"Are you okay? You look tense." Afsaney asked her brother. "Selling a bouquet of flowers for one hundred dollars is not an easy task, isn't it? You can't befool people. The assignment given to me by the teacher is really tough, I'm worried," her brother Eskender said." "One has to be confident and optimistic too, for to become a successful salesperson, you know."
"It sounds a difficult proposition, isn't?"
"Have you ever heard the name of 'Bhartari Hari'?"
"You mean the great Sanskrit poet?"
"Yes! He once delivered a talk, and explained the golden rules of success."
"Oh, I see, very interesting, do you mind telling me?"
Okay. "All happenings which affect us are linked to causes and reasons," he told his audience, "for to achieve a goal or to influence others, one has to seize the moment, one does not have to look back, the path of success lies in following the footsteps of a successful person or a leader. When one follows the path of leadership, one becomes a winner, and one can always achieve a win-win situation despite the difficulties and hurdles."
"Oh, I see."
"Everything being done now influences the future and affects the past in the form of redemption," he said.
"Unbelievable."
"The outer world is a reflection of the inner world, one attracts people, events, and places in his life by his thoughts, the moment he accepts change, changes comes into his life, this is how the divine laws work. One can fulfil his dreams through focused actions, and to have a win-win situation, one has to bring an element of optimism in his outlook," he said.
"Three cheers, dear sister. What a nice way to explain the complexities of life, but, to keep such a mental outlook doesn't it require great effort?" Eskendar asked.
"May be," she replied, but too often, we are not focused on our goals, that's why one confronts hurdles and set backs," she said.
"Selling still looks to me to be a challenging task, sister!"
"Yes, you are right, achieving goals is not simple, one has to think about strategic planning and to make a well directed effort. One has to change his attention from the past to the present; similarly selling of goods presupposes the existence of customers, a deeper understanding of market segments and the psyche of consumers. " She told him.
"I am afraid, how to control my inner fears, sister?"
It is the ego, which makes you fearful, one has to overpower it!"
"Ego is a very strong force, it is not easy to displace it!"
There is a tale about a man called Shibli who overpowered his ego, "Shibli," used to be the Governor of a town. One day he was summoned by his king for a luncheon meeting, on this call he became nervous and failed to notice that his attire was not in order. The king did not like his manners, "if a man of authority is not organised and disciplined, he is not worthy to hold the high office," said the king, and he dismissed him.
The happening shocked Shibli, rather than asking for the king's mercy, he decided to join a Sufi band, and called on Junaid Baghdadi, a known sufi master of his times, he sought his permission to join his sufi order. The sufi master advised him to overpower his ego in the first instance.
"Would you like to explain to me a way to come out of it?" He asked him.
"Since you have tasted power and authority, it is not so simple to transform to enter the realm of selflessness, the power of the 'ego' will block the transformation from worldly disposition to the realm of selflessness. You will have to make a serious effort to get rid of it."
"What do you mean by 'ego'? Does it refer to what I stand for? Or does it mean a person could exist disembodied?" Shibli asked.
"An entry into the realm of 'Sufism', is characterised by the concept of union - a union of human beings with God through the power of love - union is the will and a belief that suffering and love are necessary conditions for the union. Love underlines the concept of service and selflessness, ego only motivates self-interest."
"Oh I see."
"You may opt for the recipe of begging, it can help you." He advised him.
"Okay."
Time flies. Three years passed. Shibli again approached Junaid and told him that he had been a beggar for the last three years, and pleaded for being accepted in his band.
"Ego is still a dominant force in your personality, he told him."
"Tell me some other way to get of it?"
"You may ask forgiveness from those who were offended by your actions."
The man was seen wandering in the city streets searching for those who stood offended by his actions, he found three persons who claimed to have suffered through his actions. Two of them forgave him. The third person was dead, his successors also forgave him.
He again approached the Sufi Master and repeated his request.
"I am impressed by your efforts," you have my blessings to join the sufi order," he told him.
"An interesting story, I must say!"
"Yes, it talks of getting focused in respect of one's goals, to overpower the negative force of the ego, believing in a selfless approach, visualising success and opting for a positive outlook."
"Right sister, I have understood the secrets of success."
"Great! Go ahead, success is waiting for you brother."
(The writer is an advocate and is currently working as an associate with Azim-ud-Din Law Associates)
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