bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The secret to success - and a good game of cricket - is a strong intellect, which is essential to controlling the mind, says visiting Indian cricketing 'guru' Swami Avula Parthasarathy.

Swami Parthasarathy, who still spends much of his days playing cricket at the age of 79, is on a lecture tour to Hong Kong. He is a teacher of Vedanta, a religious philosophy derived from ancient Hindu scriptures.

'The word Vedanta has two words in it - 'veda' meaning knowledge and 'anta' meaning end.

It is the culmination of knowledge that teaches you how to live your life,' he says. 'It is the highest knowledge known to mankind, but they don't teach it in any school room or university.'

The swami, founder of the Vedanta Cultural Foundation and the Vedanta Academy in  Mumbai, has been teaching the dynamic knowledge of life and living for the past 45 years. He says it provides human beings with both mental peace and productivity in action.

'Everything is an action, including sports. Action involves the mind and the intellect. If you want to be successful in your actions, you need a powerful intellect, which is the part of you that thinks, reasons, judges and decides,' he says.

He believes that to achieve goals - or to swing a fast ball, for that matter - people must understand and master the three Cs: concentration, consistency and cooperation.

First, they must attain control of their minds to prevent it from wandering.

'Concentration is when the mind supports the action. What happens to the mind is that it starts worrying about the past or thinking about the future. To concentrate, the mind must be behind the action,' he says, adding that you are on the top of the world if you can control your worries and anxieties.

'Whatever your target is in life, you must be consistent. Your actions must flow in that direction. The intellect keeps the flow of actions toward your goal.'

And, he says, without the help of others, people will not succeed.

'If you want success in your life, be it work, business, or playing a sport, these are three ingredients you must master.'

Swami Parthasarathy has two degrees in science and arts. He achieved a post-graduate degree in law in Chennai, India, in the early 1950s. He believes that success in the effect of an action that is brought about by a strong intellect.

'The only thing that can control the mind is the intellect. The mind is subtler than the body, therefore it controls the body. The intellect is subtler than the mind, so it controls the mind.'

He says that people do not know what their mind does to them, which makes them a victim of it. 'If you don't have a strong intellect, your mind plays havoc when it is unattended. You become a victim of your likes and dislikes, uncontrollable desires and attachment. It is constantly rambling.

'If your desires are within your assets and income, you're a rich man. Unfulfilled desires cause mental agitation and stress.'

He explains how poisonous attachment can be.

'Attachment is deadly. Sooner or later you'll get fed up with all this,' he says.

'You're torturing yourself if you are attached. If you are attached to something, you're miserable.'

That sounds somewhat contradictory for someone who loves the game of cricket as much as he does.

Nevertheless, the philosopher says that as long as people don't take anything for granted, they will be at peace with themselves.

'People have to think and enquire. You have to keep asking questions. Don't take anything for granted.'

So what should modern-day cricketers do to improve?

'It's the same when it comes to sports. The three Cs apply to everything. Use your intellect.'

Let's just hope that it is as easily said as done.



Intellect the key to winning mind games, says visiting swami