Real greatness, making men
out of dust - Genuine spirit of identity - Assert faith in goodness - Building
comradeship - Be self-confident, beware of self-conceit - Lesson of great lives
- 'Egoless' is success - One life, one mission - Self-introspection,
self-reformation - The joy of idealism - The glory of suffering - 'Excelsior'
THE mission of national
reorganisation i.e., of uniting in a common abiding brotherhood all our
brethren torn asunder for various reasons and making them fit for national
service by training each one of them suitably, is a tremendously complex task
involving the interplay of countless types of human natures. It naturally
defies codification or framing of flat rules of behaviour. Each man has an
individuality of his own and requires a distinct approach. So we shall here
focus our attention only on the main guidelines of behaviour for a worker
devoted to this national mission.
Tall but
Useless
When persons begin to work as missionaries of
national reconstruction, the chief impediment that comes up at every step is
the absence of national consciousness and the spirit of organised life among
the people. Therefore, they are tempted to pass judgement on others and look
upon them as being low in comparison to themselves. This often gives rise to a
sense of self-glorification and self-conceit. This is the first pitfall that a
national worker has to avoid. If he starts with the presumption that all others
are worthless, how can he work among the people and win their loving
co-operation?
What is the use of being so 'tall' as will not allow
one to mix with one's own people in a spirit of affection and comradeship?
Saint Kabir has said:
Å¡pk Hk;k rk s D;k
Hk;k tSls rky
[ktwjA
IkfFkdu dks Nk;k
ugh Qy ykxs vfr nwjAA
(Oh what use
are such great men who are like the tall palm and khajur trees which neither
give shade nor allow a tired traveler to reach their fruits?)
Comparatively even small trees capable of giving a
little shade and a few fruits will be of use to him.
So if a worker has certain great qualities let him
come down from his 'heights' to the level of the average man and share his
greatness with the rest of his brethren in society. Let him become one with
others without making others feel that he is something extraordinary. Even a
remote shadow of separateness arising out of the consciousness of one's
capacity and sacrifices should not be allowed to fall between oneself and the
people. After all, the various virtues that a worker strives to cultivate in
himself are for the sake of offering them at the feet of society. That is the
essence of real greatness.
Making Men out
of Dust
This is how all our great
epoch-makers had, in the past, forged the scattered forces of our people into
an invincible national strength. Shivaji mingled with the poor unlettered
tillers of the soil with love and fellowship, reared them in a climate of
idealism and turned them into conquering national heroes. He approached even those
who were wallowing in slavery under the Muslim overloads and won them over to
the cause of swadesh and swadharma. The peerless warrior
Morarbaji Deshpande was one such priceless jewels, which he snatched from the
enemy. He reconverted to our faith many, who had succumbed to the lures of
Muslim women and the temptations and tyranny of Muslim powers. One of his
generals, Netaji Palkar, who was captured and converted to Islam by Aurangzeb,
later on escaped and came back to Shivaji. Shivaji took him back to the Hindu
fold and lest others should shirk to mix with him he established blood
relations with him by giving one of the members of his own family in marriage
to him. Similar was the case of Bajaji Nimbalkar who was taken back to the
Hindu fold and his son wedded to the daughter of Shivaji himself. What a
supreme vision Shivaji had of national consolidation!
In ancient times there is a
parallel instance in the life of Sri Krishna. After Sri Krishna had rid the world
of the menace of Narakasura and released the thousands of women abducted by
him, a serious problem confronted the leaders of society. Then Sri Krishna, who
was universally accepted as the supreme lawgiver because of his incomparable
virtues of head and heart, himself came forward to give them an honourable
status in society by formally declaring them all as his dharmic wives! In fact the highest dharma of a society is to find a place of dignity and usefulness
for every one of its members however low he may be. Poet Moropant has told:
Ifj izHkqfg laxzgh
ldy oLrqyk BsforhA
Xkq.kk u Eg.krk
m.kk vf/kd vknjs
lsforhAA
(The great
ones keep all things with them, recognising and respecting their worth whether
it be little or great.)
The Prerequisite
It is true that all are not alike either in virtues
or weaknesses. All the same, they have to be brought together in a harmonious
well-knit organisation wherein each one will be inspired to offer one's best to
build a common pool of strength and virtues. To achieve this, a spirit of total
identification with society is the first requisite for a national worker.
