According to the legend, Adi Shankaracharya’s parent Shivaguru had a dream in which Lord Shiva gave him two choices: either a prodigious son with a short lifespan or a mediocre one with longevity. And Shivaguru, opted for prodigy. And thus Shankaracharya was born.
My focus of this post is not the Shankaracharya, but the fascination with the prodigy and indifference towards mediocrity that lie within human society. We all long to be the best in life. We admire and adore that is the best. It is in human nature to yearn for extraordinary and perhaps this yearning is behind the many feats that human civilization has achieved.
But is being mediocre such a sin that Shankara’s parent opted for a prodigy? No doubt that the prodigies contribute to the world in more substantial terms than who are not, yet the value of being mediocre in this world becomes no less. Being mediocre means having no special skills yet having strong zeal to excel. Being mediocre means having the opportunity to improve upon with every single day that is passing by. And learning new things everyday accomplishes the goal of being a human. And as long as we accomplish this goal, there should be no shame in being mediocre.
All gods of ours have to be extraordinary in their image. We cannot tolerate our gods weeping and being weak. That is why we often glorify their lives with events that make them a larger than life existence. But we forget that our gods have also felt average and mediocre on occasions. When wife of our lord was abducted, he must have also felt being average and mediocre human being, when our lord had to retreat from a battlefield, he must also have felt average and mediocre.
What I am trying to say is that being average and mediocre is also about being part of God and Nature. So being mediocre should also be respected when we consider about traits of human beings.
We should celebrate mediocrity for it ensconces in itself the seed of grit to grow with life.
P.S: This post is outcome of some ‘inspirational talking’ from Sujatha Sathya (an accomplished writer and a fellow blogger) at the time when I was feeling de-motivated to write anything.
There is nothing called EXACT MEDIOCRE...
ReplyDeleteNeither best nor worst its all a temporary state of comparison..
loved the way you started :)
Keep blogging..
Sometimes being mediocre will helps us get satisfied with what we have :)
Don't give up your writing !
-WiT
Cheers to mediocrity by way of going with the flow....:))
ReplyDeleteMediocre or genius, ultimately what matters is how one lives, what contribution he/she makes to others, etc. Even mediocre people contribute much...
ReplyDeleteur writing is definitely not average or mediocre and the reason why i eagerly await ur post. brilliant writing again.
ReplyDeletePoint well taken.
ReplyDeleteSujatha did bring out the best in you Neeraj. I loved this post, I yearn for perfection but who has defined perfection? Who has perfected it?
ReplyDeleteWonderful writing, Neeraj :) It truly made me ponder the subject a lot ... maybe being mediocre gives us a reason to strive for brilliance?
ReplyDeleteIf you're at the top, where do you go from there? Kudos to Sujatha for the motivation. She will surely be happy with the results which are far from mediocrity! :)
Very well written Neeraj.....I always love your writing...You are the best...:)
ReplyDeletevery nice..could relate to this..something I've always thought of too
ReplyDeletei knew the Shankaracharya story but i was not expecting your unique take on it & was surprised by the way you took off from that story to build your perspective on mediocrity.
ReplyDeletei actually went back & read the 3rd & 4th para again to grasp it fully & to see if i shared those thoughts too & realized i never gave these ideas a serious thought. this was refreshing.
"strong zeal to excel" are the magic words here. might i add - consistent, unwavering zeal?
(oh about the mention, aiyoo i was so shocked by it & actually blushed seeing it)
@ DEEPAK: Sure I won't give up writing,and thanx for visiting and commenting.
ReplyDelete@ IRFANuddin:May the mediocrity becomes the flow for superiority! Thanx for visiting and commenting.
@ Matheikal:Yes true that one's contribution to the life of other is what that matters in life.Thanx for visiting and commenting.
@ Debajyoti:thanks for your wonderful words.
@ Hariharan: Thanx for your comments and your visit.
@ Chintan: Thanx for saying so Chintan and loving the post.
@ Princesa Fiona:Thanx for your beautiful words Fiona.I feel really proud of your line: She will surely be happy with the results which are far from mediocrity! :). Yes Sujatha surely deservs your Kudos.
@ Shalini: I am flattered.
@ Maitreyee: Thanx Maitreyee for your comments and I feel great about the fact that you could relate to it.
@ Sujatha: Your mentoring is behind this post so the mention was a certain.And I again thank you for your encouring words.
Very encouraging post, Neeraj. Have been reading your writing for a while now and I like much of what you do post. This life is too precious to not commit one's self to a mission life you have. Wish you all the best, brother.
ReplyDeleteThanx a lot for your wonderful comments Subhorup.Expect more of your visits.
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