Dear One,
When what we perceive as a problem presents itself in our lives, the story and the details swirling around it make it nearly impossible to swiftly overcome.
You know the scenes in Empire Strikes Back when Luke Skywalker’s Jedi training with Yoda tests him in every facet of life? It’s a classic montage of overcoming one’s own personal limitations and developing some degree of self-mastery.
Similarly, in The Mahabharata, a young prince Arjuna undergoes intense archery training. He has a defining moment which separates him as a master archer from his esteemed classmates.
It’s such a fantastic scene early on in the first section of the story that it belongs on the big screen in our minds and hearts.
This has everything to do with you and self-mastery. Allow me to set the stage.
Dronacharya, the weapons master of all of the princes of several kingdoms has singled out Arjuna as his best and most capable pupil.
As a final test he places a small wooden bird high atop a branch in a tree a fair distance away. He challenges them: which student will take it down with one arrow?
He asks each prince to step forward and tell him what they see.
In turns, they all say that they see the bird. It’s green. They see the branch, the tree, and other trees. They see their master and their fellow classmates.
Drona tells them each to step back saying definitively that they will not hit the target.
Arjuna is last.
Drona: What do you see?
Arjuna: I see the open black eye of the bird.
Drona: What else do you see?
Arjuna: Only the round head of the bird.
Drona: Anything else?
Arjuna: No.
Drona tells Arjuna to take his shot and in a flash the wooden bird is knocked down by Arjuna’s clever arrow.
Do you see the parallel to our personal lives?
Our perceived problems are the bird in the tree.
We not only see the bird, but we can describe it in detail. We tell the story of where it is perched, what it looks like, how far away it is, and how near impossible it will be to take it down. In addition, we see the faces of our teachers and fellows which means we allow our interpretation of their hopes for us and their judgments of us into our view.
What if we could be more disciplined like Arjuna in this scene?
Get to the heart, or the “eye” of the problem and waste no time, effort, or energy on the surrounding details. Narrow your problem down to one word.
Is the eye your own pride? Is it a question of worthiness? Arrogance? Dishonesty? Anger? Jealousy? Ignorance? Fear?
Identify the eye and take aim.
Taking aim means taking action without entertaining the story of negativity. All those speculating and ruminating details weigh us down. The challenge, demand, or opportunity itself is enough of a storyline to entertain us without dragging it on and on with hesitation.
When we find ourselves entertaining the story which tells us why we can’t or won’t succeed, we simply place our attention on the eye.
Self-realization is helped along by discipline which leads to self-mastery.
Like Arjuna who practices tirelessly day and night to achieve that level of mastery, so, too, can we apply discipline by redirecting any negativity back to the “eye.” This isn’t bypassing or ignoring. On the contrary, it’s efficient elimination of that which blocks us from moving forward in a meaningful way.
We can ask ourselves: What’s at the heart or eye of this problem?
One word.
Once identified, take aim and loose your arrow of discernment and watch your so-called problem disappear.
With love and admiration,
Jamey
Hello! I’m Jamey and I teach Vedic meditation all over the world. I’m also the founder of Veda Vyasa Book Club (VVBC): the International book club devoted to developing consciousness through Vedic literature. Currently we’re exploring The Mahabharata. It’s not too late to join the fun. We’re only one week in. Come play!