One Mindset Change Everyone Should Learn

Reading time – 6 minutes

It’s fascinating to read about the biographies and stories of great personalities from eras gone by. Famous statesmen, rulers, warriors, inventors, philosophers, freedom fighters, revolutionaries, saints, etc.

Even if these people lived in the past, their experiences can give us valuable lessons to live our own lives. Despite all the incredible inventions and discoveries in science and technology in modern times, we have to deal with similar problems that people in the past had to face. Perhaps, the form may be different today. But in substance, the problems such as dealing with stress, anxiety, fear of the unknown, natural calamities, diseases and pandemics were similar.

Recently, I read about two men who lived a century ago but left an indelible mark in history. These two great men were Thomas Edison and Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Now if I were to ask you to name a few differences between the two, you may be quick to point out that one was an American, while the other was an Indian! A couple of other key differences are:

• Edison was an inventor (one of the greatest of his times). On the other hand, Tilak was a freedom fighter (recognized as one of the first leaders of the Indian Independence movement).
• Edison was home schooled till he turned sixteen. After that, Edison self-taught himself (apparently, Edison’s teacher found him to be ‘addled’, and his angry mother retorted, “I will teach my Tommy at home!”). Tilak, on the other hand was a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Law i.e. a double graduate (Note that in those times in India, even attaining a single degree was considered a significant achievement)

However, as we go beneath the surface, a common thread running between these two men comes to light. It is in how these two men looked at adversity and what they did about it.

Let’s look at Edison first.

When he was in his 30s, Edison established an industrial research lab in an area known as Menlo Park. Edison had said that he wanted the lab to have “a stock of almost every conceivable material”. Apparently, Edison’s claim was serious, since in a subsequent newspaper article published in 1887 (when Edison was in his 40s), it was mentioned that the lab contained “eight thousand kinds of chemicals, every kind of screw made, every size of needle, every kind of cord or wire, hair of humans, horses, hogs, cows, rabbits, goats, minx, camels … silk in every texture, cocoons, various kinds of hoofs, shark’s teeth, deer horns, tortoise shell … cork, resin, varnish and oil, ostrich feathers, a peacock’s tail, jet, amber, rubber, all ores … and the list goes on”.

Imagine the efforts Edison and his team may have had to endure only to collect all this material, and to laboriously document the key elements and properties of each such item. The lab itself was a marvel in those times.

Now imagine the horror when late one evening his beloved factory at Menlo Park went up in flames. Edison was 67 at the time!

It is said that when the factory caught on fire, multiple fire engines were trying to contain the rising flames, to no avail. The strange chemicals inside shot up huge green and yellow flames. All of Thomas Edison’s life’s work was getting destroyed. Fire is a humble servant, but when unchecked, it can be a cruel master. Research material, prototypes, everything that Edison had worked on was getting gutted in flames. Surely no insurance would cover these intangibles. Devastated employees and onlookers were frightful to even look at Edison. And what did Edison do? Did he wail? Did he curse his luck? Strangely, he did not!

He instead excitedly told his son to get his mother. He said, “Go bring your mother, and ask her to bring all her friends. They will never see a fire like this again”.

When the dumbstruck son looked in disbelief, Edison calmly responded, “Don’t worry. It’s alright. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish” (Surely it wasn’t all rubbish!)

Edison told a reporter the next day that he wasn’t too old to make a fresh start! He said, “I’ve been through a lot of things like this.” And he was true to his words.

Within three weeks the factory was partially running, and the team was busy doing the thing they did the best – inventing new products. Despite a loss of almost $1 million dollars (more than $23 million in today’s dollars), Edison and his team made nearly $10 million dollars in revenue that year ($200-plus million today)!

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Now let’s look at Tilak

In the early stages of India’s freedom struggle, two brave Bengali youths hurled a bomb to kill a British Magistrate. Tilak was already taking the British Government head on with his call for Swaraj through his two newspapers. In an editorial after the attack, Tilak praised the efforts of these two youths as “revolutionaries”; and called for an immediate Swaraj!

The British Government knew that Tilak’s influence was rapidly on the rise, and how dangerous his writing could be for their rule in India. It was in their interest to keep him away. Using the editorial as a pretext, he was charged with sedition, and at the end of (a very biased) trial, Tilak was sentenced to spend six years in jail in a far-off prison in Mandalay, Burma. Tilak knew that this was a deliberate plan to sabotage India’s struggle for freedom.

However, he remained unflinched. Looking at his calm demeanor, the judge asked whether Tilak would like to say anything. What Tilak said next gives me goose bumps!

Tilak said “All that I wish to say is that, in spite of the verdict of the jury, I still maintain that I am innocent. There are higher powers that rule the destinies of men and nations; and I think, it may be the will of Providence that the cause I represent may be benefited more by my suffering than by my pen and tongue.”

Cut off from his motherland over the next six years, instead of rotting away, Tilak chose to act. The prison environment was harsh, the days were hot, and the nights were cold. It played havoc with Tilak’s diabetes. Yet it was in this period that Tilak found the solitude to raise his consciousness to the next level, and he wrote the acclaimed commentary on the Bhagawad Gita in Marathi. He titled it as “Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Rahasya, athava Karmayog Shastra!” (“Secret of the Gita – the science of Action”). According to Tilak, the key message of the Bhagwad Gita is to act. After all, it was this very message that Shri Krishna gave to Arjuna. Arjuna was asked to ‘act’, to follow his dharma of a warrior!

While in prison, Tilak knew that India’s independence was just a matter of time. He wanted to prepare the people of India not only for the immediate struggle for freedom, but also for the yet-to-arrive post-independence era, where he knew action will be vital!

Upon his release from Mandalay, it is said that the ever-paranoid British Government confiscated the handwritten manuscript of the book. The pretext given was “to check if there’s anything written that’s against the Crown”.

At certain point, it seemed that the Government may not return the manuscript. Unfazed, Tilak mentioned that he will reproduce the entire text again since they cannot confiscate the mind that produced this work. Ultimately the manuscript was released; and the book was first published in 1915. Rest, as they say, is history. Gita Rahasya is still regarded as a masterpiece for anyone who wants to learn the ‘law of action’ propounded by Lord Krishna in the revered Shrimad Bhagwad Gita.

Concluding Thoughts

Sometimes, when we read or hear about the struggle endured by other people, it can fuel us and can give us the necessary inner strength and courage to face our own internal demons. After all, we need to first win the battle in our own mind before hitting the proverbial axe on the tree!

After his factory was gutted down, Edison did not balk and did not call it a day (remember he was already 67). He could have declared retirement, and nobody would have batted an eyelid. Yet he chose to respond differently.

Similarly, six years is a long time. If I look at my life, just six years ago, my wife and I were a happy DINK (Double Income No Kids) couple. And it was for six years that Tilak had to stay in prison. Had Tilak blamed the biased jury and lamented his time there, the Gita Rahasya may not have been written depriving millions of the insights that he had to offer.

Both these men were cut of a different cloth. They thrived in adversity. When the odds were stacked against them, it gave them more vigour and courage to act. When success is uncertain or inconceivable, or when we look at the time it will take to fructify, putting in the efforts today may seem meaningless. It is in such instances that most people decide to choose the path of least resistance and they give up.

Ultimately, it is how you respond to your failures or setbacks (which are beyond your control) that defines who you become. Edison and Tilak made their choice. It is up to you to make yours.

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^{Lightbulb cover photo by Raul Varzar on Unsplash}