As we all know, yoga isn’t just a set of physical exercises but more of a whole system for living life. Yoga directs us to stay fit with the help of exercises, breathing exercises and healthy eating. Not only that, we are also prescribed meditation and the development of certain yogic attitudes for better mental wellbeing. There is the concept of Ahimsa that requires us to cultivate nonviolence and reduce aggression, while Aparigraha urges us to declutter and control greed. Pratipaksha Bhavana urges us to eliminate the negative, and there are other life lessons we can benefit from. The Drishta or Drishtu attitude is what I want to speak about today.
What is the Drishta attitude?
This is known as drishta or drishtu. The word drishti is used in common parlance, what we understand to mean ‘the gaze’ or point of view. The basic prescription of this doctrine is to be involved in what we do, but at the same time, to remain detached from the outcome. This may sound contradictory, but it is not.
Here we are advised to devote our 100% to the process: in terms of effort, commitment, attention and focus. We do our best, no matter what it is that we are doing. However, we do what we do as a spectator. We cultivate a sense of detachment where our only job is to do anything to the best of our ability, but we are disinterested in outcomes. Here, the end result does not matter; what matters is doing something to the best of our ability and with complete sincerity.
The fact is that there is much that we cannot control in life. There are many factors that will influence and determine the outcome of any process. That is why, it is our job to concern ourselves only with our role in the process, not in the final outcome.
How to apply this attitude to life
To illustrate, think about a game of cricket or football. The game spectator is fully involved in the proceedings. All attention and focus is on the players, boundaries or goals scored by them and so on. However, the spectator is not part of the game. Even if one is a player on the field, one can develop the Drishtu attitude: one gives one’s 100% to the game. But at the same time, the player recognises that the ability of the other players, the pitch condition, and weather are factors beyond control. As such a player can only commit fully to the process and detach from the outcome.
Similarly, we can apply the Drishtu attitude to other areas of our lives – in your profession, chores we do around the home and so on. We give our 100% to whatever it is we do. We do whatever we can in our human capacity. However, we do this while remaining detached. At all times, we are involved but not attached. The Drishtu attitude of player/spectator is something we incorporate into our daily life as well. At all times, we keep in mind the fact that the outcome of a process is not in our hands, only the process is. We work on what is within our control and detach from that which is out of our control.