Olympics 2012 - Joy of the Silver Medalist

August 5, 2012

Shankar Vedantam's NPR blog post is an excellent take off point for what constitutes "happiness". US Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte, after winning the silver medal in the 4x100m swimming relay that indicates he is not as happy as the bronze medallist Brendan Hansen, the bronze medallist in the 100m breastsroke. The author goes onto quote from a scientific paper:

The researchers concluded. "Finishing second is truly a mixed blessing. Performing that well provides a number of direct benefits that increase our well-being: recognition from others, boosts to self-esteem, and so on.

At the same time, it can indirectly lower satisfaction by the unfortunate contrast with what might have been."

Let us see what Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in Geeta 2-14.
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।। २-१४
maatraasparshaastu kaunteya shiitoshhNasukhaduHkhadaaH . 2-14
The contact of the senses with objects, O son of Kunti, (which) cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain,
As Param Pujya Swami Chinmayanandaji explains:

That the same objects can give two different types of experiences to two different individuals is very well-known. The object remaining the same, if it can give different experiences, it is evident that it is because of the difference in the mental composition of the individuals. It is also observed that, objects of one's intense fancy during a certain stage in one's life, become a nuisance to the same individual after a time; for, as time passes on, the mental constitution of the individual also changes. In short, it is very clear that the external objects can convey their stimuli and give us an experience only when our minds come in contact with the objects through the sense-organs.

Swamiji and the ancient Vedic masters did not need complicated research. The scientists with their data can only make tentative conclusions. And in a crazy, ironic way, in todays world, that rings "truer" to the media... that is just the way it is.

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

chapter 2 gita in sport happiness olympics 2012

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