Those magical words

"Nanak berhi sachh ki tariyae gur veechaar"

O Nanak, the boat of truth of this truthful life, can go across the ocean by the wisdom of the Guru.

Last year, in January I had the worst day in school. I would like to share that with you and I hope that this story would motivate you in some way to not let the noise of others’ opinion drown out your own inner voice.

It was the day when the results for our final assessment were to be declared. It appeared to be that I was the lowest scorer of the class. This was a huge shock for me and I was utterly mad and angry with myself. Adding insult to the injury, my friends started to make fun of me. I stood in the middle of the class embarrassed, desperately waiting for the school day to end. I took my bag and ran out of the class, down to the school gate to go home. I had made my mind to never come back to this building again. I reached home crying and told my mother about all that had happened. She listened to me patiently and told me to calm down and listen to her carefully. 

She asked me if I had seen the movie “The Titanic”?

She again asked if I remembered the story.

I replied with a nod.

She then asked me again, “Mannat, isn’t it quite weird – The Titanic ship sank, despite of it being made in such a way that it couldn’t sink. We all think that it sank because the water outside in the ocean came inside it after being hit by an iceberg. Right. Well, this is a small part of the problem, but the real/core reason for the ship sinking was due to the cracks which had developed due to the collision of the ship with the iceberg. Those cracks allowed the water to rush inside. You know, even the tiniest boat would never sink, if water did not seep in it and cause leakage. Ships do not sink because of the water around them, they sink only when the water gets inside them.

My mother told me that everything that is taking place and happening around us is like water around the ship. The water around us is a mixture of disappointments, achievements, problems, fears, etc. We do not have to let these trivial matters affect our health and mind. These are nothing in the face of bigger things – death, for instance. We need to be stronger and have the capability to overpower the thought about the perception of others about us.

As it is very eloquently noted by the CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

Achievements bring ego. Disappointments, problem and issues bring sorrow in our life which gradually turn into negativity. My mother told me to not waste my valuable, small life living someone else’s life. She told me to rise up from the gaiety and sorrow.

Takeaway - If we do not allow the water (disappointments, comments) to seep inside us, then nothing can disturb our peace. We need to train our mind to be stable, by listening to the beautiful and meaningful words propagated to us by the Gurus.

If we are well equipped with good inner virtues and values, then the external calamities can never bring any harm or danger to us. If we make our heart steadfast, then even the harshest words can’t leave mark/spot on our personality.

In the end, my mother told me to not allow what's going around me, get inside and demoralize me. Those magical words surely made me learn the importance of not letting myself down with what others say. Those magical words filled me with hope, that I would have a better tomorrow where I would be topping the semester, leaving my classmates speechless.

The next day, with full confidence I, yet again, went back to the same school, to the same class with the same classmates and never again did I let their opinions and thoughts about me weigh me down.

Today, with those magical words of my mother, I stand strong, and do not let the water outside me get inside me and drown me.

I have made my heart steadfast, have you?