Japanese philosophy has historically been a fusion of both indigenous Shinto and continental religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.  Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the kami (angels, demons, dragon, fairy, devil etc.). The kami is believed to occupy all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The kami are worshipped at kami dana – household altar and family shrines.  Buddhists believe that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but that if one achieves a state of enlightenment (nirvana), the cycle of birth and death gets over. Taoism holds that humans and animals should live in balance with the Tao, or the universe. Taoists believe in spiritual immortality, where the spirit of the body joins the universe after death. Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society.

This passage speaks about the Japanese term “Gaman,” which translates to mean “patience, perseverance and tolerance,” refers to continuing difficult situations with self-control and dignity. A Zen Buddhist teaching, Gaman is a strategy of remaining resilient and patience during hard times which is characteristic of emotional maturity. It emphasises on perseverance and self-discipline in the face of hardship or adversity. Gaman is about staying strong and not giving up, even in difficult circumstances.

The Japanese philosophies about acceptance and improvement have been popular globally. Many rich and famous people have been following to live a wholesome life by following Japanese philosophy.

Indian Billionaire Harsh Mariwala is one amongst many. The Marico Chairman transformed his brand Marico among the top ten in India and global brand in the FMCG sector. Marico has a strong presence in the personal care, food, and beverage industries, with major brands including Saffola, Parachute, Hair & Care, Nihar, Livon, Set Wet, Mediker, and Revive. Mariwala believes in the seven Japanese concepts Kaizen, Ikigai, Oubaitori, Wabi-Sabi, Hara-Hachi Bu, Shikata Gai Na, and Shin Rin Yeku, which he lives by. According to Mariwala the term Gaman is the art of surviving difficulties with patience and dignity. “It is a virtue to persevere during seemingly unbearable times and display emotional maturity, discipline and self-control. You have a greater capacity for patience than you believe.”  He set up the consumer products business practically from scratch. Over the past four decades, he has not only built Marico into one of the leading FMCG companies in the country but has also transformed what was essentially a family-managed business into a professionally managed one. Mariwala, who has seen the FMCG space transform over the past few years, says Marico views every disruption as an opportunity. He says he has practiced Daman inherently.

Gaman is a powerful concept that can help individuals cultivate a sense of inner strength and resilience in the face of adversity which Japanese have developped. on July 16 1945, the nuclear age began with the world’s first nuclear weapons test explosion in the New Mexico desert. Three weeks later US attacked with the atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In minutes, the city  vanished. The explosion produced a supersonic shock wave followed by extreme winds that remained above hurricane force over three kilometers from ground zero. A secondary and equally devastating reverse wind followed, flattening and severely damaging homes and buildings several kilometers further away. The intense heat of the Hiroshima bomb reached several million degrees Celsius and scorched flesh and other flammable materials over three kilometers away. Many of those who survived the nuclear attacks would die from radiation-induced illnesses for years to come. Three days later atomic bomb used at Nagasaki, Japan,  on August 9, 1945, was “Fat Man”.   The bomb was dropped by a USAAF B-29 airplane named “Bockscar”, piloted by U.S. Army Air Force Major Charles Sweeney.  The bomb weighed 10,000 pounds and had a diameter of 60 inches.  It utilized the explosive power of dynamite to create pressure on a ball of Plutonium. The bomb was called ‘Fat Man’. Albert Einstein said after the Hiroshima, Nagasaki bombing that “The time has come now, when man must give up war. It is no longer rational to solve international problems by resorting to war.”

Due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes and tsunami, having the highest natural disaster risk in the developed world. With numerous hardships facing natural disasters, foreign attacks, Japan has strongly built its foundation of righteous existence and adopted the philosophy of Buddhism through some time-tested principles of the art of living in the Japanese context which holds good for all cultures and humanity.

Japanese are extremely hard-working people by adopting the philosophy of Daman. They have faced everything from nuclear attack, earthquakes to tsunamis, but they’re emerge more stronger than ever. Japanese have revolutionized the electronic industry: Canon, Casio, Citizen, Fujifilm , Fujitsu, Hitachi ,Olympus, Sony, Panasonic, Nikon etc.

In true sense Japanese have endured hardships with patience and dignity, individuals can find meaning and purpose in the experience and use it as an opportunity for personal growth and transformation. Gaman can be applied in many ways in practical life, from the way we approach personal challenges to the way we respond to societal issues. In Japan, Gaman has been used to describe the stoical resilience of individuals during times of adversity, such as natural disasters, economic hardships, and war.

In 2011 when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and tsunami that struck Tōhoku, killing nearly 16,000 people in Japan, there were no reports of looting or arbitrary price scraping. Instead of panic and fear, the attitude in Japan after the devastating natural disaster seemed to be one of calmness and grit. The Gaman mentality is at the base of that attitude. In fact, resilience during vulnerability and chaotic acceptance helped Japan through clear and lawful civility that derives from Gaman.

In Japanese culture, showing Gaman is considered a sign of maturity and strength. It’s taught to children very early elementary school. Gaman is trained early in life. In Japan, patience and perseverance are part of education from elementary school.

Ikigai is a Japanese term meant for purpose of life. It is pronounced as Ick-ee-guy— a reason to jump out of bed each morning.  Ikigai also means ‘Who am I?’  The confusion and commotion of daily life cannot be controlled, it will always be there but there is something beyond all this. Reflect on that purpose again and again at least for half minute, as soon as you wake up and before you sleep, if possible in between your chaotic day. Ask yourself, ‘Who am I?’ ‘Why am I here?’ You will soon find your reason for being here.

