The six articles so far in this series was for anyone who is just getting started in high school, university, professional career, stage of life, or the spiritual path. You can view them as a ‘beginners’ guide to life. We started with how to set goals, based on our role in life; how to be efficient in what we do; how to focus our minds, control our senses, and cope with grief.
In the next six articles, we will move from a beginner’s guide to an intermediate level guide to life. We have started on our journey - but we want to do better, we want to continuously improve ourselves, we are striving for perfection. We call this, the stage of the ‘seeker’ or sadhak (technically a practitioner).
The Indian scriptures - the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita - focus on the ultimate seeking of liberation from sorrow, death, and change (called moksha). However, they can also be applied to the seeking of safety, material, emotional, self-actualization goals of the Maslow’s hierarchy or the dharma, artha, kama puruṣārtha's that we discussed earlier.
At every stage of our life we are always seeking something. The sooner we realize and enjoy the process of seeking as opposed to the destination, the better our journey. Kobe Bryant sums this sentiment beautifully
The mindset isn't about seeking a result—it's more about the process of getting to that result. It's about the journey and the approach. It's a way of life. I do think that it's important, in all endeavors, to have that mentality.
Let’s examine this journey and qualities of a seeker as outlined in the Indian scriptures.
Spiritual Journey and Qualities of a Seeker
According to the Vedas the spiritual journey of a seeker can be summarized as 2-3-4. There are two types of seekers, three stage of seeking, and four yogas of seeking.
2-Types of Seekers: There are two types of spiritual seekers - the first one is the seeker of knowledge or jignasu and the second is the seeker of liberation or moksha (also called mumukshu). Expanding these two notions from the spiritual seeking to the more mundane material seeking, we can categorize them as the seeker of knowledge and the seeker of skills. It is clear that to be really successful we need to have both in our every-day life.
Figure 1: Spiritual journey of a seeker (Source: Explore Vedanta)
3-stages of a seeker: The first stage of the three-stage process is to gain the four-fold qualifications. The four fold-qualifications of a seeker are
Discrimination (Viveka) - ability to know the difference between right and wrong
Dispassion (Vairagya) - freedom from binding likes and dislikes
Burning desire (Mumukshutvam) - burning desire for freedom from dependence on the world of happiness
Discipline (Shatka Sampatti) - six key qualities for a disciplined life - mastery of the mind (shama), master of the sense organs (dama), abidance of the mind and sense organs (uparama), forbearance to stick with the little pinpricks in life (titiksha), trust or faith in the texts (shraddha), and a mind focused on self-inquiry (samadhana).
Figure 2: The four qualifications of Vedanta (Source: Explore Vedanta)
As the seeker is building these four-fold qualifications she is also gaining self-knowledge through the practice of active listening (shravanam) and contemplation (mananam). This is followed by the final stage where the seeker fully assimilates this self-knowledge through contemplation and self-inquiry (nididhyasanam). These three stages are also applicable in the pursuit of any vocation or career goal - one needs to actively listen, try and ascertain the facts for themselves through practice and finally to intuitively understand or do things automatically.
Figure 3: Discipline or Shatka Sampatti (Source: Explore Vedanta)
4-yogas of seeking: The four yogas of seeking include, the path of selfless service (karma yoga), the path of meditation and contemplation (upagasana yoga), the path of devotion (bhakti yoga), and the path of knowledge (gnana yoga).
Now let’s see what the Bhagavad Gita says about the journey of a seeker.
Yoga of Devotion - Gita: Chapter 12, Verses 8-11
मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय | निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशय: || 8||
mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśhaya nivasiṣhyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na sanśhayaḥ
Fix your mind on Me alone and surrender your intellect to Me. There upon, you will always live in Me. Of this, there is no doubt.
अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् | अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय || 9||
atha chittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śhaknoṣhi mayi sthiram abhyāsa-yogena tato mām ichchhāptuṁ dhanañjaya
If you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, O Arjun, then practice remembering Me with devotion while constantly restraining the mind from worldly affairs.
अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव | मदर्थमपि कर्माणि कुर्वन्सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि || 10||
abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si mat-karma-paramo bhava mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi
If you cannot practice remembering Me with devotion, then just try to work for Me. Thus performing devotional service to Me, you shall achieve the stage of perfection.
अथैतदप्यशक्तोऽसि कर्तुं मद्योगमाश्रित: | सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं तत: कुरु यतात्मवान् || 11||
athaitad apy aśhakto ’si kartuṁ mad-yogam āśhritaḥ sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān
If you are unable to even work for Me in devotion, then try to renounce the fruits of your actions and be situated in the self.
These four verses offer a maturity model for spiritual seekers. The highest maturity level is for a spiritual seeker to surrender to the universal life principle and carry out their duties without any notion of ‘doership’ or ego and not expecting any results. If this highest maturity level is not achievable then the seeker is asked to practice with passion as much as possible, restraining themselves from other distractions. If this maturity level is also not achievable then the seeker is urged to perform the actions for a higher purpose or goal, and finally if this maturity level is not achievable then perform the actions but willingly accept the outcome of the actions - irrespective of whether they are desirable or not to us.
Figure 4: Yoga of Devotion (Source: created by author)
Story of the desire for the last breath of air
One of the main qualities required of a seeker is to either have a ‘burning desire’ for liberation or the ability to cultivate a burning desire. This notion of a ‘burning desire’ or mumukshutva is very difficult concept to explain. Once a disciple of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a well known nineteenth century Indian saint, asked Swami Ramakrishna to explain the word mumukshutva or burning desire. Swami Ramakrishna just smiled at the disciple and told him that in due course he will get to know the meaning of the word.
