is he a failure? There are 1.5
lakh boys appear for CAT exam and only 1000 can make it to IIM. So, what about the balance 1 lac 49
thousand boys? Are they fools? No. There are only 1000 seats available. What to do? They are also
intelligent.
So that's why i told you "Success is not in the trophy won but it is in the race run!" If you prepare for
GATE and won't get a seat in IIT. That doesn't mean you are a failure. Whatever you studied will always
help you in your life in some way or the other. If you appear for other exam or as a support to your
personality, the knowledge is there with you and you have got such a nice experince.
In this way whatever work we do, we should be happy for getting the priviledge to do this work.
Vedic scriptures say that in our lives whatever work we do, we should do it well and do it honestly.
Success means working within norms and depending on the blessings. So we are not copying in the
exams, we are not bribing anyone. We are working within norms and whatever comes we accept as
God's mercy. This is how i take it in my life and i never get depressed. It all depends on our prarabdha
karma. Sometimes we get big results and sometimes small.
Krishna says to Arjuna, sometime there is shita-Ushna, sukha-duhkha, labha-alabha...
sukha-duùkhe same kåtvä
läbhäläbhau jayäjayau
tato yuddhäya yujyasva
naivaà päpam aväpsyasi
Whatever comes you accept it and do your duty...
So, in vedic times if someone performs his dharma well, he is considered successful... For brahmana, he
has to study and preach and even if he doesn't get result, he keeps on doing his duty. For ksatriya, to
protect cows, women and brahmans is his dharma... in vedic life, in varnasrama the performance of
duty is itself the reward.
You see even in football or a cricket match - the winning team is in intoxication but the losing team-
they do som meetings and learn from their failure and the next time they are the one who win the
match.
Modern day education teaches us how to jump like a monkey when we are successful but it fails to
teach us how to face the failure with courage. BG teaches us how to be equipoised
Characters