VJAI - Victory Just An Illusion
What does the above image read - Victory or Defeat? Look very closely and you will see that the image is an optical illusion that reads both the words Victory and Defeat.
Similarly in life, to win something or the event of winning is just an illusionary state of mind, so is a loss of something or the event of losing something. For every win, there is always a loss associated with it, so justifying the win or glorifying the winner depends on how or who or what you view as the loser or the lost. It is all relative.
We live in a modern age where success is worshiped and being victorious is all that matters, as victory in any aspect of living or life is directly co-related finally to money, which is wrongly become the de-facto yardstick of any individual, family, society, community or nation being successful. How disillusioned and far from the real truth this victorious feeling is? Is there more to life than merely getting ahead of the other man?
Seldom does one realize that they are defeated in their life’s journey when they allow the ego boost that very often comes with every victory to sink within oneself. Offer your other cheek when you are slapped, never will you be defeated, only your ego stands defeated. Eradicate the ego - the cause of all misery - by stopping all mental activity born of the ego. Can obsessing thoughts arise without the ego, can there be illusion apart from such thoughts? Always remember that the greatest battle ever is happening within you. And every other victory is no victory at all, if it is not victory over the self.
We differentiate between good and evil, success and failure, life and death, yin and yang, and so forth because we want to keep the one and reject the other. But we cannot have one without the other because they are interdependent: affirming one half also maintains the other. So for there to be victory, we need a defeat also.
We need an antidote to the mindless triumphalism parading through mordern living. But always remember the equation that Mother Nature = Balance. Go with mother nature and look for a balance - neither a winning victory nor a defeated loss - in every aspect of life.
Remember what Mahatma Gandhi said: “What kind of victory is it when someone is left defeated?”
Swami Kriyananda, a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, says in this video that the only battle that has real lasting victory is the victory over the self.
Finally, “Ella pugalum iraivan oruvanke”, which in Tamil language means, let all the fame with glory and victory be for the supreme god only.
Yato dharma, tato jaya.
- Peace, Love & Light.
