In a heavily populated city like Delhi, one can have better ideas than going to the mall on a Sunday evening. 10/10 wouldn’t recommend it unless you really have some pressing need that a store within a mall can cater to. 

On holidays, people throng malls as if it’s a carnival. More often than not, you can’t even find proper parking. Popular restaurants are fully occupied, with waiting times stretching up to over 30-40 minutes. 

I can understand that in a country like India and, more so, Delhi, where we face extreme weather conditions, it makes sense for people to opt to go to an air-conditioned mall for their shopping, dining, or recreational needs rather than an open space or walking plaza kind of market space. 

While I usually can avoid going to a mall on a Sunday, this last time, I couldn’t. Having returned home after work-related travel, I requested Mum to accompany me for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, which happened to be in a popular mall in South Delhi. 

As expected, upon reaching the mall, we were met with a long queue in the parking lot. After somehow managing to find a spot in an adjacent mall, we arrived at the preferred restaurant and were told the waiting time was around 45 minutes. Not what my starving stomach wanted to hear, tsk!

Contrary to my usual proclivity, I still gave my name and number at the front desk of the restaurant just in case they could give us a table earlier than expected. Moving on, I went to my second favorite restaurant in the mall, and there, too, I was met with disappointment. Here, the waiting time was less, though, around 15-20 minutes. Ah well, Mum had been wanting to try Krispy Kreme donuts for a while; we can always go and grab a donut, and at least the second restaurant should have a table ready soon. 

Just as I was savoring a warm chocolate peanut butter donut, I received a call from the first restaurant. A table was ready! The same restaurant that had just informed us of a 45-minute wait, now had a table for us. As we settled in, the second restaurant called to inform us that they also had a table ready. Talk about taking chances, right?

What a testament to the power of taking chances, isn’t it? This experience serves as a reminder that sometimes, it’s worth taking a leap of faith.

TRY KARNE MEIN KYA JAATA HAI

No one likes being disappointed.

No one likes hearing no.

No one likes being denied. 

And no matter who we are, our mind (चित्त) has recorded sufficient experiences where we have had to endure disappointment. So, of course, the cynical mind wants to protect us from further disappointment by inducing us not to make an attempt at what we perceive to disappoint us. 

But that day, sitting in the restaurant, having landed a table in a popular restaurant on a holiday against perceived expectation, I thought to myself, hey, there is something to learn here. 

So often in life, we miss out on things that would have otherwise been attainable because we didn’t even try. 

I think of many scientific discoveries and breakthroughs that happened because some souls refused to give up, like Thomas Edison, Marie Curie, and even Einstein. 

Think of the legendary J.K. Rowling, who was rejected by numerous publishers before she could publish the iconic Harry Potter series with Bloomsbury, or the Beatles, who were told by one record label company that “guitar groups are on the way out.” 

Or, if I have to use the latest and contemporary example, the Indian Cricket Team’s triumph at the T20 World Cup 2024. After being denied the chance to lift an international trophy for so many years and coming agonizingly close to doing so previously, they finally did it in 2024. There can be innumerable examples from sports of not giving up and ultimate triumph. 

Not wanting to sound like a brand ambassador of Nike’s iconic ‘Just do it’ phrase, but it is true, isn’t it? 

Even those Mountain Dew people have a point that, ‘gala sabka sookhta hai, darr sabko lagta hai.’ And for many, that darr/fear can be in asking, making a request, or making an attempt at something. 

WHAT IF

While relishing a wonderfully delicious sattvik (nourishing) meal that day, I thought to myself, how would life be if I didn’t hesitate to ask for things I needed from life? 

What if we didn’t hesitate to ask out that person we like or admire?

What if we didn’t hesitate to apply for a vacancy even if more talented people were vying for the post?

What if we didn’t hesitate to ask for a favour?

What if we didn’t hesitate to share what ails us?

What if we didn’t hesitate to pray, meditate, heal, and give a chance to forgiveness? 

The possibilities are endless. And I am consciously aware that braving to ask for what we need will not always get us an affirmative response. But that is not the point of this attitude at all. As the greatest yogi, Shri Krishna will have us know:

It isn’t about the end result; it is about the process. After all, the result can be subject to so many external factors. 

सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ |

By not hesitating to ask for what we need, we give ourselves at least a 1% chance of getting what we desire. This is a stark contrast to assuming that what we seek is beyond our reach. As sports, popular culture, history, and lived experience have shown us, a 1% chance at something can be immense in the larger scheme of life and things. 

I conclude by sharing a funny but relevant phrase a friend once said to me years back:

संकोची सदा दुखी, संतोषी सदा सुखी 

To summarise:

• Hesitance in asking for what we need is natural.
• We can drop the hesitance in asking for our needs while respecting the cynical mind.
• Krishna inspires us to understand that the results of our actions are beyond our control.
• Never hesitate to ask for what you need, even if it may appear logically impossible.
• Asking for what you need is not a sign of entitlement but that of humble curiosity if we apply Krishna’s teaching.

Here’s a journaling prompt for you to reflect upon:

Has something similar ever happened to you, that you made an attempt at something going against the wisdom of the cynical mind and attained it? It could be anything, as small as getting a table at a restaurant like me or something more significant. Additionally, journal how you can adopt Krishna’s theory and teaching into your daily life. 

Thank you so much for reading until the end of the article. May we hesitate to hesitate in asking for what we need. 

Kushagra