The time when I was undergoing my education there wasn’t much awareness for education which one finds today. The same situation prevails in the villages today. Only the first benches, eight to ten in a classroom, attended the classes with sincerity, others, though in the classroom, physically present, had their minds somewhere else. They had their own reasons for attending classes. For me, honestly speaking, the study was a boring activity, inducing sleep. I would manage to find ‘Important’ questions one week prior to the exam. After cramming, day and night would manage to pass the exams. What seemed meaningless then appears to be meaningful today. I wish to attend classes again to learn whatever I had skipped in my student life.
In order to find the right direction, one needs good friends which are rare to find. There are too many to lead us astray but few to follow and show the right path. Leniency towards evil friends proves fatal. It is better to repel them with strong determination. One of my friends used to smoke during college days. Once we were roaming the streets of the city on our cycles, he stopped at a shop from where he bought two cigarettes, gave me one. When I refused, he became annoyed saying that I was not an eligible person for his friendship. So I broke away.
If one wants to excel in studies he must keep the company of the first benchers. Similarly, in order to be a successful businessman or an industrialist he has to keep the company of leading traders and industrialists. Friendship with professionals would mould one into a profession while a man can gain literary nuances in the company of literary people. Company of seers and saints can transform one into a sage. A man is known by the company he keeps.
Jo mil gaya usi ko mukaddar samajh liya, whatever was received considered as my fate, I became content with what I happened to find, expresses an attitude of being satisfied with one's lot. This could be a good maxim for those who want to live single. But if one wants to have a family and lead a domestic life, he cannot remain content with what he finds, extra efforts become necessary. One must discuss one’s interests, likes and dislikes amidst family members, teachers, and friends. One should do elaborate homework, examine all aspects and possible options. While giving priority to interests, economic factors should also be taken cognizance of॰ A person should avoid taking any decision under the pressure of others. It should be based on a pre-planned strategy. It is not just a matter of earning a livelihood, what creates interest, should be undertaken. Success needs total submission, concentration towards objectives, hard work, and patience. There is no short cut to success. It exacts its toil and toll which one has to pay.
Eminent painter Vincent Van Gogh in his autobiography ‘Lust for life’ writes : ‘In order to accomplish a task one has to die first, within. The man is not born to be happy he is here to produce great things for mankind. He is here to secure generosity and go beyond the absurdity that makes existence much miserable.’
Trying to find means of livelihood and lead to a meaningful life, are two separate matters. However, in th modern world even to manage self, has become quite challenging. Many people depart this world earning only their livelihood, as the purpose of life. At the root of this problem is our family system. From his infancy, the child is reared in such a way that he gets a kind of psychological affiliation with family. Any decision about himself is initiated only when he takes the cognizance of approval or disapproval of his family. In a very shrewd manner, his capacity to decide independently is deprived of. In the entire Indian sub-continent, an individual's decision i.e. marriage is at the mercy of group decision, consent of the family! It is the family that decides his profession. A farmer will sink his children with farming and allied occupation so will a merchant or an employee or a politician trying to induce the child to choose the profession of the family. Any attempt to deviate from the set pattern is sabotaged. Generally, the parent's motive is to secure their old age in the guise of deciding the child's future. The parents use the tact of emotional blackmailing to secure their children's approval.
The majority of youth is unable to decide their future. If the parents are affluent the children enjoy the gains of their riches. In the cyclone of affluence they become rudderless, boys lazy, girls careless. They find their present comfortable and future safe and secure. That keeps them carefree. Think for a while, why do the children of several affluent businessmen, officers or politicians remain good for nothing, utter incompetent while they were born under great affluence? In contrast children from underprivileged or deprived families are able to conquer insurmountable odds and reach the summit. There are several instances in which an orphan is able to realise his responsibility and accomplish success despite the hard struggle. Similarly, girls losing their mothers early proved efficient house managers. This is a strange world, the parents in some cases are facilitators while in many cases hurdles.
The craze for minting money will make the person money oriented who cannot see anything else. Like the madness in love he devotes himself to the pursuit, earn as much as he can.Those who become billionaires didn’t get money through a lottery. They tried in the right direction and used their foresight worked like a maniac became extremely selfish and remained spendthrift. Such ‘funda’ is equally true in other walks of life. You reap gain as much as you sweat.
Stephen R. Covey in “Seven Habits of Effective People” wrote, ‘Success can not be attained by fixing your ladders on the wrong wall, you merely get climb and climb down. Success is achieved when you fix your ladder on the right wall.’ The million dollar question still remains, how to find the right wall?
There are many attractions in the life. To dream of something or to achieve something is always imaginary. We all dream some visionary advice you to dream. Dreams are nothing but fiction, shattered when eyes are open. The livelihood of people is governed often by coincidence. People seldom achieve what one aspires for, rest accept whatever comes to them. But there are some gallant and visionaries who turn their difficulties into a stepping stone and work hard to fulfill their aspirations. Taking one step at a time towards the goal brings success, provided you adore enough patience to work for it.
In order to reap a harvest one has to irrigate the plant regularly along with the manure it needs. Such constant care can lead to blooms. One should give the highest priority to one’s interests or cultivate interest in the assignment one gets. A pragmatic approach free from emotional and family pressures in choosing career earns rich dividends. It is necessary to have an appraisal of competence and self-assessment along with an understanding of qualities and limitations one is endowed with. Efforts made with full awareness can deliver rewards.
Plant a tree of Neem, Azadirachta indica, sapling outside your home. Irrigate it regularly to develop into a small tree and there will emerge dozens ready to denude it. Some want a twig for brushing the teeth some want a few leaves for medicine. If that underdeveloped plant is not properly protected it would never spread its branches up in the sky and meet an untimely end. Measures are to be taken to ensure the growth of a plant. Same is true about economic development. A small capital has limited power, it takes a lot of time. Hence in order to maintain it, one has to be a miser while spending. Money saved by such efforts boosts the initial capital.
No comments:
Post a Comment