Good Fortune

“…Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities…” (Lord Krishna speaking to Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.47)

We all know certain people who seem to be luckier than others. No matter what the situation, things always seem to work out for them, while for others the opposite situation is true. No matter how much effort they put in or how hard they try, things always go wrong for them.

In the 1980s there was a popular children’s television cartoon show by the name of Inspector Gadget. The show focused on the crime fighting escapades of the main character, Inspector Gadget, who was sort of a bumbler. He had all these special gadgets at his disposal to help him fight crime, but he never knew how to operate them properly. Each episode had a similar story line: the villain, Dr. Claw, had some elaborate scheme hatched up and Gadget was deputed to try and stop it. However, he would always be led astray, going completely down the wrong path. Gadget always had his niece Penny there to help him. She would always manage to solve the mystery along with help from her dog Brain, and then give the credit to her father. In this way, Dr. Claw’s plans were always thwarted, leaving him to utter his famous phrase at the end of each show, “I’ll get you Gadget!”

In the sport of tennis, the most prestigious tournament is Wimbledon. Occurring annually in London, it is the title coveted by all tennis players, for it has a rich tradition associated with it. World number one Roger Federer, who many consider the greatest player of all time, has won Wimbledon six times, while fellow player Andy Roddick has never won it. The two have played against each other in the final round of Wimbledon on three separate occasions, with Federer winning every time. In the 2004 final, it appeared that Roddick had Federer’s number. Playing very well and taking the opening set, he had Federer on the ropes. In Wimbledon and the other three Grand Slam tournaments, the first player to win three sets wins the match. Towards the end of the second set, Federer was up 6-5 with Roddick serving to force a tiebreaker. In tennis, players alternative service games in a set until one player wins 6 games leading by 2. If the score reaches 6-6, then they play a twelve point tiebreaker to determine the winner of the set. Roddick was two points away from forcing a tiebreaker when suddenly, one of Federer’s shots hit the net chord and dribbled over, giving him a set point. Federer would win the next point to even the match at one set all. Roddick still played tough though, as he was leading in the third set when all of a sudden it started raining. Federer regrouped during the rain delay and rallied to win the third set and eventually the match.

In the 2009 Wimbledon final, the two met again, and this time it really looked like Roddick was going to win. After winning the first set, Roddick went up 6 points to 2 in the second set tiebreaker. The first player to win seven points leading by at least two points wins a tiebreaker. With four set points in hand, it seemed for sure that Roddick would take a commanding lead in the match. However, Federer rallied and pulled off a miracle by coming back and winning the tiebreaker, leveling the match at one set all. Roddick would continue to hang tough, as the two played an epic fifth and deciding set. In most Grand Slam tournaments, players don’t play a tiebreaker in the fifth set. This means that play continues until one player has a lead of at least two games. The two duked it out, until Federer finally won 16-14, making it one of the greatest tennis matches ever to be played. Once again Roddick came up short. In tennis, if a player can regularly hold serve, meaning win the games in which they are serving, they have an excellent chance of winning. Roddick not only held serve regularly, but he didn’t lose serve for the entire match until the very last game. He played the match of his life, and STILL lost.

Now obviously being successful in tennis or other sports requires more than just luck. However, the lesson we can take away from these examples is that we are not the doer. As much as we may think ourselves to be the cause of actions and results, we are not. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His energies are responsible for making the world go around. Our karma also plays a role, determining our future fortunes and misfortunes.

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

This is the central tenet of the Vedas. When Krishna incarnated on earth as the pious prince Lord Rama, He underwent many hardships. Things always seemed to go wrong for the Lord, with His father exiling Him from the kingdom and His wife being kidnapped by the demon Ravana. As bad as things got, the Lord and His younger brother Lakshmana always remained steady. In the Ramayana, the two brothers make many references to the fact that destiny and fate control everything and that we are not the doers. If a higher power is in charge of everything, then we have no reason to overly lament over bad times or to overly rejoice over good fortune.

Now this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t act. It’d be very easy to just say, “Well, I don’t have any control over anything, so I’m just going to stop all of my activities altogether.” The key is to act without attachment to the results of our actions.

“Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna. Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.48)

The easiest way to do this is to perform everything for the pleasure of the Lord. Acting only to please Him and to make Him happy, we free ourselves from the effects of karma. Happiness and sadness, distress and relief, these are the dualities of material nature that come and go. We should rise above them by directing our actions towards pleasing the Supreme Lord Krishna. If we become attached to Him, then His wife, the goddess of fortune, will see it to that we always have the proper means at our disposal to carry out our service. Often thought of as the giver of wealth, she actually provides good fortune to us so that we may use it properly. Goddess Lakshmi is always serving the Supreme Lord in the spiritual world, so she bestows her blessings on those people who will act in the same way. By sincerely taking to devotional service, we can be assured of always having good luck.

