Impetuous Mind - 2

 In the preceding section, we observed the issue with Duryodhana. He acknowledges what is appropriate for him, but it is not in his nature to act accordingly. Similarly, he recognizes what is unsuitable for him, yet his nature compels him to do so. He confides in Shri Krishna that some unknown force is responsible for this behavior, and he has no desire to change his innate tendencies. On the other hand, Arjuna also faces the same dilemma. Thus, he seeks Shri Krishna's guidance on how to overcome this challenge.

Before we discover Krishna's response, let us examine if this problem is significant in our lives as well. In the 1960s, a prominent psychologist named Walter Mitchell conducted an experiment on four-year-old children. He sat each child in a room and offered them a marshmallow, an American candy. However, if the child could resist the temptation to consume the marshmallow until Walter returned to the room in about ten minutes, they would receive an additional marshmallow as a reward. In essence, if they could overcome the impulse to immediately eat the marshmallow in front of them, they would be rewarded with double the number of marshmallows in the future. Although it was their favorite treat to eat, refraining from eating it immediately could benefit their future.

Fourteen years later, Walter surveyed these children, and the results were striking. The children who resisted the urge to devour the marshmallow immediately and received an extra one as a reward in their childhood had made significant progress in their careers, sports, family life, and overall well-being. These children had developed confidence and exhibited impressive accomplishments. Conversely, the children who were unable to resist their desire to eat the marshmallow immediately and did not receive an additional one when Walter returned were left behind in life. Numerous videos of this test can be found on YouTube.

You can watch one of these videos at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7t-HxuI17Y. It is a particularly amusing video, so I encourage you to take a look.

This Emotional intelligence is a critical factor in determining our overall progress. In fact, our future success and well-being often hinge more on our emotional quotient (EQ) than our intelligence quotient (IQ). As such, the answer that Shri Krishna provided to Arjuna is especially significant for our own personal growth. In the following article, we will explore this answer and examine its practical applications in our daily lives. Santosh Karkhanis Thane #ImpetuousMind #SantoshKarkhanisThane