There were only two graduations—high school and college. Now they even added middle school. In martial arts, only a black belt had value but now, every belt is celebrated. To earn a trophy meant you were the best and now trophies are a dime a dozen. Even in spirituality, if you can sit in silence for 30 minutes, it feels like you have accomplished a lot. People, when they go on a silent retreat for a few days, feel as if they have climbed Mount Everest. Even small accomplishments are given great value. Trying to transform just one person in your life is hard, because you have to first completely transform yourself. There is no greater accomplishment than that. You will not earn any trophy or have your picture in the Forbes magazine. You will only have the satisfaction of knowing that you are enjoying your life’s purpose. So we can’t say to others, “It’s not a big deal,” on all that they accomplish, but let’s not get carried away by it. I remember one time I inspired many people to become vegetarian and I felt really good. Today, I realize I first must become vegetarian in my mind. Working on oneself is hard and the more you work on yourself the less you will feel that we are making a big deal out of little ones. — Satish Daryanani
