One of the biggest motivators that drives me to be so dedicated to this cause and committed to this column is the deep, profound, introspective and challenging questions that I get from all of you. Trust me, I love answering these kinds of questions as it really aligns with the whole purpose of my column and also provides me with an opportunity to share my real-life experiences rather than write philosophical suppositions which I have no clue about. This week’s conversation is going to be quite an interesting one.
Written in the Stars? #TrueStory
I FAILED for the FIRST TIME in my life and lost two years in my 12th. I was a disgrace to my family ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I was the grandson of the GREAT PAEDIATRICIAN Dr DG BENAKAPPA and Dr Asha Benakappa’s son. Born into a family full of academicians with numerous gold medals, I couldn’t even clear my PCMB which was a prerequisite for Medicine. This is where SOCIETY reared its UGLY HEAD and branded me an OUTCAST. I was taken to an astrologer in the year 2004 by one of my close friends and you can imagine my plight when he said “You’re never going to earn well or improve in any aspect till the year 2022! However, your good time will start by 2018 and you’ll get married to a wonderful girl and from then on, you will slowly begin to grow in all aspects of your life.” He also gave me predictions about numerous other things and I was furious! 18 years of NOT EARNING? It was too much for me to handle and I set off to prove him WRONG! Especially coming from this kind of a family which had PROGRAMMED ME TO BE RATIONAL and SCIENTIFIC. He would always tell me that I’d pass and after my exams would tell me that I wouldn’t and the reason he said so before was that I wouldn’t even have attempted if I knew what would happen. I, on the other hand, was confident that I WOULD as I had written well. The END RESULT — he would turn out to be right. Finally, I got fed up and didn’t really write my last attempt as I had lost interest and that’s when he said that I would pass. I was dumbfounded as every time I had written well, I would fail and I had performed very mediocrely according to my conscience and I actually PASSED! He was right about almost everything in my life to date and hit the nail on the head even when it came to my marriage. I write this with the utmost sincerity, I REALLY COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER WIFE!
The KARMIC Connection?
Does this mean that you blindly believe in your KUNDALI/JATAKA or DESTINY? NO!
It’s still not the year 2022 and here’s what my astrologer got right. I’ve left no stone unturned to seek good opportunities and never got much. I’m still not earning well and financial stability has always been a question mark. For my potential and capability, I could have easily become a celebrity but something always stops me from getting fruitful results.
ENTER MY KARMA: if I had altered my unconditional and genuine personality and had NOT HELPED people throughout my life, I would have never been able to be comfortable even during these supposedly BAD TIMES. I have a roof over my head, the house is running thanks to my mother and though both my parents are retired and it pains me to be a burden on them, I still somehow manage to contribute financially to the best of my ability. What I had sowed, I’m STILL REAPING...
Is it all KISMET?
If I had decided to rely on this astrologer as he was pretty accurate in his predictions, I would have not lifted a finger for another two years, ie. 2022. But I took his advice and accepted his predictions whilst UNCONDITIONALLY still EXPENDING efforts in the field that I have developed UTMOST PASSION TOWARDS PSYCHOTHERAPY! I have won awards and recognition because of my HARD WORK and though I’m an MBA, thanks to this wonderful TEAM AT EDEX and the support of The New Indian Express Group, I got an opportunity to PROVE MY CREDIBILITY of being multi-faceted. Though I was not VENGEFUL, I’m very glad that I silenced all the naysayers who made me go through hell by branding me a failure during the LOW periods of my life. The cherry on top... I’ve managed to MAKE A NAME FOR MYSELF in a forte in which my family’s legacy had no use nor did I have any support from veterans in this industry. Bottom line... Forget about what your STARS tell you, just keep doing what you LOVE without any EXPECTATIONS. Going by Science, Newton’s Third Law says ‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction’. Your efforts too will have an equal and opposite reaction, all you need to do is have PATIENCE.
Simply put, I don’t swear by astrology nor deny it. I’m not trying to be diplomatic either! I just pray that you get genuine people to guide you, take their suggestion but always be aware of your KARMIC CYCLE and never STOP DOING WHAT YOU LOVE. Money or success might come to you only when you’re destined for it, but HOPE will keep you going until then.
Remember! HOPE IS THE FUEL OF LIFE and we NEED FUEL to reach our destination (DESTINY), Astrology is like a GPS system and it doesn’t mean that there’s only one route, WE NEED TO REMEMBER that it’s ONE of MANY. The VEHICLE that we choose is our BELIEF SYSTEM and different terrains require different vehicles. CHANGE is the only CONSTANT and MODULATING our lives to change is the key.
Knowledge is ENDLESS and we still are in infancy when it comes to understanding the world, which makes it even more important to have an open MIND and accept things but not dispose of things we don’t believe in as one day, that might be what actually saves us. I end my column today with one of my most famous quotes: “LIFE IS AN EXACT CONTRADICTION OF WHAT WE WANT IT TO BE!” Think about it...
With Regards,
Adarsh Benakappa Basavaraj
“The Coach”
