KMM SESSION - Self -Discipline PART ONE Sun: What better symbol can there be other than The Sun. Day in and Day out, the Sun rises, does its duty the whole day and then sets, to rise once again the next day. This carries on for 365 days a year, never a holiday or an off day. For thousands of years, since the inception of this world, he has been carrying on this duty and will carry on till infinity. So we all agree that there can be no better symbol of Self-Discipline than the Sun. Don t we? But then consider these facts, On June 21 st it rises at 5:20am and on Dec 21 st at 7:27am. On June 21 st it sets at 7:24pm and on Dec 21 st at 4:46pm. What happens to its discipline of time? A disciplined person should be very particular about time. Isn t it? Ok, leave alone time, what about its moods? Early morning, we feel like soaking in the Sunlight and by the time its 12:00 its scorching heat and we avoid going into sunlight totally and again in the evening it becomes pleasant. Why these mood swings? A Self-Disciplined person is not allowed or expected to work according to his moods. But what is this Symbol of Self-Discipline doing? Ok, what about its intensity in different parts of the world? At the Equator, it s so hot throughout the day that people hardly wear clothes and as we go towards the Polar areas people can t live without two or three layers of warm clothes and celebrate the appearance of the Sun itself.
Again, different performance in different areas! A Self-Disciplined person behaves in a uniform way in whichever part of the world he is performing. This is definitely not expected from the Symbol of Self-Discipline! So are we wrong in making the Sun our Symbol of Self-Discipline? As students of Geography, we know that the Earth is spherical; it rotates around itself, revolves around the Sun and is tilted by 23½ degrees to the vertical axis. Hence, even if the Sun radiates at the same intensity and is static in its place, the Earth s peculiarity causes all these different conditions on the surface of the Earth. So, we come to the conclusion that the Sun is in fact the Symbol of Self-Discipline, but it s our perceptions in different situations which causes us to form these conclusions about the Sun. Hence Self-Discipline is not about what others think about us but it s about our own life and what do we want to achieve in life. It s not about time alone, or uniformity, or intensity but what are the things required to be done to be successful in a particular Profession. Different Professions: A Politician, to succeed, has to be disciplined about his communication skills and everything required enhancing these skills, like meeting people, learning different methods of communication, so on. A businessman has to have a different skill set altogether. He needs to have time discipline along with some other disciplines like financial discipline, networking, etc. A Journalist, a Contractor, a Consultant, each one of them have a different Self-Discipline methods to follow. Consider the following Cases: 1. A Sportsman: He has to follow a particular work schedule. His goals depend on his physical abilities, hence he has to take advantage of the early morning climate and schedule his work-out accordingly. 2. A Painter: His works depends on his passion and to bring out his emotions on the Canvass. Late night when the world is sleeping, there are practically no activities going on in the world, he finds the serenity, the peace that he craves for and hence this is the best time for him to work.
3. A Gynecologist: The job of a Gynaec requires him to attend duty whenever he gets a call. It can be 5:00am or 3:00pm or 2:00am in the night. 4. The mother of a new-born baby: The baby requires to be taken care of 24hours a day. Whether it is feeding him, or changing his nappies, or he/she starts crying then to cajoling him/her. Different Professions require different work schedule and hence need different self discipline methods. Hence we infer that to decide on what self-discipline methods we need to follow, we should have the clarity of what we want to achieve in life. PART TWO Inspirational Figure: Ganpatrao Ramchandra Wadangekar : (1912 2004) Ganpatrao was born in a poor family in Kolhapur. When he was a child, his father passed away. His mother brought him up facing a lot of hardships. But she had this habit of living in a disciplined way, keeping each and every article in her house always in its proper place, carrying herself gracefully; never did she appear sloppy, in fact while leaving her house she used to adjust even her nose ring in the right way and only then leave. Ganpatrao used to observe her minutely and himself inculcated this methodical living of his mother. Ganpatrao was a passionate Painter. He went on to achieve many national and International awards. It was a time when the Britishers were still ruling India. Looking at his astonishing work they offered him a job in England to teach the budding artists there, but Ganpatrao refused. He worked in the Court of Shahu Maharaj and enjoyed the love and respect of the King. He is the person who revolutionized water colour painting. He was the first person to attract people s attention towards Painting on Realism through water colour Paintings. The works that he did in water colour, artists, after years of study and research, artists have started understanding them only now. The famous film Actor-Director V. Shantaram had taken Ganpatrao s help in the Art-Direction in some of his films. He started the first Arts (Painting) College in Kolhapur. The Paintings he had done in those times are today valued in crores.