A Sadhu was once sitting with a dog in his arms
lovingly sharing the leavings of food thrown on the roadside. A passer-by
recognised in him a realised soul and went near him. But on seeing him, the
Sadhu began to run and hurl stones in a bid to dissuade him from following. But
seeing him pursuing undeterred, the Sadhu halted and asked him, "Why are
you coming after me?" The man replied, "Sir, I know you have realised
God. Please initiate me also into that path". The Sadhu told, "Well,
do you see the gutter of the town flowing here? When you come to realise that
this is in no way different from the waters of Ganga, you will have become competent
to realise God". The work of social consolidation which is truly the
realisation of Nation-God can be carried on only on the basis of such a spirit
of identity as will render us capable of seeing a beggar in the street and a
great scholar with an equal eye of love and brotherhood.
Avoid
Pretensions
In this connection there is an important point that
a national missionary has to bear constantly in mind. The behaviour of intimacy
and affection with one and all should be devoid of all traces of affectations
and pretensions. Nor should there be any room for fake feelings of compassion.
An organisation cannot thrive on merely polished but empty mannerism. The
worker`s feeling of fraternity must be natural and spontaneous. He must be able
to look upon the entire society as a living manifestation of divinity and see
in each individual the same spark of divinity irrespective of his external
appearance. Our culture has always prompted us to acquire this eye of equality
born out of the realisation of the inner unity.
Once, the boy-sage Ashtavakra (deformity incarnate!)
entered the assembly of scholars in the court of the renowned philosopher-king
Janaka. The assembled scholars could not suppress their laughter at the sight
of the ugly form of the newcomer. The boy calmly remarked, "I came here
taking this to be an assembly of philosophers. But now I find that I have come
to a wrong place as there are only cobblers and butchers here". The
venerable assembly was shocked beyond all words. Janaka asked the boy to
explain his statement. The boy-sage replied, "These gentlemen have
identified me with my bones, flesh and skin. It is the butcher who deals in
bones and flesh and the cobbler in skin. A real philosopher recognises the
Spirit in man which is the same in all beings".
The Golden
Blend
No one, however virtuous and
great, should forget that others too possess sparks of virtues. It is
presumptuous to imagine that the Almighty has handed over the lamp of knowledge
only to a few and kept all others in darkness. Even our ancient rishis who proudly called themselves Aryas and had resolved to Aryanise the
whole of humanity declared that others, the Mlechhas,
too were capable of nobility and greatness. Our ancestors had the unique
quality of owning others without compromising their own self-respect. The work
of national reorganisation has to be carried on in the same spirit, i.e., of
rejecting none and respecting all.
The first conviction with which a national worker
should start is that all people are, or can be made, virtuous and good and
capable of sharing responsibility and that none of them is intrinsically a fool
or a traitor. Sometimes he may have to criticise some individual for their
thoughts and actions, which go against the national well-being. But even while
doing so, he must give due respect to their person and admit their good points.
Assert Faith
in Goodness
In fact, recognising the good in others is one of
the best, but rarest, of human virtues. The guiding principle for a worker should
be to water the seeds of virtues in others and, by presenting before them the
silent example of his own superior conduct, carefully weed out their vices and
defects without parading them before all. The advice of many worldly-wise men
is to deal with people according to their worth purely in a 'business-like'
spirit. But for a missionary devoted to organising the whole people, that would
be the very antithesis of the attitude required of him. In spite of repeated
rebuffs and insults at the hands of his brethren he will have to go to their
doors again and again with the same spirit of love and service.
Once a Sadhu while bathing in a river saw a scorpion
being carried away by the current. At once he stretched out his hand to rescue
it. But stung by it he let it go. He again caught hold to it and tried to throw
it on the bank. He was stung again. He repeated his attempts, got himself stung
every time and finally threw the scorpion outside the water. The persons
witnessing that amazing sight remarked what a fool he was to have attempted to
save the scorpion again and again knowing its nature only too well. The Sadhu
calmly replied, "Well, when even such a small dull creature does not give
up its natural qualities, then should I, an intelligent human being, give up
mine?"
