These five principles will help you excel in anything you do

After reading one of my posts, a friend of mine asked me, “How can one excel in anything.”

I thought, I’d write about it in my subsequent posts, but before claiming any method I wanted to find a full proof way, and so, I dug deep into the topic of Excellence to extract answers from a yogic perspective and not just some quick listicles.

We all strive for excellence, but most of us lack the determination and proper attitude to achieve it. It’s rightly said that excellence is not an act but a habit, and this habit can be cultivated by proper attitude.

The ancient Indian text Taitrīya Upanishad throws some lights on this and talks about the five principles for excellence as Doer (Karta) in the following mantra:

tasya shraddhaiva siraha ritam dakshina pakshaha, satyam uttarah pakshaha, yōga ātma, mahah puchcham pratishta, tada pyesha shlōkō bhavati.

These five principles are explained here:

1.Shraddha (Love) — is the first one that the scripture points out. Shraddha means reverential love for the action that one undertakes. This means that any action (Karma) that you do, whether it is chosen or forced on you by circumstances or people, never do the action reluctantly. Let there be love in any action you do. If there is no positive like, at-least first avoid dislike — avoid Complaining, murmuring, grumbling, sulking, and criticizing. So, the first step is to stop complaining about the action that you do, and later start to love any action that you have to do.

If we think about it deeply, we can learn to love any action we do, because the actions we dislike, there are many people who are voluntarily choosing that. It is just a matter of developing an appropriate attitude. For example, if you dislike exercising, there are fitness enthusiasts who choose that. If you dislike the work you do as your day job, you may find many in your office itself who are passionate about it. So, if we develop appropriate attitude, any Karma (action) can be liked.

There is also a great benefit of this approach. If you learn to like any Karma that you do, that Karma itself will give you joy (Ānanda), which is instantaneous, and you don’t have to wait for rewards (Karma Phalam) to generate happiness.

A way to love the work you have to do is to dedicate it to the divine or someone you love and respect. This is the essence of Karma Yoga. If you dedicate your actions to a higher power you can save yourself from mental fatigue of disliking any work, thus converting work to worship.

2. Ritam (Learn) — Ritam means proper knowledge about the actions that you have to do. The scripture says, whatever you have to do, learn about it thoroughly. Learn what to do, when to do, how to do, how much to do, where to do. So, learn all about the action (Karma) and its consequences. Never be ignorant of what you have to do.

Half Knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. If I am not informed, not only my actions will be poor in quality but also as a doer I will be diffident and restless. Thus, whatever action you do, know about it thoroughly. When we choose to learn from Karma, and learn about Karma, the greatest advantage is that we avoid boredom. Often as part of work we have to repeat a task again and again, unless we have a learning mindset (growth mindset), we will have to face boredom. So, the best method to avoid boredom is to use every performance for your learning and development and be well-prepared for the next performance.

3. Satyam (Implement) — The third principle is Satyamuttarah pakshaha, which means whatever you have learnt about Karma is not for learning alone but you have to put into practice. We should implement whatever we know such that the Knower — Doer split is not there.

Many times, people say, that they know how to do, but they won’t do it. This can be on account of sheer laziness, fear or resistance to activity which builds the Tamas (inertness) in us. Swami Vivekananda said, “Inactivity should be avoided by all means”. Even one of the central themes of Bhagavad Gita talks about performing one’s duty in conformance with dharma.

4. Yōgaha (Focus) — The fourth principle is Yōga Ātma which means working with focus and thus converting every action into a meditation. Any action done with focus becomes meditation.

Even when one does not get time for elaborate meditation, he can convert his actions into meditation by totally applying oneself to it and being in the moment, without thinking of the past or the future. Yoga in any action is about giving your complete focus which will lead to purification of the mind (Chitta Samādhānam)

The greatest advantage of focus is that every action becomes deliberate. There is no mechanical action. When we do mechanical actions, we are mostly lost in our own thoughts. One may sit to write a blog post but might get carried away by notifications popping on his phone. One might be in office and think of home or be at home with family and think of his office and work. This leads to a great dissipation of energy and time resulting in restlessness for not being able to complete the work at hand.

Thus, we can be productive and get a lot done in limited time if instead of multi-tasking we focus on one action at a time and convert it into meditation (Dhyana)

5. Mahaha (Expand) — Mahaha means the higher consciousness or the total Karta. The Upanishad says that the individual Karta should learn to identify with the total Karta which means that an individual’s actions should be such that the beneficiaries of his action are not just limited to him, but extends beyond, to his family, society, nation, humanity etc.

We should expand our outlook and not merely ask the question, “what will I get”, but ask “how many people will benefit out of the action”. Maximum the number of benefactors, the more satisfaction we get and the closer we are to higher consciousness. This kind of action is called Satvik action which will purify one’s mind and elevate the individual towards reception of knowledge.

Thus, by following these five principles of Love (reverential love for whatever you have to do), Learn (thorough knowledge of the action), Implement (put learnings to practice), Focus (converting actions into meditation through focus), and Expand (expanding the beneficiaries of action), you will excel in anything you do. That excellence itself will give joy that you need not look for a reward from action for your happiness and contentment.

Thanks for reading!

Do share your thoughts. Would love to hear them.

Originally published at https://matterandbeyond.substack.com.