Positive Health Online

by B D Basu BSc (Engg)-Mech MBA Dip Export MA (English)

Reprinted from The Hitavada Raipur Sunday 28 October 2018

We all raise our hands whenever there is a struggling situation and we need to perform impossible targets. Many a time, some task which may be difficult for you to achieve, but maybe someone else can put hard labour to accomplish the said task. Why is it so? The reason, if we find the task is impossible to achieve, we get away from the scene in the first instance itself. We seldom take any challenge. We develop a mindset that what is the need to put the efforts when we know the failure is certain? But there are people who put their whole-hearted efforts to achieve the impossible. Anything which is impossible, they make it possible as they take the concept in a little different way. It is true that we may get opportunities which may not be feasible to achieve; one should not jump into the fray to achieve the same. For example, if a person in the bracket of 90 years decides to run for a high-jump in a competition, it is not a correct sense of thinking. It could be possible for any person in this bracket of age who has a consistent career in these types of games.

We know that Napoleon, the great worrier in history once said that the word ‘impossible'; is only found in the dictionary of fools. He used to believe that there is nothing like impossible and accordingly and he used to formulate all his strategies based on this principle. What was in his mind for which he used to think like that? He used to visualize all the goals of accomplishment which we normally consider out of reach and we may not be able to achieve at all. But some people are daring enough to entertain them and take their whole-hearted determination to achieve those tasks and Napoleon used to fall into this category. We might have considered it an impossible task for France to achieve the kind of military victories that Napoleon achieved for his country.

When we consider the word ‘impossible’, it becomes more relevant and imbibed in our mind. For any individual who might consider certain accomplishments impossible without realizing that with the persistent efforts and determination they could be achieved. In this way, the word ‘impossible’ is best understood as really denoting the improbable. Why do we consider any work as impossible? Our mental image prompts us to think accordingly. Mentally, we become weak observing the task and do not want to put any effort to start the same. Under these circumstances, let us take an example of some personalities which includes monks and sages of high calibre because they feel that one can achieve the impossible with a consistent effort with a focused approach. Swami Vivekananda once met Pavahari Baba of Ghazipur in the course of his wanderings across India to spread the religious teachings. Vivekananda was so much impressed by Pavahari Baba that he wanted to be initiated by him, but whenever he resolved to do so, he was visualized by the appearance of Sri Ramakrishna. Pavahari Baba later immolated himself as he was not able to tolerate the suffering of the country. Vivekananda was overwhelmed with the numerous problems of India and questioned Pavahari Baba, “How one can achieve the impossible?” He replied, “By treating the means as the end and the end as the means.” One will be very surprised to accept this reply and can do interpretation on his own terms.

The fact is that when we start to do any task, whether possible or impossible, we mostly focus on the end results. Instead of that, if we concentrate on the end product and go ahead with the step by step approach and take the concrete steps to reach there, we can achieve the even impossible task. So, what Pavahari Baba was suggesting that one must focus his attention entirely on the means with the same passion with which he wants to accomplish the goal? That would be one way of treating the means as the end. And when a concrete step is realized, you will think to achieve another concrete step. In this way, your mental power to solve the problem will be aroused and when you achieve any success, you will consider the same step in relation to what remains to be achieved to accomplish the goal. This is the prominent way of treating the end as the means.

St. Francis of Assisi once told that there is nothing like impossible. If there is anything like impossible, then it will not come to you at all. God knows who can do what, who can achieve what and who has the capability to achieve the impossible beyond their boundary. St. Francis of Assisi said that one should begin by doing the necessary; then one should do the possible, and then he adds that one should try to look for the possibility and if he does so, he would find himself accomplishing the impossible. If someone takes all these challenges and put enormous efforts, he will accomplish the impossible. His approach is also similar to Pavahari Baba and other religious-minded persons of high calibre. So, it is to be understood that the mindset needs to be changed whenever a word ‘impossible’ comes into your mind. All said and done, while you are trying to achieve any task, you need to simultaneously increase your skills, knowledge, and power of the mind. Otherwise, by simply putting your hard work, it won't fetch any meaningful output.

Acknowledgement Citation

Reprinted from The Hitavada Raipur Sunday 28 October 2018