Beloved Gurudeva,

How important is it to win a game, a competition, which does not have any significance. Is fighting spirit in sports and games is a good to have quality? Is winning of any importance when you play a game for recreation?

I will give you example. In my office we play Ping Pong (table tenis) daily. I play a lot now a days as I am enjoying minimum work these days:-)
When I play I just play. Unlike many of my colleague for whom winning is important they show fighting spirit. I mean they focus on winning and apply the principle of Samyam may be to win. Most importantly they always have the desire to win, which I generally miss. Only few times I feel like winning. I do not enjoy the moment when I decide that I have to win, I feel its egoist wish.

Again, I have observed the best players they want to just play and focus on giving their best to game and do not show any terrible desire to win. There is another set who want to win always, because of that they win. Its like each now and then they want to win, otherwise they feel bad and humiliated, which drive them to focus more. There is another set, who I believe fear competition or loosing and they loose even before the game start. Basically they do not show any fighting spirit at all.

Now, if I do not desire to win I loose with players with deep desire to win with player of equal or less skill, probably to give my best I need the desire to win. Hence the attitude of top class player does not help me. If I show fighting spirit always in game, I can not sustain it as I do not enjoy it. And loosing against a player who only wants win always makes me feel bad momentarily.

I have been wondering what kind of attitude should I cultivate which would be in align with spiritual being in me.

It may sound like a silly question, but I thought it also may something to do with the weakness you have been talking about.

with love,
gopu