“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on”. This was one of my MBA batchmate Rachita’s status message. I am talking about 2010-11. I asked her, what is the meaning? Why have you put it?
She explained it to me, the context was our tiring coursework and demanding content. I kept it in my blog drafts and I loved the concept, finally returned and writing this after 14 years!
During MBA, at times it was difficult to even comprehend and we needed extra-classes. Later in the course, we used to discuss that MBA is all about commonsense. We laughed at ourselves and for few things we discussed how easy was the concept and we were confused!
Many times, when we do not comprehend things in life, we find ourselves completely lost, but when the aha! moment happens the concept becomes so easy.
Let me explain it with a story of A Potter.
The Potter from Banaras
Long ago, in the ancient city of Kasi, lived a humble potter. He wasn’t learned, rich, or respected – just a quiet man who made clay pots by the Ganga. Business was erratic. Sometimes, the rains ruined his clay. Sometimes, he couldn’t afford to buy food after a day’s work.
One monsoon season, his kiln collapsed in a storm. His year’s savings – gone. His cart broken. For a while, he tried everything: borrowing money, seeking help from traders, selling small items door-to-door. Nothing worked.
One evening, standing alone by the riverbank, he muttered:
“Why is this happening to me? I did nothing wrong.”
There was no answer. Just rain, river, silence.
He returned home. And the next morning, he did the only thing he could: he sat with his broken pots, gathered bits of salvageable clay, and began again. Slowly. Quietly. He built his business once again brick, by brick, by brick.
He stopped chasing fast fixes. He rose each morning, meditated by the river, shaped one pot at a time – sometimes selling none, sometimes one. He became known not for his success, but for his stillness.
Years passed. He never became famous. Why care for his becoming famous or rich, what he gained is the inner peace. But many came just to sit with him. He listened more than he spoke. His calm presence became a space of peace.
A young boy once asked him, “Why didn’t you give up when your kiln broke?”
The potter smiled and said, “Because sitting with the mud was all I had. And somehow, it was enough.”
Business and Spiritual Parallels
Economically, he faced collapse: no income, no capital, no safety net.
Managerially, he shifted from problem-solving to process-living – focused on what he could still control: rhythm, presence, patience.
Spiritually, he became what the Gita calls a Sthitapragna – a still-minded person, unmoved by success or failure.
So always remember – “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on”.
Picture source: Freepik.com AI generated image
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