Those of you who do not follow tennis – Daniil Medvedev is a Russian tennis player. He is currently ranked 13th in the world and has won the US Open. He is a charismatic character and somewhat controversial and modern tennis needs charismatic sportspersons. Otherwise today we have Sinner and Alcaraz dominating men’s tennis to such an extent that people may lose interest in following the sport. Modern tennis needs some players to challenge their dominance and Mr. Medvedev is capable of doing so.
Mr. Medvedev is from Russia (and draws flak from the crowd for that reason) and has also had his share of controversies and it appears to have done him some damage psychologically. Here is a quote:
“Today a kid stopped dreaming. From now on I am playing for myself, for my family, to provide for my family, for people that trust in me, of course for all the Russians because I feel a lot of support there. If there is a tournament on hard courts in Moscow, before Roland Garros or Wimbledon, I am going to go there even if I miss Wimbledon or Roland Garros or whatever. The kid stopped dreaming. The kid is going to play for himself. That’s it. That’s my story.
This para (from an article in the Indian Express) got my attention because I feel the same way myself. I am also now completely selfish and have lost whatever idealism I used to have. These feelings are natural when you feel that you have been badly treated by society.
But is that really such a bad thing?
How can we help a disillusioned person like Medvedev (or me for that matter) to not become embittered?
A combination of Buddhist mindfulness and Advaita Vedanta philosophy should do the trick.
Buddhist mindfulness will help in dealing with your negative feelings. You simply witness the disturbed feelings that arise without reacting. They will pass away in due course and then you can think rationally about your situation. The books of the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, should help. He was one of the pioneers who brought Buddhist mindfulness to the west.
And Advaita Vedanta teaches that the sense of a self separate from the rest of existence is a delusion. The Universe is nondual. In the sense that you and all the other objects you perceive in the Universe are just one reality (without a second).
The findings of Quantum Physics also support this hypothesis. From a Google search:
In the mid-20th century, Giardi pioneered “cosmic chemistry,” proposing a scientifically-based theory that the entire universe functions as a unified, organic entity, analogous to a single living body.
So it makes sense for us to be motivated by benevolence as far as possible (in our dealings with people and other sentient beings). They are no different from us.
Advaita Vedanta also teaches us that all that we experience in this life has already been decided in advance. According to the concept of Prarabdha:
In Hindu philosophy, Prarabdha (प्रारब्ध) refers to the portion of past karma (actions) from previous lives that has begun to manifest in the present life, shaping one’s destiny or fate for this current existence. It is the “begun” or “fructified” karma that must be experienced, resulting in the happiness and sorrow one encounters. While it cannot be changed or avoided, it can be exhausted by experiencing it, and its effects can be minimized through wisdom and righteous actions.
These are then completely selfish reasons for us to be good natured and benevolent in our dealings with others. All that happens to us has been decided in advance. Our only job is to be wise and righteous.
I am not sure if Mr. Medvedev will read this blog. He probably won’t and even if he does he may not be very impressed by such abstract concepts. But I am impressed. I am an intellectual sort of person interested in spirituality.
Perhaps Mr. Medvedev can read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (the 2nd century Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher). He is more than likely to find guidance there.
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