There is more to Life than...?

There is more to life than watching cricket. It is playing cricket! – Savitha Reddy 2April 2011(During the world cup final days..)

Sports is human life in microcosm, says Howard Cosell and Cricket is definitely the world in one cup. If cricket is religion, Sachin is god, and when we are playing an important game, the entire nation comes to a standstill. My question is, is there more to life than just watching cricket? If yes, what is it? Is it playing Cricket? YES!! In life more than watching, it is the playing that matters. Like Mark Twain says “Actions speak louder than words”. Instead of sitting in the stands and watching and cheering, we need to get into the field and start playing the game. Life is a game and some call it the spiritual game. Like in any other sport, even in life there are certain rules, if followed, helps us score any number of runs and win the world cup easily. Three simple, basic rules to score one hundred centuries are –

Rule 1: Law of Karma- What you sow is what you reap. If we want happiness in our lives, then sow the seeds of happiness. Life is like a mirror and it reflects whatever we give out. We need to always sow positive thoughts, words and actions, no matter what. At any point in time, we have access to infinity of choices or thoughts and what choice we make, makes all the difference. Just like, one dropped catch can sometimes turn the match.

Rule 2: Law of Gestation – After we sow a seed, we need to give some time for it to grow and start giving fruits. Before it could even sprout, if we keep digging to check, then it may never grow, forget about giving fruits. We need to have complete faith, trust and belief in the process and give time for our actions to produce results. Sometimes, the results could be immediate or it could take years or at times the results could even show up in the next life, depending on what seeds we have planted.  The fact is, you always get what you sow. Patience and perseverance is the key. Sachin at last was part of the world cup winning team, even if it took him 22 years.

Rule 3: Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life: Deepak Chopra calls it the goal of all goals. Most of us, even today are not sure of our goal in life. Is it making money, wealth, status etc or what is it that gives us the ultimate happiness, joy and freedom? The key is to know our purpose and according to Deepak Chopra, it is-

First – To know that we are here on this planet to discover our true self, to find out that we are spiritual beings or divinity in disguise. We are extensions of that super power and our purpose is to realize that the power lies within us and not outside.

Second - Each of us has unique talent/talents and we are here on this planet to express it. Our talent is so unique that no other individual has the same talent or that expression of that talent. We are the happiest when we are expressing it and we even lose track of time. For Sachin, the joy comes from playing cricket.

Third – We are here to serve our fellow human beings with our talent. By asking the question - How can I help all those with whom I come into contact, using our talent? We combine the expression of our talent with service to humanity. This gives us access to unlimited abundance. Our goal should be of giving and not receiving. Like our Men in blue, entertain the entire nation by expressing their cricketing talent.

By following these 3 simple spiritual rules, we all can play this game of life really well and score any number of runs and centuries, and not just limit it to 18,000 runs or one hundred centuries. We can script our lives, break our own records and win the World cup too!! 


- Savitha Reddy