Building
Unshakable Comradeship
After all, in the case of our brethren in society,
the question of their inborn hostility does not arise. Whatever indifference or
opposition, that a worker may experience from others is often born out of their
ignorance and is bound to be short-lived. So he should approach every
individual, whatever be his present aptitude and position in life, in a spirit
of friendliness and equality and with faith in his innate goodness. He must be
confident of triumphing over the various weaknesses, vices and temperamental
differences of others on the strength of his genuine love and regard for them
and the example of his own sterling character.
Good character alone is not enough. There are
persons endowed with pure character but who are rude and offensive in their
speech and behaviour. They even pride themselves on their rudeness. They say,
"I call a spade a spade. If it offends anyone I care two hoots". But
a worker who is devoted to national reorganisation cannot afford to be so.
Sweetness of speech is a 'must' for a national worker.
There is the story of a king
who used to consult astrologers about his future. All the astrologers told him
that he would live very long but his son would die before his very eyes. That shocking
news would naturally infuriate him and he would punish those astrologers.
Finally, an old astrologer approached him and said that he was a very fortunate
man and would install his grandson on throne with his own hands. Immensely
pleased, the king rewarded the astrologer handsomely! Instead of uttering the
bitter prophecy like others, he said the same thing but in a sweet manner. And
that made all the difference. So it has been said, Satyam brooyat, priyam brooyat (Speak truly, speak sweetly).
We have to be wary of one
more common human failing - of indulging in slanderous criticism - and
sarcastic comments about others. Of course, criticism and sarcasms too have
their place in life. But they should be used very sparingly, just as even
poison is sometimes used as medicine. But to indulge in them often and making
it our habit would only degenerate us. Of course, it does not mean that we
should always put on a wry and serious face and avoid buoyant laughter and
delightful mirth. The Bhagavad-Gita
describes the salient features of an ideal worker-
eqDrlaxks∙ugaoknh
/k`R;qRlkglefUor%A
fl);fl);ks fuZfoZdkj% drkZ lkfÙod mP;rsAA
(He who is
detached, egoless, steadfast, earnest and enthusiastic, and who is unruffled by
success or failure - such a one is a worker of the sattvic type.) It is
only when the worker blends strength of character with sweetness of speech and
behaviour in himself that he will be able to make others come together in a
spirit of comradeship and stand up along with him under all trials and
tribulations.
There is an instance of
Chandrashekhar Azad, a name that has become a legend for character, courage and
spirit of revolution. He was being hunted by the entire might of the British
intelligence force. Once, when he was residing secretly with his friend who was
a Government servant, the police besieged the house on suspicion. The friend
tried to convince the police officers in loud tones of protest that he knew
nothing about Azad. The friend's wife who was inside heard the voice. Chandrashekhar
too was inside playing merrily with the children. It was the day of Sankranti. The lady made up her mind in
an instant. She thundered in a tone of indignation, "You idiot of a
servant, it is already late and you are idling away your time with the children!
Get up, take the basket, we have to distribute sweets to our neighbours!"
In an instant Chandrashekhar got himself up as a servant and with a basket on
his head followed her out of the house before the very eyes of the police
officers. Neither the basket nor Chandrashekhar returned after the
'distribution of sweets'! The person who would play and make merry as one among
the children of the house, had at the same time converted that house into a
veritable citadel of loyalty, courage and sagacity in the cause of the nation.
That should be our method, that should be our ideal wherever we live and move.
The One Enemy
of All Virtues
As the work progresses and gains in prestige and
influence people naturally begin to praise the worker. And therein lies the
danger spot for a worker. He starts feeling conscious of his capacity and
influence and a sort of vanity develops in him. The repulsive odour of his ego
begins to stink in the nostrils of those who come near him. They try to keep
themselves away respectable distance from him. Saint Jnaneshwar has beautifully
described the strange nature of ego:
Ldy vgadkjkps xksBhA fo'ks"k u yxs vKkukps ikBhA
Kkfu;kW ps
iMs dsBhA egk
ladVh ?kkfyrls AA
(Strange are the
ways of ego. It does not touch the ignorant but clutches the learned by the
throat and lands them in grave danger.) The worker should therefore be
extremely circumspect and not fall a prey to the deceptive tactics of ego.
Vanity is the greatest enemy of all virtues. Temptations flow from vanity.
