Dronacharya the Great - Stories from the East (On Focus)

Note:

If you are keen and have queries, please contact Coach Rameshon at 9100 4369 or you can email him at m.rameshon@gmail.com or swift.rameshon@gmail.com. Please refer to website http://flexifitness.com.sg (for more information on him and his programmes)

By Rameshon
Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)
Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Dronacharya - The Guru of Archery

Picture 1 - Focus is the same as having a tunnel vision

Dronacharya and Arjuna

Once Dronacharya (Drona is a name, Acharya means teacher) was having lessons on archery and he found that some of the people learning under him looked very unhappy with the treatment that they were given. These people were mainly the Kauravas, a hundred in total. They were also having the 5 vices in them - namely; lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. There were also 5 Pandavas in the archery group who were godly in their character. However, the Pandavas usually trusted Dronacharya more than the Kauravas. The Pandavas and the Kauravas were in actual fact relations.

Within the Pandavas, Dronacharya was very fond of Arjuna (the name means a man without the 5 vices). Arjuna was diligent in archery and was able to master it fast. Arjuna had very high regard for his master, Dronacharya. For him, his master's word was everything. He never doubted his master even once. He had absolute faith and trust in Dronacharya.

Picture 2 - Dronacharya was an expert in archery in the Mahabharatha Story

Dronacharya, over time, seeing the unhappiness that was taking place remained unperturbed by his actions and stayed confident as a Guru as he felt that he was doing the correct thing. He wanted the group to learn some lessons on life. He decided to call the Pandavas and the Kauravas together.

He told the group to stand in one line and stand distant from a big tree. The Kauravas and the Pandavas followed this instruction implicitly. Dronacharya told each of them to come to the front towards him and take a bow and arrow. Subsequently, they are to look at the tree where was a toy bird and shoot at the stationary bird.

One by one the people came in front. Dronacharya asked one by one what they can see before the shot is taken. However, he gave specific instruction and said, "Look up at the tree and focus on the bird and shoot it". One of the Kauravas was asked, "What do you really see?" The first person said that he can see the bird. Drona asked, "What else can you see?" The first person was very happy in answering as the question was easy to answer and said, " I can also see the tree leaves, the surrounding trees, the grass." Drona questioned one by one and asked the rest of them the same question again and again. The tedious process went for some time. The Kauravas were giving the same kind of answers, even the Pandavas.

After 100 of the Kuavaras and 4 of the Pandavas had finished answering, finally Arjuna was called upon by Master Drona to come forward to the forefront and carry the bow and arrow. Drona asked, " Arjuna, can you see the bird?." Arjuna, with a lot of reverence, said," Yes Master, I can see the bird'. Drona questioned," What else can you see?". Arjuna replied, "I can only see the bird". Drona repeated asked, "What else can you see, Arjuna? Arjuna, again answered confidently," My obedience to you Master, I can see only the bird." Drona asked him whether he could see anything besides the bird. He asked, "How about the surrounding, the grass, the sky". To this Arjuna told, " Master, you told me to see only the bird, I can only see the bird and nothing else.

Picture 3 - Arjuna could only see the bird and nothing else in front of him

With this statement, Drona told Arjuna to shoot the bird. Arjuna shot the arrow and it went straight towards where the small toy bird was and hit it right on the spot. With this, the rest of them realised that the mistake for them not improving in archery lies in themselves in not being focused and it also showed that Arjuna was a very focused person and a willing learner. Most of the Kauravas realised their mistake of not having a focused mind. This episode taught them why Arjuna was close at heart to Master Dronacharya.

Moral of the Story

A focused person can accomplish anything if they put their heart, mind and soul in it. Focus is simply staying in the direction of achieving our goal. Another way to say this is to stay away from the distractions which are outside us. In this world, there are many things to distract us away from the goal and will just make us stray away from our ultimate goals. A focused mind reminds us of taking a car ride on the highway and reaching a place earlier and distraction is like taking a bus which stops at every single bus stop and reaches the destination later. This matters to us most when you want to know who reached the destination earlier by coming in first and who comes in second. The story also shows how devoted Arjuna was towards Master Dronacharya.

Picture 4 - Arjuna, the main character of Mahabharata, winning the war

5-10minutes practise on the white dot in the centre.

This practice will develop focus to a certain extent. It is one of the ways to improve focus. Focus only in the centre of the diagram.

Picture 5 - How to practise for developing focus

Note:

By Narayanan

Rameshon has taught in Hwa Chong Institution, plus several schools, and Republic Polytechnic as well. He has won many accolades and he was awarded Merit Award for 1991 marathon performance in breaking the national record of Singapore, at that time. He has made 22 male athletes do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the marathon, as well. He was inducted to the ‘Roll of Honour’  by the then College of Physical Education, organised by Singapore Olympic Academy, in 1998, for breaking the National record repeatedly 4 times, till he did 2hr 24min 22sec).

He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.