His name will always be written in Golden words in the history of Painting, in the whole world. Ganpatrao had his own way of following Self-Discipline while doing his Paintings. 1. He used to wear plain white clothes while Paintings. While our image of a Painter is of some sloppy kind. He believed and always said that a Painter rather than appearing like a Painter should BE a Painter. 2. He used to sit continuously in Padmasan throughout his work, even if it took 7 to 8 hours to complete. 3. He used to take care of never letting any drop of color to spill anywhere, neither on his Canvass nor his clothes or anywhere else. 4. He always used top quality colors, canvass and brushes while painting. 5. Before any painting, he used to study about the topic thoroughly and only then would sit to Paint. 6. He believed and implemented the practice of drawing with a neutral mind and would always complete whatever had been started. In his lifetime, it never ever happened that the painting which he had started he failed to complete it. 7. While Painting he used to be so focused, so engrossed that once while drawing a Painting in a Jungle, a snake rolled past his thighs, but he didn t notice. PART THREE In spite of god given talent, these were the habits which made Ganpatrao a Great Painter. Without Self-Discipline, even he would have failed. Activity: Please close your eyes. Now, imagine what you want to become in life. Is it a Doctor, an Engineer, a Sportsman, an Artist, a Pilot, or someone else? Now imagine that you have become that person and you are becoming successful in your profession. You have reached the peak of success in your area of work and the whole world, your loved ones, your friends, your neighbours, your teachers, everyone is appreciating you. The Newspaper carries your news, you appear on TV and everywhere, on WhatsApp, FB, it s only you who is in the News. Now that you have achieved everything that you have dreamt of, you raise your hands and thank God for everything that he has given to you. Please open your eyes.
PART FOUR The Why and How of Self-Discipline: Dreams help us determine our Goal in life. Some do not Dream at all, hence remain ordinary the whole life. Some Dream very small. At the inception itself, they know that they can attain their Goals effortlessly. These Goals lead us to ordinary success in life. Some have this tendency to Dream Big, but do not have the will to work towards their success. They do not land anywhere in their life. Ideally, we should have incredible Goals in life, which appear impossible today, but by being Self-Disciplined, step by step, we move closer to our Goal and one day successfully attain this impossible Dream of ours. Now, you have your goal set in life. You know what you want to become and achieve in life. Now analyse what is required to do today to achieve such success in life. What are the skills you need to have? What is the Knowledge you need to learn. What are the food habits you need to follow? Which are the friends you need to be with? Do you know your Peak hours and your dull hours? What should be your daily Time-Table to ensure you have ample time, you are at your Peak at the right time, and you achieve the maximum in a single day? Once you know what is required to be done daily to achieve your goal in a specific time in the future, in a planned way, then Self-Discipline is nothing but to follow this Plan religiously day in and day out. Come what may, you should never waver from your plans or your timetable. In Mahabharata, Krishna too says the same thing, You go on doing your work, your karma, and the results, the fruits will take care of itself. PART FIVE TOOLS
1. Follow a Routine. 2. Everything in its Place, a Place for Everything. Eg. Dr Soni, Sandy. 3. Everything in Time, a Time for Everything. Eg. Mr Suresh Hundre. 4. Complete, whatever has been started. Eg. Salman s dialogue, Pankaj Pipada and Alphonso Mangoes, All the Gyms, Yoga & Swimming Classes. 5. Attach Pleasure to Good Habits and Pain to Bad Habits. Eg. Fauja Singh. PART SIX BRAIN TATTOOS 1. Dreams help us determine our Goals in life. 2. Only Self-Discipline will lead us towards our Goal in life. 3. Follow the Routine. 4. Complete whatever has been started. 5. Attach Pleasure to Good Habits and Pain to Bad Habits.