Read the previous part here…
The true Advaitin is the master of the world. He does not know a good deal of his chosen subject; he knows all there is to be known. He does not perform his particular task fairly well: he does it as well as it is possible to do it…. The highest achievements of the mind are a Sadhana…. The man who has followed any kind of knowledge to its highest point is a rishi.”
Sri Krishnananda continues “The primary condition for super excellence is a lofty aspiration of ambition, a conscious striving to know all about one’s subject, or to do one’s work as well as it can be done. This desire appears in the form of a deep interest in one’s work or the particular problem one has taken in hand. It is well known that scientists and inventors give themselves up whole-heartedly to the object of their pursuit.”
“A powerful interest that dominates a man’s life polarises his mind, which then acts like a magnet and continually draws out from his stored-up experiences and also from new experiences whatever is relevant and useful to the end in view. Deep interest invigorates the mind, awakens its dormant powers and is the key to super excellence, invention and discovery.”
Hard work is another condition of superiority. One must master the knowledge and technique pertaining to one’s particular job; in fact, he must be a keen and lifelong learner, ready to pick up new ideas and new ways wherever he can find them. He must cultivate the habits of thoroughness, accuracy and reliability; he must take pains to check, revise and polish his work until it acquires as perfect a finish as possible within the limits of time available.
Inspiration only comes as a result of hard study, deep reflection and patient search for the solution.
Super excellence means constant improvement and innovation, thinking in straight lines instead of curves, introduction of simpler procedures, time and labour-saving devices, better and cheaper goods, making two blades of grass grow where one grew before. There is nothing in the world which cannot be improved.
The best is yet to be made – whether in books or automobiles, computers or technology, medicines or men.
Sri Krishnananda says “The ideal of all-round excellence is very difficult to attain. Only rare persons can become versatile geniuses. But everyone can acquire mastery in some little branch of knowledge or skill. Everyone can do at least some phase of his work superlatively well by developing his strong point or specialising in the part of his work in which he is most interested. And once this is done, superiority in one part of his life will stimulate superiority in other parts. Whatever a man’s vocation, let him not be content to remain mediocre; let him lift himself from the commonplace to the outstanding.”
Vibhuti Yog true call for super-excellence!