Empowering the mind and mindset

Empowering the mind and mindset Friday, 16 May 2025 | Ravi Valluri 1 2 3 4 5 Share TT TT 0 What is the difference between the brain and mind? The brain is a very important organ of our body, while the mind is the consciousness. Our thoughts, feelings and emotions emanate from the mind. “On your marks, set, go!” The gunshot fired and the cauldron rose rambunctiously as Usain Bolt scorched the track, adding to his ever — increasing tally of medals. In three successive Olympics, this panther among humans has, in a hundred seconds, secured three golds each for the 100 meters, the 200 meters and the 400 meters medley relay. He is a phenomenon, in the pantheon of Mohammed Ali and Carl Lewis. What makes them intrepid performers? It is the power of their mind; a mind that is ‘Ajatashatru’, a person who does not have an enemy. Contrast this with other performers. Why is their mind prepared for mere mediocrity? Several celebrate athletes settling for mere 4th to the 10th positions and not for ascending the podium. And that nation is satiated with paltry silver and bronze medals. Several sportsmen freeze at the arena of the world stage. Their minds are not resilient enough to face the vagaries of competition or to overcome the challenges posed by opponents. Athletes need to possess the single-minded pursuit, the talent, the eye and the mind of an Arjuna. He was a successful archer as he honed his skills and had immense faith in his Guru-Dronacharya and his sakha — Lord Krishna. He was rewarded by both. Lord Krishna blessed him with a divine vision to capture the SOHAM Swaroop, the Vishwarup Darshan. Dronacharya equipped his favourite tutee by filling his arsenal with all the weaponry at his disposal. The elasticity, malleability and humility of Arjuna’s mind enabled him to conquer his fears and his opponents, by fortuitously overcoming the cobwebs in his mind. The fabled archer’s mind was Ajatashatru and thus became his ally. Let us posit this with what India underwent in Paris. Well, we were positioned 71st on the medals table. The largest contingent ever which represented India returned home with distressing results. We hardly witness the pathos of a loss among our athletes after losing their bouts. The pain, the agony, the suffering, the torture and torment, the dispirited look on their face and self are hardly visible. True, the spirit and motto of the Olympics as coined by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 was and is Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger), and one should play in the spirit of sportsmanship. But the drive to excel and stand at the podium is dismally missing. The impetuous passion to climb, if not clamber to the podium, draped in the tricolour and the national anthem played in the background invokes positive emotions in the minds of countrymen and augurs well for the nation. It has a spiralling effect in various fields and it makes economic sense to prevail over the opponent. What makes the minds of those athletes tick, where we fail? We obviously do not possess the wherewithal. India is not a sporting nation; parents are not supportive of their children taking up sports, as Indians possess a negative mindset towards sports. More importantly, there are very few visionaries who can spot and harness talent. How many politicians are there in this country to construct a state-of-the-art stadium at Gachibowli in Hyderabad to support a game like badminton? The Indian Railways have provided the much — required silver (or bronze) lining. Amidst gloom, India won 6 medals, a silver and five bronze medals at the Paris Olympic games held in 2024. Manu Bhaker won the first medal for the country as she bagged a bronze medal and became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal. The mindset of this woman of substance was akin to Ajatashatru as she turned around gruelling situations into triumphant ones. These mindsets indicate the indomitable spirit which should be embraced by all sportspersons. The mindset and approach of the Ministry of Sports need to be altered radically. The administration of this department needs a vigorous overhaul. Indian Railways and Indian Defence Forces should be actively involved in revamping the moribund organiation along with the participation of the private sector to provide an adequate corpus of funds through their Corporate Social Responsibility programme. Most sportsmen find relaxation with the latest gizmos and listening to music and in the entertainment industry. Perhaps it will be a profitable exercise to begin the rigorous schedule by practising yoga, and pranayama, and then resume with their normal routine. The day should end with the practice of Sudarshan Kriya and meditation. This will make the bodies and minds supple. Several East Asian countries and China follow a regimen of spiritual teachings like Vipassana to enhance the quality of performance of their athletes. China takes several pages from the works of Tsung Tzu to learn the craft of war to train the minds of their sportspersons. This dynamic approach produces champions. “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes,” said Buddha. It is a matter of honour to climb the podium. Let us begin our preparations for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 yesterday to become truly Ajatashatru. (The writer is the CEO of Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd. and Chhattisgarh East West Railway Ltd. He is a faculty of the Art of Living. Views are personal)