I am starting off this article with a conclusion: that if you follow the techniques discussed, then you can positively overcome any challenging situation you are presently dealing with your life.
I am also attempting a dual approach of techniques + interesting History; combining different life’s challenges with a particular monument of historical significance, so you not only relate well to that challenge but also learn some interesting historical facts along the way!
I have set out to list down various life situations and techniques that will help in programming the mind for Seeing Beyond the Wall. That is my sincere hope, seeing beyond the challenge with the aid of mastering-the-mind techniques, to drive a sense of purpose in the readers.
So now, get ready to feel completely recharged (motivationally as well as historically) as you read on:
Take it in your hand:
Seeing beyond the challenge also means sometimes you have to see before the challenge. Every situation you come in contact with is solely handcrafted by none other than YOU.
If you rewind a bit to draw out a karmic pathway that led to this present situation, you will realize not only the cause-effect relationship of your past actions but also that of holding all the Power to Create what you are currently holding in hand.
If you can create a challenge, then you sure can create a solution as well, because you are POWERFUL! But often we totally overlook this aspect, when we are staring at a formidable challenge right in front of us.
The origin of the historic city of Tughlaqabad and the Tughlaqabad Fort goes to the period of the Delhi Sultanate (AD 1191–1526). The Tughlaqs (AD 1321–1414) who followed the Khiljis (AD1290–1321) were great builders and the city of Tughlaqabad and Tughlaqabad Fort were theirfirst major architectural achievement.The story behind the foundation of Tughlaqabad is an interesting one. Ghazi Malik, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, was once a slave of Mubarak Khilji, the last Khilji sultan. One day, while walking by the area where the Tughlaqabad Fort is now located, Ghazi Malik suggested to his master that the rocky prominence would be an ideal site for building a fort. The Khilji sultan laughed at his slave and suggested that the slave build a fort there when he became a sultan.When Ghazi Malik, as Ghiyas-ud- din Tughlaq, founded the Tughlaq Dynasty in 1321, he did just that—Tughlaqabad is Delhi’s most colossal and awesome fort, even in its ruined state.The fort of Tughlaqabad was completed rapidly in a short span of four years (1321–25). The fort’s massive battlements and bastions (some as high as 15–30 m, built of enormous blocks of stone and walls 10 m thick in places) do not look as if they are the handiwork of mortals. Within its sky-touching walls, double-storied bastions, and gigantic towers were housed grand palaces, splendid mosques, and audience halls. The city lay on the eastern outskirts of the massive fort.Tughlaqabad is a formidable reminder of Delhi’s embattled past and the terror and valor associated with that period. It was a period of political unrest and the Delhi Sultanate had to face a number of attacks from hoards of marauding Mongols, who descended on it in waves from the north. Ghiyas-ud- din, in order to counter the Mongol threat, repeatedly routed them and raised pyramids of enemy’s heads and used elephants to crush the captives to death.
The massive fortifications of Tughlaqabad, with immense circular bastions, were raised by Ghiyas-ud- din.
Rejoice than Retreat:
Obstacles are gifts or breakthroughs in disguise, which most of the times we choose to interpret as trouble and tend to retreat, hardly do we recognize them as blessings and rejoice their occurrences.
A simple technique to make the right choice, that is to rejoice, is to use your “Imagination”. If you just imagine what would be your life made of, if you dissolve this obstacle permanently? You would see a magic unfold in the form of a natural process in which all solutions for that obstacle starts streaming in front of you.
If you could imagine one more thing, how would this one obstacle of yours branches out to many related sub-obstacles, and how by dissolving this one main thing would automatically terminate those many sub things and then how life changes for better with an entire gamut of Obstacles out of your way!?
Isn’t this called entering the state called Ultimate Perception in Life? Nirvana! Rejoicing like Grasshoppers on Summer Days, if such a state occurs in life, then the life changes dramatically for the better.
Qutub Minar is one of India’s historical places, located at 15 km South of New Delhi. Qutub Minar is one of the tallest minaret in India and made of red Sandstone and Marble blocks. It is tallest minaret because of its total height of 73m from ground zero.
One of the Mughal rulers, Qutub-Ud-Din-Aibak, got victory over the Delhi’s last Hindu Kingdom and built Qutub Minar in 1193 in honor of the victory. The Minar has 14.3m diameter at the bottom and only 2.7m on the Top.
Though Qutub-Ud-Din-Aibak started the construction in 1193, the structure was not completed by him. He completed only the base storey of Minar. His successor and Iltutmush created 3 more storeys over the base storey, of the first Mughal ruler Qutub-Ud-Din-Aibak.
In 1368 Firoz Shah Tughlak added last storey of Qutub minar, making it the tallest Minaret that marks the 1st victory of the Mughal Rule in Delhi Sultanate.
Smaller self to Larger Self:
What are you today, is a culmination of various challenges you survived in the past. Then why aren’t your present problems being given the same treatment? A platform meant for the transformation of a future YOU?
It is a simple technique to follow; every time you notice a new obstacle, actively ask whether the Today’s You is better than Yesterday’s You. It is possible that there is a disagreement initially, as any new exercise would produce results only over time. This is because of you are just beginning to be mindful! And that’s fine, as long as you continue to ask yourself this question because soon you would be noticing a difference as you become more conscious.
