Dronacharya was the teacher to the Kauravas and Pandavas, and was responsible for teaching them archery and the art of warfare. One day, Dronacharya decided to test the skills of the students.He kept a small wooden bird on a tree at a distance and asked all the kids one by one to shoot the wooden bird’s eye. First, he called Yudhishthira, to try and hit the eye of the bird. Yudhishthira took the bow and arrow, got in to a position to shoot, when dronacharya told him “Wait, first tell me what you see”? Yudhishtir replied “I can see the bird, leaves, branches, fruits, sky”.
Dronacharya, asked Yudhishthira, to put down his bow, and leave.
He then called Duryodhana, and asked, “What do you see?” Duryodhana replied that, he can see the bird, trees, branches, leaves, other birds, etc.
Dronacharya asked Duryodhana to put down his bow and leave. After that he called the others to come and asked them the same question. The reply was the same. All of them were seeing the leaves, other birds, tree, branches etc. Dronacharya asked all of them to leave.
At last Dronacharya called Arjun & asked him " What do you see?” He replied “Guruji, I can see only the bird’s eye”. Dronacharya asked him “Are you sure, you can see only the bird’s eye?”. Arjun replied “Yes, Guruji. There is nothing else that I can see”.
Dronacharya asked him to shoot. Focusing only on the bird’s eye, Arjun took aim and shot the arrow. The arrow sprang from the bow and hit the bird’s eye. The children were astonished and amazed at Arjun’s precision. Dronacharya praised Arjuna for his archery skills and concentration and said, the only reason Arjun was able to hit the bird’s eye was because he was focused. He was very clear with his goal and hence could not see anything else, but the bird’s eye.
Individuals make investments, but, do not know why they make those investments. There is no clarity on what needs to be achieved. Goals must be clearly identified before investments are made.
K.R.HARIHARAN
Certified Financial Planner