One day when Swami Ramakrishna and his disciple were having a bath in the Ganges river, he suddenly turned towards his disciple and dunked his head in the water. Initially, the disciple thought that his Guru was giving him training to hold his breath. After a minute or so the disciple couldn’t hold his breath, started struggling for breath and was trying to raise his head. However, Swami Ramakrishna exerted more pressure and continued to hold the disciple’s head in the water. Eventually, when the disciple was really struggling for his breath he released him. The disciple was upset and said to his Guru, “Swamiji, if I had stayed in the water for one more second, I would have died.” Swami Ramakrishna smiled at his disciple and said “The longing that you experienced inside the water to breathe, when you develop that kind of a longing towards moksha, that is known as Mumukshutva”.
This story clearly illustrates the quality of a ‘mumukshutva’ or burning desire or passion. Now let’s see what such a passion means in our everyday life when we seek something other than liberation or moksha and also how to develop such a passion.
The 3P's to Success: Patience, Passion and Perseverance
The 3P’s of patience, passion, and perseverance have been extolled by many in both the spiritual and non-spiritual contexts. Mahatma Gandhi once said “A burning passion coupled with absolute detachment is the key to all success.”. The American rapper, singer, songwriter, brand ambassador, and philanthropist, Armando Pérez, also known as Pitbull, once said “Patience, passion, and perseverance equals success”.
Recent work by a variety or researchers is uncovering the the virtues of passion and perseverance. In her book on GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Lee Duckworth, describes how repeated effort or perseverance is more important for success than inherent talent or skill. According to her
Talent x Effort = Skill
Skill x Effort = Achievement
Studies have shown that having a passion and then persevering with that passion is a better indicator of success then the Intelligent Quotient (IQ) of an individual. Interestingly, she brings out the qualities of interest, practice, purpose, and hope to build the passion and perseverance in life.
First comes interest. Passion begins with intrinsically enjoying what you do. Next comes the capacity to practice. One form of perseverance is the daily discipline of trying to do things better than we did yesterday. Third is purpose. What ripens passion is the conviction that your work matters. And, finally, hope. Hope is a rising-to-the-occasion kind of perseverance.
It is interesting to compare these with the four fold qualities of a seeker and the verses from Gita. The four fold qualities emphasizes the importance of the burning desire or passion, the discipline and the higher purpose. In the Gita verses, Lord Krishna asks us to have the discipline to continuously act towards a higher purpose, no matter what the outcome. Underlying both these sources is a clear path towards building resilience - if you are acting for a higher purpose and persevere no matter what the outcome you are building resilience. Such an attitude towards our duties results in efficiency in our action which helps build our skills.
Angela Lee Duckworth in her book says that
Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.
The qualities of shravanam or active listening is a key quality required for discovery; mananam (contemplation) is a critical quality for developing your ideas and nidhidhyasanam (self-inquiry) is essential for deepening our understanding in what we do.
The book also outlines a 4-step process for building GRIT: (a) Develop a fascination; (b) Daily improvement; (c) Greater purpose; and (d) Growth mindset. These four steps are also critical in a spiritual seeker. Unless you are fascinated with the concept of liberation or identification with the super-consciousness you are not even going to embark on the journey of a spiritual seeker. Daily practice and surrender to a higher force is emphasized throughout the scriptures and also repeated in the verses of Gita discussed earlier. The notion of a growth mindset is the willingness to learn, to have the humility that one does not have all the answers and must continuously learn and improve.
Paul Stoltz, in his book on GRIT talks about G for Growth; R for Resilience; I for Instinct; and T for Tenacity. The notion of Instinct is to know the right goals to pursue and to pursue them in the the right way. This notion of instinct parallels the notion of viveka or a discriminating intellect that can separate the right from the wrong. We have already seen the close parallel between the qualities of growth, resilience and tenacity and the 4-fold vedantic qualifications.
Figure 5: The Dimensions of GRIT (Source: What is GRIT by Latoya Hardman Lewis)
The book also talks about Good GRIT and Bad GRIT which parallels the pursuit of goals for selfish goals vs higher goals. He also talks about Smart GRIT and Dumb GRIT which closely parallel the notion of viveka or discriminating intellect.
Figure 6: The Qualities of GRIT (Source: What is GRIT by Latoya Hardman Lewis)
In conclusion, the journey of a spiritual seeker as expounded in the Gita and the Vedantic scriptures closely parallels the steps to achieve GRIT. The qualities required for GRIT - patience, passion, and perseverance are key to not only achieving material success in our day-to-day life, but are also essential qualities of a spiritual seeker.
Key Takeaways
Spiritual journey of a Seeker
Two types of Seekers
Three stages of Seeking
Four Yogas of Seeking
Yoga of Devotion
Surrender;
Practice;
Devotion; and
Detachment
GRIT
Growth mindset
Resilience
Instinct
Tenacity
Patience, Passion, Perseverance
Exercise for the week
Complete your Grit Score
Identify one of your passions and develop a list of small steps that you can take to practice your passion
Additional Links
The desire to become limitless through growth, Manasi Parekh, TeDxGCET
GRITScale, Angela Duckworth
Character Lab, Angela Duckworth
GRIT by Angela Duckworth, Animated Core Message
GRIT: Traits that matter for School, Work, and Life, Youtube