Measurement of everything in life goes a long way in cutting our life to right proportions. That's why Mathematics, Economics, Statistics were born.If man were to not measure and limit his usage of everything under the sky, the world would have ended in 1202 and not 2012 as hoped( pessimist..i said!). Then,the human mind grew inquisitive and pain came to be measured in dols & knowledge in knols.
Then comes the most destructive of all emotions-THE EGO.Termed in Sanskrit as 'Aham'. Even the scriptures fueled ego with the term 'Aham Brahmasmi'(I am God).
Men(& women..yaawnn) who've managed to regulate and control their egos came up trumps and those who rode their ego ended in dumps. Living Examples? Boris Becker, Mike Tyson, Vinod Kambli,Azharuddin and their clan- the list is endless.Becker shook tennis courts,clay and lawn alike, and announced his arrival with a Wimbledon title; winning it at 16 made it even more special.Sachin and Kambli started together and the latter was thought of as a more talented lad.His back to back double tons against England and Zimbabwe gave him success that went to his head; success that he couldn't handle. And he ended up playing his last test at an age of 22. What Sachin did and how he handles success is a thing oft discussed and printed more than about those below poverty line.
We are often taught that ego is dangerous, ego causes rifts. That one must do away with ego and approach humanity with love,humility and compassion. But, isnt' confidence, a toned down version of ego? An egoless mind is one that takes success and defeat in the same spirit. What then, is the catalyst to perform better? With due respects, had Mother Teresa not made it a matter of her ego to alleviate all suffering from lepers on the street,MoC wouldn't have been doing what it is. If she had accepted the fact that lifting lepers and destitutes from corners of a filthy city was far from being simple, she woudn't have been beatified. Her humane touch sprung out of an unshakeable belief in her self.Martin Luther King Jr., demanded equal rights and commodities for blacks.That was his ego speaking. An ego that was directed well. An ego that brought equaliity.
The truth is, ego is good in varying proportions. One needs to use his supplies as needs arise. In a game of boxing or wrestling, where it's more of brawns, getting intimidated is half the battle lost. Boxers thumps their chest; pump their fists in air to cause an 'effect'.Sooner the opponent succumbs to the 'effect', the quicker his fall.Toughness has to be shown.Snakes are more afraid of humans.But a faint hiss is enough to send shivers down the spine and showers of brine.Belief and an out burst of ego has punched knockouts into the faces of most fearsome of fighters. Muhammad Ali won half his bouts claiming himself greater and tougher. And that showed in his assaults.
For me, either an overdose or the lack of ego made my life miserable.I often left my chances go, thinking I wasn't upto something. Had there been a whiff of ego(read confidence)that prodded me to make a second attempt, things could have been different. An ego, that can say " No one else deserves it more than you do" is over confidence. An ego that says " You deserve it as much as anyone does" goes a long way in helping one to cling on to that precipice of hope. (I am not quoting Sanjay Ramasamy or some Singhania here).
I've been a fan of Aussie grit and gumption all my life. They tend to think they deserve the best and as a matter of fact, they ARE and in every sport. It's their aham that tells them they deserve to be the best but the efforts they put in shows they think anyone else could be the best. It's their ability to draw that fine line between CAN and SHOULD that has seen their results sky rocket.
Ego must be preached, practised and checked. Our kids need to be told that they can earn their own bread and barley without having to give in to bribes. Their egos must tell them they are a class apart and dont need to survive on misdoings. But there is a danger of poisoning their minds and that is upto teachers to preach in right measures.
Few years ago, I came across a social scientist from Hyderabad who worked on a thesis to find the root cause of all evil in the world.He proved it was 'aham' that drove heads to megalomania.I personally feel it's not ego and greed that is the cause but the inability to keep them in check. Like they say "daag acche hain".
Nobel Prize for Egonomics, someone??
