One of my favourite stories revolves around the visit of Alexander the Great to India. It is believed that Alexander was drawn to India by tales of the great spiritual prowess of its holy men and that he wanted to meet the best known of them all, a man with the unusual name of Dandemis. A messenger was dispatched to find the sage and in time he found him, deep in meditation in a forest.

With deep respect the messenger told him, ‘Alexander the Great wishes to meet Your Holiness and will reward you richly for your presence.’ His tone changing slightly, he added, ‘However, if you refuse, then he has asked me to behead you.’ The sage heard the messenger out with great attention. Then he replied calmly: ‘I neither covet gold nor fear death, therefore I choose to stay here. If Alexander wishes to meet me, he should come to me.’ Saying this, he returned to his meditation, leaving the messenger nonplussed.

Harness the soul force
A similar feeling must have engulfed the British when they tried to break up Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement with lathis and bullets. No matter what they did, the freedom fighters did not stir. Louis Fisher, Gandhi’s biographer, put it beautifully. “The British attacked the Indian with batons and bullets. The Indians neither withdrew nor retaliated. That made the British helpless and the Indians invincible.” Gandhi called this ability to withstand the depredations and onslaughts of others with calm and equanimity, soul force.

I would call it inner power. Inner power is our ability to have such control over our mind — which includes our emotions, behaviour, thoughts and words – that no matter what the outer situation, we remain totally within our own mastery. The outside world may threaten or flatter. It may seek to control us or seduce us. It may attempt to make us angry, to make us violent and reactive. But the woman with inner power will rise above all these manipulations and respond consciously and alertly, making her own choices. Inner power means we are the ‘captains of our ship, the masters of our soul.’ Inner power means we are free from the control of others.

Find the power within
The world has traditionally worshipped the purveyors of outer power. The great ones: kings and queens, tycoons, the rich and the famous. When we are confronted with pomp and pelf, we cannot quite help being overwhelmed and awestruck. Despite Aishwarya Rai being an indifferent actress, the world pays obeisance to her because of her astonishing beauty. Dhirubhai Ambani was apparently known as the ‘king’ because of the power he wielded. In the Capital, one’s pecking order is entirely determined by the number of ministers one knows. It does not help that today the media is so engulfed by the celebrity cult that almost every word they say and everything they do, right down to buying a toothpaste is eagerly quoted by the phalanx of paparazzi who have suddenly materialised in India.