There is divinity in all of us but what separates the likes of Sachin Tendulkar from the rest is that he allows the divinity to take the centre stage keeping himself in the background and others do exactly the opposite.In the recently concluded India-Australia match in Chandigarh, Sachin showed a glimpse of this divinity. He needed 7 runs to score 17,000 runs in ODI but could not do so because of the dubious decision. How do we react when we are faced with unfavorable decisions in life? More often than not by showing our favorite emotional tool called “Anger”. But Sachin Tendulkar quietly walked back to the pavilion accepting umpire’s verdict. Here is a man who is considered No.1 batsman in the world, scored almost 30,000 runs & 40+ centuries in both forms of the game, mesmerized the cricketing world by his superb batsman-ship, graciously accepted the decisions, reminding all of us why cricket is known as The Gentleman’s Game.
I am sure; Sachin’s parents must have taught him “A” for “Acceptance” much before he was formally taught “A” for “Apple”.Ask any student of comparative religion and he will tell you that “Acceptance” is one of the most important common keys to all religions. It is one of the most important steps towards attaining divinity.In Bhagwad Gita Chapter 10, while describing His opulence to Arjuna, The Lord says “Arjuna, of the trees, I am the banyan tree and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada, among the Gandharvas I am Chitraratha, among the Rudras I am Shankar………….” May be next time He will say “Among the cricketers, I am Sachin Tendulkar”.We all know that Sachin does not like to be referred as God. Let me, on behalf of millions of his fans, rephrase it, we worship the divinity within you. Sachin “Tujh Main Rab Dikhta Hain”. Appreciating Sachin’s achievement is akin to appreciating the divinity within him.While on numerous occasions, Sachin has shown glimpses of the virtue called “Acceptance”, there are other virtues like concentration, determination, humility, patience etc, which are present in Sachin in abundance. One cannot play international cricket for 20 years without internalizing these virtues thoroughly.Sant Gyaneshwar has in His commentary on Bhagwad Gita said “Ek tari ovi anubhavi” - One should put to practice at least one verse of Bhagwad Gita. For instance, after his father’s unfortunate exit from this mortal world, Sachin immediately had to report to perform his national duty. There, Sachin through his actions showed the entire cricket fraternity how well he had internalized the teachings of Bhagwad Gita in his life.
On 15 November, 2009 Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is completing 20 years of international cricket. All these years, he has provided joy to all of us. But this has been a one sided affair. Bhajan Samrat Anup Jalota has recorded a very inspirational song on the life of Sachin Tendulkar. I have penned the lyrics or rather I became the instrument in the hands of some unknown force. Our Endeavour is like offering The Ganges to The Ganges, offering Lamp to Sun. Needless to say I am very eager to meet Sachin. But “Jab Bhi We Meet”, It will be the golden moment of my life.
