This week, we will think about your objects of devotion, things that you choose to think about fondly every day. Here are some possibilities to spark your thought:
- A deity. Whether you are drawn to the loyalty of Hanuman, the omniscience and omnipresence of an impersonal God, or the wise words of a divine prophet, your devotion is constant and religious (bhakti).
- A person. A family member, or a romantic partner, or a role model — someone you know in person to whom you devote a chunk of your mind every day.
- A goal or inanimate object. You have a specific goal in mind, and your aim is definite. Money, employment, fame, spiritual advancement, helping others — all of these are possible inanimate objects of devotion.
There is a distinction between an object of devotion and something that you like. An object of devotion allows you to overcome obstacles through willpower; mere disposition is not as strong. Let us illustrate this by the example of a student during an exam period, considering the three types of objects of devotion.
As an example of the first kind, deities, faith in a god and firm belief in the goodness of all outcomes can soften the stress of the exams.
As an example of the second kind, people, action on behalf of another person is more easily sustained than action for oneself. It is harder to let someone else down, especially if it is someone to whom we are devoted. If you are taking exams because your family wants you to enter a certain profession, this might be the case.
As an example of the third kind, goals and inanimate objects, if there is a particular career you yourself are focused on, that focus and devotion will drive you through times of physical and mental anguish in taking classes and participating in extracurricular activities. Or, if you are devoted to perfectionism, maybe you work hard simply because you cannot stand performing poorly on exams — for its own sake, without the future in mind.
So what is one of your objects of devotion? And how does it help you as a student?
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I wish I could say that my devotion to god drives my actions. I wish I could say that living up to my family’s expectations is what drives me. But really, I do most things for one special person. And that person is me. I’m devoted to the goals I set for myself, from being healthy & happy in the long-run, to fulfilling some of my whims in the short-term.
The problem with doing things for specific goals is that if I don’t reach the goals, it is difficult to get over the disappointment; the temptation to blame myself and get upset, at myself for not being good enough is too much. Often, especially when we are completely focused on getting certain results, it is difficult to deal with the disappointment of failure — especially if we have tried our best, and our best wasn’t good enough to reach the goal we’ve set for ourselves.
But in that case, I guess the best solution is to focus so much on the goal that the steps towards achieving that goal become ends in themselves — so in the case of schoolwork, that learning the material, rather than getting the grade, becomes the end we are searching for. By doing that, we can bypass the negative effects of attachment.
Still, that is nearly impossible to do — it requires a lot of self-confidence to continue believing in yourself when the normal ways you’d measure your success (i.e. exams, job offers, etc) don’t give you the results you hope for.
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