Ikigai (生き甲斐,) usually refers to the source of value in one’s life or the things that make one’s life worthwhile. The word roughly translates to the “thing that you live for” but it also has the tone of “the reason for which you wake up in the morning” similar to a daily purpose. Each individual’s ikigai is personal to them and specific to their lives, their values and their beliefs. It reflects the inner self of an individual. The Japanese believe strongly in their ikigai. You will find them focused and creating value to the nation, cleanliness, and their philosophy in Muda which means “futility; uselessness; wastefulness”, and is a key concept in lean process and lean management. Japanese strongly believe when waste is identified it must be reduced which is an effective way of increasing profitability.

Ikigai comes spontaneously. Individuals always undertake them willingly, giving the individual satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life. In the culture of Okinawa, a place in Japan, ikigai is thought of as “a reason to get up in the morning”; that is, a reason to enjoy life. Okinawa has pristine beaches, a distinct culture and some of the friendliest, longest-lived people on earth. They give their credit to ikigai of each individual. In a TED Talk, Dan Buettner who is a National Geographic Fellow and a New York Times bestselling author suggested ikigai as one of the reasons people in the area had such long lives.

The word ikigai usually is used to indicate the source of value in one’s life or the things that make one’s life worthwhile. Secondly, the word is used to refer to mental and spiritual circumstances under which individuals feel that their lives are valuable. Please understand that ikigai is not linked to one’s financial status. Even if a person feels that the present is dark, but they have a goal in mind, they may feel ikigai. Behaviors that make one feel ikigai are not actions one is forced to take, they come spontaneously.

Ikigai can be felt when people experience sense of belonging, also the personal maturity matters in sense what to take and what to leave, and love and happiness are essence of ikigai. According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai. Japanese people are friendlier and believe in a group of lifelong friends and social support group that form in order to provide varying support from social, financial, health, or spiritual interests.  Also, your ikigai lies at the centre of those interconnecting circles of life. If you are lacking in one area, you are missing out on your life’s potential. Not only that, but you are missing out on your chance to live a long and happy life. The secret to a long and happy life is not to live in the hope of a great life tomorrow. It is to live with that intention today. What I love is that this is possible not only at the individual level, but entire communities can learn from it, as well. It is high time; we must go back to community living.

The Great Russian author Leo Tolstoy had it all: he came from a wealthy family of success and fame. By almost anyone’s standards, Tolstoy should have also possessed a great sense of joy, triumph, and purpose. But he did not. One thing haunted everything he did, that is death. “Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?” he asked. Tolstoy could not shake away the feeling that the finality of his predictable death made everything in life worthless. Tolstoy wasn’t, and still isn’t alone in this sentiment.

Money cannot bring direction and purpose in life. The United States is currently perhaps the most advanced, affluent, and comfortable culture in all of human history, but at the same time it is arguably the most depressed, medicated, and directionless culture in all of human history. And, the saddest part is many countries ape the US and their culture.

Before it is late, find your ikigai to lead a peaceful life.

Anything created with the creative mind with purpose or meaning behind it, is perfect for the person who makes it – as it is.  Other may find some flaws in it. But, for the person who creates something stops when his gut tells him to stop. He feels satisfied and not necessarily, it should appear perfect to others.  Aesthetic beauty is modest and humble. For example, the Mona Lisa, arguably the world’s most famous painting, may be a masterwork, perhaps is not flawless, yet it is considered incomparable. The background of the painting is dull. There were many other portraits from the same period which showed equally enigmatic expressions. The undue focus on this painting, along with the popularity of a few other pieces, prevents most people not only from seeing the painting for what it really is. It seems the creator of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo DaVinci, did not regard the painting as his finest work.

It is famous in the history that a pianist Daniel Steibelt challenged Beethoven about technical flaws in some of his in masterpiece compositions. They even had improvisation contest in Vienna. Steibelt lost the contest with Beethoven…..but, there are references that Steibelt was also a prolific composer. Any invention, any creation, any art, any strategy cannot be challenged for its flawlessness. There will be critics who will find some or other defects in it.  Each individual has different aesthetic perception. In traditional Japanese aesthetic mindset they believe in accepting imperfection and that is termed as wabi-sabi.

The term is made up of two words. The first, wabi, signifies that anything which appears beautiful is not free from flaws and absurdity; wabi is explained with kintsugi which is an example of repairing bronze statues, ceramics, carvings of heritage structures with a special lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum. The philosophy behind the technique is to recognize the history of the object and to visibly incorporate the repair into the new piece instead of disguising it. The process usually results in something more beautiful than the original. The second word, sabi, refers to beauty which comes with maturity, such as the ancient art, structures look more beautiful because of the changes that take place in them slowly. They become symbol of a philosophy, culture and history. Even people look more attractive with experience of life and gained wisdom.

Wabi-sabi is Japanes philosophy that nothing is permanent, nothing is flawless, and nothing is perfect. Therefore each experience, each creation has its own beauty. After all, beauty lies in the eyes of beholder.  What look beautiful to my eyes might look not so good to somebody else’s eyes. The term wabi-sabi suggests that life itself is filled with qualities such as impermanence, modesty, indiscretion, and imperfection.

Practicing wabi-sabi into your life does not involve money, qualification, reputation, status, training, or special skills. All it takes is a quiet mind to appreciate beauty; willingness to accept things as they are. It requires an ability to slow down, to shift the balance from doing to being, to appreciating rather than perfecting something. We always expect others to be perfect whereas we forget to look at our own flaws. Nothing is perfect in the world except the word “Perfect.” Each one has his/her uniqueness; the Universal Energy purposefully did not create a flaw-less world. There is no right and no wrong. Accept wabi-sabi as your state of mind to lead a hassle free life.