Quotes
In the great Indian epic of Mahabharata, there is a short story about the forest tribal chief’s son named Eklavya. He belongs to a family of hunters. He wanted to learn the art of archery to become a great archer. So he asked his father to help him become one by getting training from the sage Guru Dronacharya.
During this period, schools were very different from the current age. They were called gurukuls (residential school), where students lived and got all kinds of education from the guru. Some of the education such as archery and war science were limited only to the royal family children.
Eklavya, who wanted to learn archery, requested the Guru Dronacharya to accept him as his disciple, so that he can also learn the skill. But Guru Dronacharya declined the boy by saying, “As per the Vedic caste system I cannot teach you.”
The innocent tribal boy was deeply hurt because of this unfair system, which restricted him from learning the skill. He left the place with a broken heart but was still determined to learn archery.
After reaching his own forest, he made a statue of Guru Dronacharya in a secluded area and faithfully believed he practiced before his guru. Day after day, he took his bow and arrow, worshipped the statue of Guru Dronacharya and started practice. In time, faith, courage, and perseverance transformed him to become an extraordinary archer.
Even though the story unfolds differently to show the respect of students to teachers, Eklavya is still praised as a great archer, and as a loyal and brave student in the epic of Mahabharata.
Will power can overcome the shortcomings.
You will be lucky to have 1 role model who has all the qualities which you can simply follow. With the ever so busy world, searching for a role model itself a herculean task.
The wisdom packed inside the small capsule of a few lines in the form of a quote can provide the strength for the long journey ahead of us.
In this modern age, I believe that quotes can be our guiding principles which can act as a role model for life.
A quote can be virtual Guru.
My virtual gurus:
- Swami Vivekananda – famous spiritual leader of India – “Arise, Awake, and stop not till the goal is reached”
- Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam – was an Indian Scientist and 11th president of India – “Everything starts with a dream, Don’t wait to sleep to start dreaming.”
- His greatest works – Ignited Minds, Wings of Fire
- Satya Nadella – Microsoft CEO, – “Our industry doesn’t respect tradition, It respects innovation”.
Many of the quotes I mentioned in this book collectively act as my virtual role model by driving the energy system and motivating me to achieve higher.
Quotes can be your virtual role models.