Inspiration & Motivation!

 

Karna received the blazing dart “Shakti” from Indra’s hands. He cut off his natural armor with his own weapon. Although it must have been extremely painful, Karna did not display even the slightest bit of emotion with his facial expressions. Demigods assembled in the sky & watched this crucial event. They shouted with joy & beat celestial drums. Flowers rained upon Karna as he handed the armor to Indra, while it was still dripping blood

 

He next cut off his earrings & presented them as well. After receiving this charity, Indra considered himself to have saved Arjuna’s life & departed for his heavenly abode in great happiness. When news of Karna’s gift to Indra reached the sons of Dhritrāshtra, they became exceedingly disheartened. On the other hand, when Pāndavās received the news, they immediately became filled with joy

 

Whenever we try to do something wonderful or worthwhile, we often get caught in ourselves. In our struggles, our successes or our failures. We are burdened by our experiences & being thus caught, we may overlook the many factors beyond us that shape our endeavors including factors like inspiration and motivation

 

While there are many good things that we could do, we don’t always enthused to actually do any of them. But sometimes, we get an idea with such clarity, beauty, and certainty that it looks like that the idea has been planted inside us by something outside of us. Krsna explains in Bhagavad Gita, points to the indwelling divinity as that mysterious source of all wisdom, including all inspiration

 

Whereas inspiration usually centers on understanding and what Gita wisdom calls knowledge-acquiring senses (Jnanenedriyas), motivation usually centers on action and what Gita wisdom calls the action-enacting senses (Karmendriyas). Motivation is the massive moving potency that enables us to persist through various obstacles, external & internal, on the way to do anything significant 

 

How can we translate inspiration into action? By contemplation

 

Gita wisdom tells us that when we dwell on an idea, it increases its power. When we treasure inspiration as a precious gift, we note it down promptly & properly, whenever we get it. We then analyze it & come up with ways to implement that idea and then start implementing it with tangible steps, even if they are presently tiny

 

When we thus engage systematically and steadily with an inspiring idea, it expands. It no longer remains just one component in our consciousness, helping us to better understand it but it spreads throughout our consciousness, energizing our entire being with the fuel to keep acting till the idea becomes a reality. The result is a positive, uplifting change in our world

 

This is a concrete testimony to the amazing power of inspiration and motivation harmonized. We can move mountains externally & also control our mind internally so that it remains our true friend through this

 

Thoughts?