WE BECOME THE HEROES WE WORSHIP

What we deeply admire, we attract. 

That’s the ancient Law of Attraction… in the recent years, made extremely popular by Rhonda Byrne in her DVD and the book – ‘The Secret’.

When we deeply admire a person for some of his qualities, we attract those qualities in us. It is the best way to shape our character. Yes, that’s why the person who we deeply admire and try to emulate is known as our ‘role model’. 

We become the heroes we worship!

We do.

Last night, I was watching an interview with my hero, Sachin Tendulkar. It was somewhere in Dubai, and in front of a select audience. The questions were very simple and direct and Sachin was humility personified, as he is always. We find it difficult to believe that, in spite of such mind-boggling fame, success and power, Sachin still comes about as someone who lives next-door! He is unbelievably unassuming and down-to-earth. We can feel that his stupendous fame has not touched him. He looks real, vulnerable and very, very mortal. Hence, he enters straight into our hearts… 

Because, he is one of us!

We silently believe, that we too can become like him. If not a great cricket star, we can become some one we want to be… in something we as passionate about.

In the end, there were some questions from the audience. One of them was the familiar one: “Sachin, who is your hero?”

Earlier, during the interview, Sachin had already spoken about his great cricketing hero – Sunil Gavaskar. So, this question from the audience got a different answer. 

“My dad,” said Sachin without blinking. Then, he explained why. 

At 16, Sachin had played for the country. It was a huge achievement and a matter of pride for any father who lived with his ordinary hopes and dreams. Still when his son got into the Indian team, the father advised his son not to get carried away by the early success and fame. “It is there now, it may not be there tomorrow,” the father had reminded his teenager son. He had added, “As much as you focus on becoming a great cricketer, you also focus on becoming a good person.”

Sachin spoke highly about this quality of his father… i.e., being a good person. “Whenever we entered our drawing room, we would often wonder whether the person sitting next to him in our drawing room was his best friend or our local postman,” the cricket legend confessed, “my dad treated everyone with equal dignity.”

I got goose bumps as I heard this from my hero!

Our heroes are ordinary humans with blood and flesh… with their own huge weaknesses. It is just that they have in them some qualities which we adore… and we deeply admire our heroes for these qualities. Yes, we know they are humans and there are many flaws… and, we consciously choose to overlook them. We choose to look at the qualities which we long to own in us… and, before we know it, they become our own. 

That’s the power of silent adoration of our heroes for their select qualities…

That’s the ‘Law of Attraction’ in action…

Our heroes may not be even literates… 

They may be some humble souls, 

working as some ordinary fellows 

somewhere… 

Still, we crown them as our heroes 

for the reasons of our heart: 

their qualities we love.

Last night, my admiration for Sachin shot up by another few notches… I loved him for his humility, his down-to-earth simplicity… for his silent, deep admiration for his own hero – his dad. 

I am sure, my own admiration will help me become like my hero. 

A simple one.

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: Janardhan Narayan