Remodelling The Theory Of Performance To Enhance Personal Effectiveness :
Classically, from the perspective of art, performance is to entertain an audience, by presenting a play, through a mellifluous musical concert or by rhythmical and graceful movements of the body that is dance.
Performance, in pertinence to psychology or management, is "the execution of an act/intent successfully" or "putting the knowledge into a specific operation for a particular outcome".
Sage Patañjali has psychologically pinned down the procedure of 'performance' through his yogasūtras. Yogasūtras, valued for its uncanny knack of communicating cognitive procedures of any normal human being, delineates remarkably 'end to end psychological process of performance'. This concept of performance is impregnated with rationality and insofar viable for any individual to experience the same during any given performance. It is a matter of meritocracy that Patañjali's yogasūtras known to be a soul hunting (spiritual) scripture is not just for the transcendental beings, but also for psychologically level-headed beings. From time immemorial, there has been a link between level-headed beings and spirituality.
In the yogasūtras, there is no nomenclature such as - 'the concept of performance'. However, what is imperceptible outwardly, internally becomes noticeable by inferring its end result.
To elaborate the above words - "Sage Patañjali explains in his first chapter that, developing 'sustained indivisible concentration' is a means of first magnitude to perform better in the path of achieving higher planes of meditation. Similarly, to perform any activity efficiently 'sustained indivisible concentration' is an essential necessity. If heedfully observed,'performance' and 'sustained indivisible concentration' are two sides of the same coin. Hence, let us cognize the idea of - 'developing sustained concentration' or 'performance'. "In other words, we can say that Patañjali, in an attempt to directly explain how to 'perform meditation', indirectly also explains the 'do-how' aspects of any 'performance'. As meditation is just one another performance, it provides space for one to understand the concept from the theory of performance perspective.
Sage Patañjali, thus bifurcates the aforesaid concept -
a) Attitudinal
b) Operational
At the attitudinal level, to perform one has to desire and aspire. But to fulfil the same, it is necessary to practice. One's practice should be backed up with indifference. That is, indifference towards means that are superfluous in relation to the end.
In Patañjali's words, it is abhyāsa 1 and vairāgya 2 which are keys to fulfill one’s goal.
Attitudinally, performance should be Steady, Effortful, Protractile, Continual and Revered.
a) Steadiness in performance refers to freedom from wavering.
b) Effort-fullness in performance is about its earnestness and conscientiousness.
The two aspects - Steadiness and Effortfulness in performance becomes complete, when it is backed up by protractedness, consistency and reverence.
a) Protractedness - Relatively the practice should be long in duration
b) Consistency - A harmonious uniformity has to established between multiple practice sessions
c) Reverence - Mindful practice
Sage Patañjali is mindful in using the above words. Practice, which is only protracted, but not consistent, does not yeild perfect results. Consistent practice, which lacks the rigour of length, is again incapable to produce desired results. Protracted and consistent, yet not mindful or devout, is unworthy a practice and is just a monotonus drill.
Let us take the example of driving a car. Here, the most important influence on one’s driving ability is one’s attitude towards driving. Driving a car primarily requires steadiness and concentration of the mind which coordinates the physical movements of the body while accelerating, steering, changing the gears, applying brakes or any combined activity. Along with this, one also needs to extend his/her efforts to perform the act of driving. When the coordinated steadiness and self-effort is further protracted, consistent and revered, an individual exhibits a dutiful and disciplined driving pattern thereby enhancing the quality of performance.
Further, sage Patañjali, defines indifference as- turning the gaze away from both tangible and intangible luring components, as these could cause unnecessary desires during the accomplishment of the sought after end result. In simple terms indifference is the ability to use the discriminative faculty of the mind to recoil from the distractions in the path of achieving one’s goal.
Any performance, which fails to inculcate this attitudinal approach, is neither holistic nor wholesome.
1 - PYS – 13 & 14
2 - PYS – 15
Now arriving at the operational approach, Patañjali uses four words. These four words at the level of operation are to be considered as four stages of performance or it can be simply understood as – "Performance broken down into four stages3" –
a) vitarka - The Stage of Argumentation
b) vicāra - The Stage of Musing
c) ānanda - The Stage of experiencing Happiness
d) asmitā - The Stage of experiencing unification with one’s own Self