Isn’t it a perfect way to come to peace with your today’s fresh challenge? I bet it is because you see that every day is growth for the Self.
The India Gate monument is raised to a height of 42 meters and is formerly known as India Gate. On original basis, the place was also known by the name of All India War Memorial.
This monument was built under the supervision and control of Duke of Connaught during the year 1921 and the building was dedicated to Lord Viceroy – Lord Irwin, at the time of 1931.
The pillars along with whole monument representing the India Gate were built over a stone platform known as Red Bharatpur stone.
The word INDIA is encrypted in bold letters on either ends of the monument and the signs of XIX along with MCM on the sides. Throughout the walls of India Gate, right from top to bottom, the names of all those soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the World War 1 & Afghan war could be found.
It is because of this reason that the place is very much favored and having a look at it, you also get to acknowledge amongst yourself the feeling of patriotism.
It is for those unknown soldiers that a flame is also seen ignited on India Gate, which is also known as “Amar Jawan Jyoti” and this flame is located at the center beneath the Gate. The flame is burning in honor of these soldiers since the year 1971.
Focus on the Flower, Not the Mud:
If you were a Lotus Flower, then you would surely do this! If a Lotus flower can fully accept the fact that it can blossom into a beautiful flower, only by floating on the mud for a while, then why not you too accept?
To set the right focus; write down your life’s mission or purpose. This shall be a very thoughtful exercise, spending days in solitude to inquire deeply, to extract the real meaning of life.
Extracting True Purpose? While writing down your life’s purpose, you have to be careful enough not to fall prey for Big/Small, Compare/Contrast & Impactful/Feathery. What I mean is you don’t necessarily need a Big purpose for the sake of being big, a smaller one that is closer to heart is the best one to cling onto. Likewise, a lighter impactful goal that is also unique, compared to that of role models whom you admire for their power packed purpose, is what that will resonate with the heart.
So write down only what you truly resonate! Once you “Discover” the True Mission, then no mud can stop or distract you.
One of the most magnificent tombs built in Delhi during the Mughal rule, the Humayun’s Tomb is an excellent example of Persian architecture. The Humayun’s Tomb was commissioned in 1526, nine years after the death of Humayun, by his widow Hamida Banu Begum.
Constructed out of red sandstone, the Humayun’s Tomb was the first ever garden style tomb to be constructed in India. The Humayun’s Tomb stands in the center of Charbagh style of gardens complete with pools linked by channels. The main entrance if the tomb is from the south side, though there is another entrance from the west side as well.
The Humayun’s Tomb served as an early example for other Mughal tombs which were built over time, such as the Akbar’s tomb in Sikander, the tomb of Ghiyas-ud-Din-Tugluq at Tugluqabad, the tomb of Sikander Lodi in the Lodi Gardens and the Taj Mahal.
In the Humayun’s Tomb one can see architectural features which over time went on to become important component of Mughal architecture, such as its octagonal shape and its high central arch.
Apart from Humayun, the tomb is also the final resting place of his wife Hamida Bahu Begum, Shah Jahan’s son Dara Shikoh and other prominent Mughals from the royal family. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Humayun’s tomb is best visited in the late afternoon if you wish to get some beautiful shots of the building.
Stop, Look & Proceed:
You are probably alive today because you stopped at the zebra crossing, checked for traffic movements from both directions and crossed the road at the right moment of no traffic, didn’t you?
If upcoming traffic is an obstacle for crossing the road, we don’t go back home but rather apply our judgement and still get across for reaching the intended destination. Then why not pass Life, by confronting the traffic of challenges, and keep moving ahead?
Yeah, Just Do It! This is more of a hustling technique than being mindful. In other words, it is prescribing to take action regardless of obstructions in the path.
As the Buddhist teaching portrays, Darkness Disappears as the Sun of Action Appears.
Safdarjungs Tomb is located at Intersection of Safdarjung Road and Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi. Safdarjungs Tomb is a garden tomb made in Mughal Empire style, in New Delhi, India.
Safdarjung tomb was built in 1753- 54 as mausoleum of Safdarjung, the viceroy of Awadh under the Mughal Emperor, Mohammed Shah.
It has several smaller pavilions like Jangli Mahal, (Palace in the woods), Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) and Badshah Pasand (King’s favorite).
The top storey of the edifice houses the Archaeological Survey of India. The facade of the garden is decorated with elaborate plaster carvings.
Rounding up:
Suffering and problems are a fact of life, for you, for me and even for accomplished people. To truly Master the Mind is, to Develop the Strength within and to Develop an all-embracing state. Quoting what Carl Jung said: “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”
Daisaku Ikeda - “True happiness is not the absence of suffering; you cannot have day after day of clear skies. True happiness lies in building a self that stands dignified and indomitable like a grand palace – on all days.”
“Nothing can match the strength of those whose lives have been shaped and forged through challenging and overcoming hardships. Our future Self does not exist in some far-off place; it exists in the heart and mind of our present self. That is why we must face and tackle the realities that confront us.”
So don’t let those challenges stop you, as they are trying to push you forward!
If you have any comment or thought or inspiration to share, please go ahead & do it
All Photo Credits - Ram Kumar.
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