The Story Of Yaron
When I was in University, I had a friend called Yaron, who I used to study with. Sometime around the end of our first Semester, he told me that he had decided to stop attending classes and would only take the exams.
He said he had thought about it and realized that his grades wouldn't matter to him at all or influence his career options, unless he was either in the top ten percent, or in the bottom ten percent.
Statistically speaking, he told me, it makes no sense to study at all unless you find yourself in either of these groups.
Sure enough, following that day, I hardly saw him in the Faculty again, except in the Cafeteria, where he would drop by every once in a while to keep up to date with our degree.
When exam time came, he would occasionally drop by our study group just one day before critical exams. He had a summer job and just couldn't find the time to study, but he thought he'd at least give it a try anyway to see if he can scrape by with a passing grade.
At the end of the first year, when all the grades were in and all the studying finished, the Dean's list was posted on our bulletin board. We were all shocked, not least of us him, to see his name high up on the list, finishing the first year with honors.
"Well," I asked, "now are you finally going to start studying? You are in the top ten percent and, according to your own words, your grades could be meaningful."
But by this time Yaron had gone further down his own road. He confided that the only one exam he really prepared for and was actually interested in, was also the only one where he got a poor grade. So he had decided that even if he wants good grades, he had better not make the mistake of studying.
When I encountered the wisdom of India, this seemingly crazy line of thought started to make more sense to me.
Eastern Karma
Indians are great believers in the influence of Karma - that is that actions in this and past lives influence the circumstances of their present day affairs. Everyone gets what they deserve, they would say. If someone is to be poor due to the effects of his past actions, no amount of work or effort will help, and vice versa - if someone is destined for success, he will achieve it, regardless of his choices and actions.
Our efforts to achieve are not only futile, they can even be harmful, since they can lead us astray from what is really important - inner knowledge and self-realization, which are the only real freedom we have, and the only way out of the Karmic roller coaster we are on.
The great 20th century Indian sage, Ramana Maharshi would tell his disciples that a higher power is in charge of the fate of all souls, in accordance with their Karma.
"Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen, will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent."
True to his words, Ramana spent most of his early years in complete and utter silence.
Western Free Choice
While appealing in a way, for Westerners this line of thinking poses some challenges.
First of all, the basic premise of Reincarnation, which is accepted by most Indians to be the truth, is considered a bit of an eccentricity in the West. Accepting that whatever happens to us now is pre-determined by our actions in past lives, is quite a stretch for most of us.
Western culture has a deep rooted sense of self-determination and free choice at its basis. Accepting that whatever we do has no influence on our circumstances is quite contrary to the Judaic-Christian way of thinking.
In the West, most people believe that we have freedom of choice to be either saintly or sinful, as we wish. It is a freedom, but also a heavy burden, because we are charged individually with making the right choices that will be virtuous enough to award us the entrance into Paradise.
It also means that if we are not very successful or rich, it is because of our inadequacy at some level. We can't just write it off as Karma and live on happily.
Effortlessness
But even without accepting the Law of Karma and Reincarnation as a valid reality, Effortlessness as a way of life can be seen to have many benefits.
Trusting that whatever happens is exactly right and not trying constantly to affect our wills and desires on any given situation gives a deep sense of relaxation, and in a way, freedom.
Taoists believe that we should emulate the flow of water in order to find the best way to conduct ourselves in this world. Water always seeks lower ground and will always flow in the easiest and quickest route there. If it encounters an obstacle, it simply circumvents it, and if this is not possible, it will start gathering quietly, slowly rising and growing in power, until the obstacle is effortlessly surpassed.
My friend Yaron may not have heard about Taoism or Karma, but he instinctively sensed that the best way for him to go through University was with as little effort as possible, and as much celebration and joy as he could find, even if this did lead him away from the Campus study halls.
It worked for him, maybe it can work for you too. You'll never know till you try it.