In our ancient literature
there is the story of Jaimini, a disciple of the great sage Vyasa. Vyasa once
asked him to write the shloka-
cyoku~ bfUnz;xzkeks fo}kalefi d"kZfrA
(The pull of
senses will distract even the scholars.) But Jaimini, overconscious of his powers of
self-restraint, changed the words into:
cyoku~ bfUnzxzkeks fo}kala ukid"kZfrAA
(The pull of
senses will not distract the scholar.) Vyasa observed it but kept quiet for the time being.
Jaimini was residing in a forest, engaged in penance. One evening rain and
tempest set in. a young and beautiful woman drenched in the rain and seeking
shelter in that darkness came to the hut and begged the young tapasvi for protection. There was fire in
the oven; she went there and began to dry her clothes. Just then a gust of wind
took away her sari leaving her naked. The young Jaimini could no longer control
himself. He approached the woman and entreated her to satisfy his carnal
desire. She tried to dissuade him saying that he was a tapasvi; that he should not fall into temptation and so on but to
no avail. Finally she accepted to fulfill his desire on the condition that he
should take her on his shoulders and go round the fire three times. In his infatuation
he readily agreed to it and lifted her on his shoulders. As soon as he began to
go round the fire she began hitting his head and asking tauntingly -fo}kala ukid"kZfr? He
was amazed to find that woman reminding him of the words of his guru. He finished his rounds and
lowered the lady down only to find to his utter bewilderment his guru Vedavyasa himself looking at him
with a meaningful smile! Jaimini was plunged in repentance. He hurried back and
changed the shloka to its original
form.
Be Self-Confident,
Beware of Self-Conceit
All our great men have invariably commanded
everyone, however good and virtuous he may be, to be humble and prudent in all
his behaviour. It does not, however, mean that a worker should lose his
self-confidence while moving with men or facing difficult situations.
Self-confidence is in fact the very life-breath of all great workers.
It is the calm and steady and self-confident men
that can move mountains. The picture of Winston Churchill, the old lion of
England, standing erect on a heap of ruins in London, a city rained with bombs
during the Second World War, and telling his countrymen that he had come there
not to weep but with the promise of blood, sweat, toil and tears-and victory! -
gives us an idea of the powers of an unruffled and confident mind.
There is a beautiful story in Jain literature. Once
Sri Krishna, Balarama and Satyaki were lost in a forest. They decided to spend
the night beneath a tree, each keeping guard over the others for two hours. To
start with, Satyaki kept awake and the other two slept. But shortly, a
Brahmarakshasa (an evil spirit) jumped down form the tree and threatened
Satyaki that he would eat up all the three persons. Satyaki got furious and
began to fight with the Rakshasa. But to his bewilderment he found the Rakshasa
growing in stature and strength. Satyaki was exasperated. After two hours,
thoroughly exhausted, he awoke Balarama and went to sleep. As soon as Satyaki
retired, the Rakshasa too disappeared for a while but again appeared when Balarama
got up. Balarama, conscious of his tremendous strength, became wild with anger
and began to combat. But he too met with the same fate. After fighting in vain
for two hours he awoke Sri Krishna and went to sleep. The Rakshasa confronted
Sri Krishna. But Sri Krishna kept calm. He was confident of his own
overwhelming powers and knew how to deal with the demon. He started joking and
playing and hitting the Rakshasa. And what a surprise! As Sri Krishna continued
in this strain the Rakshasa began to diminish in size. Ultimately Sri Krishna
caught hold of him and tied him in a corner of his garment. When Balarama and
Satyaki woke up in the morning they were surprised to find Sri Krishna restful
and tranquil as if nothing had happened. Their surprise turned into amazement
when they found the dreaded Brahmarakshasa tied up as a small worm in corner of
Sri Krishna's garment!
The tranquillity of mind born out of supreme
confidence in one's own strength is an inexhaustible dynamo of power. Anger and
excitement ruin the power of calm judgement and firm action.
However, a worker should not become a victim of
self-conceit in the name of self-confidence nor should he lose self-confidence
in an attempt to become unassuming and humble. The correct poise of mind should
be cultivated assiduously.
