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Posted on: Sept 16, 2013
Never Lose Sight of Your Goal
Bobby the mountain climber was famous for his attempts to climb the big snowy mountain. He had tried it at least 30 times, but had always failed. He began the ascent at a good pace, focussing on the snowy summit, imagining the marvellous view and the sense of freedom up there.
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But as he went on and his strength dwindled, his gaze would lower and he would look at his worn-out boots more often. Finally, when the clouds had gathered around him, and he understood that he would not be able to enjoy the view from the summit that day, he would sit down to rest. In fact, he would feel relieved to start the descent back to the village, although he knew people would scoff at him.
On one occasion, he went up the mountain accompanied by old Peeper, the town optician, who witnessed his failure. Peeper always encouraged Bobby to keep trying until he succeeded. One day he even presented Bobby a pair of special sunglasses. He said, “If it starts clouding over, put on these glasses. Or if your feet start hurting, put them on too. These are special glasses; they'll help you.”
Bobby accepted the gift without giving it much thought. But during his next climb, when his feet started hurting, he remembered what Peeper had said and put on the glasses. The pain was pretty bad, but with the new glasses, he could still manage to see the snow-covered summit. So, on he continued.
As on most instances, misfortune returned in the form of cloud cover. But, this time, it was so light that he could still see the summit through the clouds. So, Bobby kept climbing, forgetting his pain and finally reached the summit.
It was certainly worth it! His feeling of triumph was incomparable. It was as magnificent as the wonderful view below. Bobby did not remember the clouds being so thick. When he looked more closely at the sunglasses, he understood everything.
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Peeper had actually engraved on the lenses an image in the form of the snow-covered summit. It was made in such a way that one could see it only if one looked upwards. Peeper had done this because he clearly understood that whenever Bobby lost sight of his objective, he lost sight of his dream and therefore, his resolve to persist weakened.
Bobby then realized that the only obstacle to reaching the summit had been his own pessimism. When he could no longer see the top of the mountain, he had become weary and had given up. He silently thanked Peeper for using a little trick to help him see that his aims were not impossible and that they were still there, where they had always been.
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If we lose sight of our main aims, we tend to abandon our pursuit every time a difficulty arises.
In His divine discourse on the holy Guru Purnima Day of 1970, Bhagawan Baba remarked, “Keep steadily on; do not move forward two steps today and retrace them tomorrow. The ants, poor little weak things, they move one behind the other in an unbroken stream, conscious of the goal and of nothing else, overcoming obstacles that come in the way.”
Just imagine! Such tiny beings are so focused on their goal, that they are able to overcome all the hurdles on their way. How much more focus we human beings should have on the ultimate aim — realisation of the Self!
In ‘Dhyana Vahini’, Baba says, “Everyone is able to gain success in his profession or occupation only through one-pointed attention. Even the pettiest of tasks needs the quality of concentration for its fulfilment. And even the toughest problem yields before unswerving endeavour.”
The great visionary Mr. Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said — “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
Truly wise words from a man of great achievements. Relentless focus is an essential ingredient for worldly and spiritual success.
Illustrations: Esha Narayanan
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