Introduction Once upon a time, in ancient India, there lived a wise sage named Uddalaka. He had a young son named Svetaketu, a boy full of curiosity but more interested in playing with his friends than studying. Concerned for his son’s future, Uddalaka sent Svetaketu to live and study under a respected guru. Years passed. When Svetaketu returned home, he was filled with pride over the vast knowledge he had acquired. Uddalaka noticed this change. He knew that true wisdom comes with humility and sought to teach his son a deeper truth—one that could not be found in textbooks alone. One day, Uddalaka called Svetaketu and asked, “My son, have you learned that by which we hear the unhearable, think the unthinkable, and know the unknowable?” Svetaketu was puzzled and admitted he had not. Uddalaka then picked up a lump of clay and said, “When a potter makes a pot, it changes shape, but it is still clay. Just like this, everything you see in the world—no matter how different in form—is made fro...
Hiro Onoda was a Japanese intelligence officer who fought in World War II and refused to surrender until decades after WW II. In 1944, Onoda was sent to the Philippines to fight against the American army. His immediate senior ordered him to never surrender and war may take several years to end. He also assured him that they will come for him and he has to just stay back and fight. In Feb 1945 when the American army attacked the Philippines with full force then Japanese army personnel split up in a group of 2-3 officers.
The rest of the Japanese personnel were either died or surrendered but Onoda's group consisting of 3 other personnel survived in Jungle. His group set up a base in mountains and started attacking local civilians thinking that civilians are agents of the American army. In late 1945, his group got a number of leaflets dropped by airplanes reading "The war ended on August 15, Come down from the mountain." In 1949, one of the members of the group surrendered the Phillipino army but the rest of the members continued to kill civilians. In 1954, one of the other members died in return fire when their rescuers tried to reach them. After this incident, only two, Onoda and Kozuka were left in their group and they continued to fight against Americans. In 1972, Kozuka died in a skirmish against Filipino police.
Now Onoda was alone and one day a courageous Japanese explorer Norio Suzuki found Onoda. Suzuki became a good friend of Onoda but he still refused to surrender. Then Suzuki located the original commander of Onoda and then in 1974, his commander traveled from Japan to the Philippines. When Onoda's commander confirmed that WW II was over then he surrendered his Samurai sword, Gun and several other ammunition to the local administration. Philippines Government decided to pardon the war crimes done by Onoda as he didn't know that war was already over. Later he explained that each and every Japanese was ready to give his life during WW II for the country but he decided to wage a guerrilla war as he was an Intelligence officer.
We can learn below-mentioned lessons from this extraordinary story:
a) Always try to gather the latest skills and knowledge: Onoda and his team members never tried to understand if the WW ll ended or not even after receiving so many indications. On similar patterns many times we used to deny the Change. We must understand that Change is the only constant thing in this world. Abraham Lincoln once said, “ Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” So we must always upgrade our skills by regular training. We can also invest in developing new skills like a musical instrument, blog writing, etc. These new skills may not be beneficial momentarily but we never know when these skills become useful in the future.
Read here the importance of connecting the dots from the story of Steve Jobs.
b) You must have dedication towards your duty: Another point of view is that Onoda had given his best and just because of his dedication towards his duty Philippines government pardoned his offenses. Similarly when we give our best then our seniors also observe our efforts and help whenever we commit mistakes.
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The rest of the Japanese personnel were either died or surrendered but Onoda's group consisting of 3 other personnel survived in Jungle. His group set up a base in mountains and started attacking local civilians thinking that civilians are agents of the American army. In late 1945, his group got a number of leaflets dropped by airplanes reading "The war ended on August 15, Come down from the mountain." In 1949, one of the members of the group surrendered the Phillipino army but the rest of the members continued to kill civilians. In 1954, one of the other members died in return fire when their rescuers tried to reach them. After this incident, only two, Onoda and Kozuka were left in their group and they continued to fight against Americans. In 1972, Kozuka died in a skirmish against Filipino police.
Now Onoda was alone and one day a courageous Japanese explorer Norio Suzuki found Onoda. Suzuki became a good friend of Onoda but he still refused to surrender. Then Suzuki located the original commander of Onoda and then in 1974, his commander traveled from Japan to the Philippines. When Onoda's commander confirmed that WW II was over then he surrendered his Samurai sword, Gun and several other ammunition to the local administration. Philippines Government decided to pardon the war crimes done by Onoda as he didn't know that war was already over. Later he explained that each and every Japanese was ready to give his life during WW II for the country but he decided to wage a guerrilla war as he was an Intelligence officer.
We can learn below-mentioned lessons from this extraordinary story:
a) Always try to gather the latest skills and knowledge: Onoda and his team members never tried to understand if the WW ll ended or not even after receiving so many indications. On similar patterns many times we used to deny the Change. We must understand that Change is the only constant thing in this world. Abraham Lincoln once said, “ Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” So we must always upgrade our skills by regular training. We can also invest in developing new skills like a musical instrument, blog writing, etc. These new skills may not be beneficial momentarily but we never know when these skills become useful in the future.
b) You must have dedication towards your duty: Another point of view is that Onoda had given his best and just because of his dedication towards his duty Philippines government pardoned his offenses. Similarly when we give our best then our seniors also observe our efforts and help whenever we commit mistakes.
Thanks a lot for reading! If you want this in your inbox every week, join the other 11,600+ readers today by subscribing to our newsletter.
Please do share, subscribe and comment!!!
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