A look at the great character in our past history
will be an inspiring aid to develop such mental equanimity. How small and
insignificant we appear before those towering personalities who had reached the
pinnacles of selflessness, steadfastness and manliness! What is there in use to
boast of in comparison with those giants of thought and action? We have not
even acquired a drop of the ocean of knowledge that Shankaracharya had mastered
in a short life-span of thirty-two years. Even as a young boy, he embraced the
hard life of renunciation and walked the four distant corners of the land with
the message of national resurrection. Single-handed, he moved earth and heaven
and once again roused the people to the true consciousness of our traditional
values of life. And still what a deep humility he had! At one place he says
lR;fr Hksnkixes ukFk rokga u ekedhuLRoe~A
lkeqnzks fg rjax%
Dop u leqnzk s u rkjax%AA
(Though it is true
that distinction between you and me has disappeared, Oh Lord, I belong to Thee,
and not Thou to me, just as the ripple belongs to the ocean and not the ocean
to the ripple.)
The constant remembering of such radiant lives will
illumine our hearts with its effulgence and inspire us to proceed in their
footsteps with self-confidence and at the same time with self-effacement.
'Egoless' is
Success
If there is even a trace of ego and vanity the
worker will not be able to merge his life in the joys and sorrows of the people
in true spirit of amity and identity. The rest of true friendship is the
ability to remain unoffended in face of adverse comments. Even if a person says
or does something, which in the eyes of others appears to harm or insult him
and still he does not in the least feel its prick, then alone can he claim true
friendship with that person.
There is a small poem, which gives out this idea
beautifully. A young man and a young girl were in deep love with each other.
But the parents of that girl would not allow her to marry him. So once they
meet in a far-off place in solitude and the young man says in the poem, "I
throttled and killed her; and she felt no pain!" It only means that when
there is real love, there can be no pain or offence taken or given. If there is
a feeling of having been offended, it means we have not really effaced the ego.
This is the test we have to apply to ourselves on every such occasion.
It is only when the worker surrenders his ego
completely and unreservedly at the altar of the great mission he has chosen,
that he will be able to make himself its fit instrument. Only a good and
well-tuned musical instrument can give rise to melodious notes in the hand of
an expert. So also, when the worker rounds off the angularities of his egoistic
nature, a pure and inspiring note of self-confidence and missionary zeal will
be vibrant in all his talk and behaviour.
There are some, who say that the natural tendencies
in man cannot be changed, that they are like the tail of a dog which curls up
every time we try to straighten it up. This is only a half-truth, applicable to
men without a mission in life. For a man with a mission, the message of-
Ukj djuh
djs rks uj dk ukjk;.k cu tk;AA
(Man by his
efforts can become God) holds good. Remember, "Every saint has a past
and every sinner a future". The attitude of "I am a no-changer, take
me as I am", will be of little avail in building an organised life of the
people. It is like a foot-rug with the letters "USE ME". Should there
not be any difference between living men of dedication and a lifeless object?
By regular contemplation and introspection the worker should imbibe all the
necessary qualities and fashion his life for the successful working out of the
chosen ideal.
One Life, One
Mission
Through introspection the worker should be able to
discern correctly to what extent he has progressed in identifying himself with
the mission of building an organised national life, whether the mission has
become his one all-consuming passion moving and swaying his thoughts, feelings
and actions in company or in solitude. True character of a person lies in what
he thinks and does when he is alone. Especially today when young minds are
surrounded by innumerable temptations of modern civilisation like all sorts of
vulgar pictures, songs, cinemas, novels and entertainments, the chances of his
getting unconsciously permeated with those images are very high. One thousand
and one distractions pull him in diverse directions and if he is not on his
guard his mind will be tossed about like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea.
Such an unsteady mind spells ruin to the individual. It is said:
vO;ofLFkrfpÙkkuka izlknks·fi Hk;adj%A
(Even the
solicitude of an unsteady mind is dangerous.) Then what to say of such a mind
when it gets into a rage! The need for stringent self-introspection therefore
becomes all the more necessary for a worker desirous of leading the life of a
dedicated missionary in the present atmosphere of all-round distraction and
dissipation.
Daily
Self-Correction
To do this, it is necessary for the worker to sit in
solitude daily in the mornings and nights and probe his mind. With a discerning
intellect he must find out whether any unworthy thought had entered his mind.
If so, he should resolve to throw them out and become purer from the next day.
He should detach his mind from unholy associations and make it immersed in
thoughts concerning the chosen mission of his life. It is possible that he
succumbs to the same failings on the next day also. But he need not despair. He
should continue the daily self-searching and assertion of his holy resolve. He
will, in course of time, find that his mind has become less prone to evil
propensities and more attuned to the noble impulses.