14th for Federer

Congratulations to Roger Federer for winning his fourteenth Grand Slam title and completing the career Grand Slam with his victory at the French Open over Sweden’s Robin Soderling. In professional tennis, there are tournaments held almost every week of the year, but four of them stand out as the most prestigious. Known as the Grand Slams, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open are held annually and known as the toughest tournaments to win due to their best of five set format. Federer, with fourteen Grand Slam titles under his belt, now shares the record with former player Pete Sampras.

The French Open title didn’t come easy for Roger. Since the beginning of the 2004 season, he has dominated professional tennis, setting unprecedented records of excellence. He won Wimbledon five years in a row, the U.S. Open five years in a row, and the Australian Open three times. He appeared in a record ten consecutive Grand Slam finals, and twenty consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, a streak which is still active. However, the one titled that eluded him was the French Open. The only Grand Slam played on a clay court, Federer had lost to Rafael Nadal the last four years at the French Open, the last three years in the finals. To make matters worse, Nadal ended Federer’s streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles last year in a thrilling final that many regard as the greatest match ever played. Nadal also took over the number one ranking which he still currently holds. At this year’s Australian Open in January, Nadal stopped Federer’s initial bid at fourteen Grand Slam titles by beating him in the final. Federer was so devastated that he was drawn to tears during the trophy presentation.

The future didn’t look good for Federer, whom many considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest player to ever play. Many were wondering if he’d ever win another Grand Slam title. During this year’s clay court season, which consists of a series of smaller tournaments leading up to the French Open, Nadal dominated throughout, winning three titles. However, in Madrid, the last tournament right before the French Open, Federer surprised everyone by beating Nadal in the final. That made this year’s French Open all the more intriguing. As with the other Grand Slam events, the French Open is a single elimination tournament where a player is required to win seven consecutive rounds or matches to claim the title. At this year’s tournament, Federer struggled to get through the early rounds, surviving tough matches against lower ranked players. However, good fortune seemed to find him when Nadal lost in the fourth round to Robin Soderling. Nadal had won the previous four French Opens, so this opened the door for Federer to take the title. He would never get a better opportunity to win the one title that had eluded him. With a tremendous amount of pressure on his shoulders, Federer fought his way to the finals, digging himself out of two matches where it appeared he was headed for defeat.

For the final with Soderling, the crowd at Roland Garros Stadium, the main show court at the French Open, was completely behind Federer. They gave him a standing ovation when he walked on the court for the match. Generally tennis fans are very respectful to both players in a match, applauding good shots played by either player. This time however, they were solidly behind Federer. The most striking scene was when Roger served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. The crowd it seemed was pushing him across the finish line, cheering him on before every point. Such a sight is almost never seen in tennis. Towards the end of a one-sided match, tennis crowds almost always pull for the underdog, hoping that they will get to see more tennis. This was not the case on this occasion. After the match, the crowd erupted in a thunderous applause. They kept cheering for Federer, sharing their love for him.

This incident is reminiscent of the time when Lord Rama triumphantly returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared on earth in human form as Lord Rama many thousands of years ago. Born as the eldest son of the king of Ayodhya, Maharaja Dashratha, Rama was loved and adored by all. He was completely devoted to the rules of dharma, or religiosity, and to the welfare of His fellow citizens. When the Lord reached the appropriate age, the citizens were eagerly anticipating His coronation as the new king. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Rama was instead ordered by His father to leave the kingdom and spend fourteen years in the forest as an exile. His wife Sita and younger brother Lakshmana would accompany Him, and they would meet hard times in the forest. Sita would be kidnapped by the evil Rakshasa demon Ravana. Having lost His wife and kingdom, the Lord had plenty of reason for despair, but He persevered and eventually rescued His wife and killed Ravana. Once the fourteen years had expired, the Lord triumphantly returned to Ayodhya, where He was greeted with great pomp and celebration. The citizens loved Rama very much and they had tied their fortunes to Him. Their happiness only came from seeing Rama happy. Just as with Federer at the French Open, the people of Ayodhya derived great pleasure and bliss from cheering on their man.

Deep down, everyone has a soft spot in their heart. This is due to the living entity’s eternal relationship with the Krishna, or God. The spirit soul is part and parcel of God, but coming under the influence of the three qualities of material nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance), its judgment has been clouded. Everything in this material world is a perverted reflection of things that exist in the spiritual world. The pleasure we derive from praising others stems from the same feelings that exist in the spiritual world. We are all more comfortable rooting for someone and cheering them on, than being against someone and wishing them bad fortune. If it feels so good to praise our favorite athletes, family and friends, just imagine how great it would feel to praise God. This is actually the aim of life, our reason for being on this earth. This human form of life is meant for God realization, to elevate our consciousness to where we become devotees of the Lord. The devotees’ minds are always with Krishna, and He in turn, is always thinking of them, as declared by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gita:

“For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” (Bg, 6.30)

“No one is envied by Me, neither am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all; yet whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me; and I am a Friend to him.” (Bg, 9.29)

Instead of spending all our time forgetting about God or thinking ourselves to be God, we simply need to show Him our love. This will give us true happiness.