Mahak dixit
I have been a keen observer of the male obsession with machines (and their evolution), especially when the fad was at its height. While being organically passed on to upcoming generations of men, it notably infected Asian females in the last decade. I’ve been part of the big shift myself, and having trained girls and young women (as well as men), I find they are following in the footsteps of biker brothers in a big way – I just hope they keep the best attributes and leave out the rest!
Community, networking, socialising, and supporting each other. These are a few of the many good traits of bikers. And the impact on women has been huge; they have gone on to name their bikes by using adjectives reserved for their partners or family. For folks like me, it’s been an effective tool to announce to the world that we are our own decision-making authority. Some women have found their lost femininity through bikes, and some claimed freedom and through it explored the unknown, a luxury only allowed to men. Biking solo has helped women shed their fears and inhibitions for the greater good.
In the end, it is the intent that bears the biggest fruit. Deep down, why you do what you do is the biggest Karma. Let’s break this down through verse 12, Chapter 12, of the Gita, which states: Knowledge is better than practice / Meditation is better than knowledge / Renunciation of fruits of action is better than meditation / By renouncing, one begets peace.
Early on, I read that nothing on the planet happens without a purpose. But using our really limited understanding, we humans mess up by thinking that what is good for our personal purpose is greater than what we don’t grasp. Indeed, the biggest mistake we make is when we stop questioning in a constructive way.
Learn before you practice
The verse from the Gita clearly speaks about what we truly seek as humans, and how to get there. It also mentions that there’s more than just one way of reaching that goal. And learning is advised before practice: know what to do, how to live, and how to use your mind and body before you begin using it. Which is exactly how we must approach machines – before you start operating a new machine, it's best to read its user manual, and acquaint yourself with the instructions for its upkeep, so that you can run it effectively.
As a child, I would brood on such proverbs and wisdom, on the morals gleaned from folklore, and ask whether they were of any value in life, whether they were limiting. But a lack of experience or emotional exposure creates barriers in understanding, which is why it’s good to just learn, at any age, and apply whenever in life. Knowledge comes in handy, like a weapon in war. Once you learn about your own body, and get acquainted with your mind’s operation manual, you can recover faster from your lows – because everyone goes through lows. This explains why you should learn about a craft before you begin to practice it.
Besides, all ‘good knowledge’ must be personally felt, and practiced over a period of time to test its effectiveness, before concluding if it’s any good. It must serve a purpose and turn an individual into someone who strives for goodness, despite what they may previously have faced in life. Otherwise, the knowledge is tainted and worthless. Further, all information in life must become relevant to us (and be passed on via us) for it to be called useful. And like a filter, we must strain whatever is unnecessary.
Meditation
Speaking from practice, there are no shortcuts in spirituality or in life. Only your own practice, your own Karma, can make you wise. And practice has three levels: mind (the most superior), word (less superior), and physical (least superior but, unfortunately, the most focused on).
If, say, you were to make a recipe-based masala tea, you ought to read it at ‘mind level’ – with attention – to know what’s in the recipe. Else, you can put whatever you please but it will not be the recipe-based masala tea. Not reading and not understanding the recipe won’t help. You can learn verbatim and talk at length on the details of making the masala tea, but that doesn’t make the tea. Even when you decide to act without ‘mind’, and make green tea instead of black, or brew coffee instead of tea, it won’t give you masala tea. It's only when you mindfully read, comprehend, and put every effort into making the recipe, will you get the masala tea.
The word ‘meditate’ points towards learning how to use your mind, planning an action through the mind, and using your body to achieve what’s been decided at the level of the mind. Our bodies are capable of ‘mindless’ actions, so the more consciously we use our existence, the more efficient our actions become. Now, let’s rethink the depth of the most common statements about the reality that surrounds us today. Whatever it is that we see, whether it’s the fastest motorbikes, smartest phones, tallest buildings, biggest cities, or most vivid forms of art – everything is a product of the human mind. It was all created first at the level of the ‘mind’.
Now, if you were someone like me, you’d want to be very sure of what you allow your mind to think. You want to filter your beliefs, what you should or shouldn’t like, your wishes and dreams, even how you want to live – think through everything. If you can figure out what’s good for the mind and focus on that, we have the key to our own life, our dreams, our potential. This is a powerful state of existence but one that demands a lot of discipline.
I sensed the awareness women felt when they trained with me and shared their experiences. And it was during my travels, which were mostly night rides, when I felt closest to all the voices within me. Also, the many rally stages I took part in showed me how intuition can work or fail, how changing thoughts can swiftly and subtly, but in very powerful ways, change the whole reality. The faster I went, the calmer I felt to the extent that everything around me appeared to move in slow motion.
While meditation encompasses plenty of stages, it always begins with you being able to examine your own mind, to observe the quality of thoughts it produces. To see it actually working is half the battle won. Biking had a similar impact on me. In fact, the mat is where the biggest adventure hides, and biking brought me closer to the mat.
So, learn to act, believe, listen, eat and read in a way that’s good for your mind.
Renunciation
Once you decide what you intend to do, begin the work and lose yourself in it. This is how one travels best – and exactly how one races too. Hence, losing or winning are not as exciting to my being now as experiencing, overcoming inhibitions, and giving my all to the process. The outcome is only victorious for my being. I learn and I win. Of course, records, while superficial, might matter to others, who may obsess over them, but they fall into place if we focus on our own actions. After all, we are here to use our own mind to its greatest potential.
So, begin working, be mindful as much as possible, and leave it to nature. Once again, it’s an ancient practice that demands a lot of self-discipline. Observe it long enough and benefits will appear, and you shall find your own truth.
Why peace?
Simply because ancient Yoga texts speak enough about day and night, and happiness and sadness, moving in cycles. One appears and the other disappears. Peace is the highest ‘mid’ state, a joyful stage that is not cyclical. It stays longer than happiness or sadness. You have to strive to reach it and strive even harder to stay with it. Peace is the emotion you want to feel and it’s the motivation behind everyone’s actions. The challenge is a lack of knowledge, which makes us seek it in odd places. And our choices, either wild or less wise, cause confusion and delay.
Regardless, one is full of hope. There might be a limit to what can be perceived and explained yet each one of us is wired differently, and nature nurtures and balances us all equally. We arrive in life in our own divine time, sooner or later entering a state of awareness. It may take a few years, a few decades or a few births, but what is certain is that we are all moving in circles, and can choose a destiny that is consciously crafted.
Wishing you peace, adventure and light!
--ends--