The daily recitation of our Prarthana is a powerful aid in this
process. One should be particular not only in the correct pronunciation of its
each and every word and syllable but also about the thought-content of every
word. Such repeated impressions will, in course of time, percolate into the
depths of one's thought-processes and shape one's character accordingly.
By such a constant and conscious application of his
will a worker can attain the state of complete concentration on his chosen path
of national resurgence in spite of worldly distractions. For, the forces of
purity and divinity are for more potent than the evil pulls and always stand by
such a worker spreading their angelic wings over each one of his humblest and
honest efforts and take him from strength to strength. Then the only joy and
solace of his life will lie in the fulfillment of that ideal. All other
external attractions will become insipid before that joy.
There are two instances in
the life of Lokamanya Tilak, which strikingly reflect his mental equanimity and
concentration on his ideal, under two diametrically opposite situations. Once
his son became seriously ill. Tilak was attending to the treatment of his son
but was also taking care to fulfill his editorial work of 'Kesari' in time. One day when he was busy writing the editorial,
news reached him that his son's condition had become critical. Tilak sent back
the messenger saying, "I will finish the writing and then come there; call
the doctor and see what can be done". When Tilak, after his writing, reached
home his son was already dead. And he went through his son's final ceremonies
with perfect steadiness and composure of the mind.
The other incident was when
he was taken to the music performance of a famous songster. The audience was
thrilled and moved by the music but Tilak sat unmoved, impassive. The songster
observed it and later on asked Tilak whether the music was not to his taste.
Tilak replied, "No doubt, you sing extremely well. But my ears are
completely filled with the divine music of the Song of the Lord, Bhagavad-Gita, and hence I was unable to
enjoy your music".
The Joy of
Self-Surrender
The springs of spontaneous
joy and inspiration that rise in a heart charged with such a spirit of total
surrender to the ideal will defeat all forces of darkness and despair. There is
a story of two yogis who were doing
intense penance for realising God. Narada, who was on his way to the abode of
God, was requested by these two yogis
to know from him for how many more births they had to carry on their penance to
realise God. Narada on his way back again met the two yogis. To the first he said, "Only four more births."
Hearing this reply the yogi became
crestfallen and began wailing, ”Oh Lord, still four more births!" To the
other, Narada said, "You have to wait till you take as many births as
there are leaves in the yonder tamarind tree". But Narada was amazed to
see him start dancing with joy. When Narada asked him the reason, he replied,
"Now I have got only a definite number of births before I reach God. After
that I am assured of meeting God. What a great solace it is!" And just as
he uttered these words a divine voice was heard, "You are even at this
moment a realised soul!" Such a spirit of joyous perseverance, absolute
faith and unshakable will can achieve miracles.
Excelsior!
No great work is achieved
without great suffering and sacrifice. The worker will be required to pay a
heavy price in terms of his personal and family happiness and similarly embrace
a life of the troubles and dangers in treading the path of the ideal. The
glowing example of Sri Rama is there as the guiding star for the hazardous
voyage of a life duty. Even as a boy, he was taken from his parents by
Vishwamitra, away from a princely life to a forest life, to fight the rakshasa. Later, after he had won the
hand of Sita and was returning to Ayodhya he had to face the terrible
Parashurama. And then before he could heave a sigh of relief and taste
happiness, he had to leave for a fourteen-year wilderness in forest. Those
fourteen years too were full of ordeals and struggle with rakshasa, abduction of Sita by Ravana and the great war at Lanka.
As he returned to Ayodhya and was anointed as the king he had to give up Sita
in response to the call of kingly duties. Lakshmana, who had followed him like
a shadow in all these tribulations and was like the very breath and soul of
Rama, too had to be given up to assuage the wrath of Durvasa who would have
otherwise destroyed Ayodhya. Verily his was a life unparalleled by all
standards of character and calibre and unparalleled in suffering and sacrifice
too.
There is a small poem which tells the story of a
young man who goes out in rains and tempest on a mountainous path with a banner
held aloft in his hand bearing the insignia 'Excelsior'. In that darkness,
after a time he sees a small hut with a light burning inside. As he nears it,
an old lady comes out of the hut and stops him saying, "Where are you
going, my boy, in this rain and tempest? I have no son of my own. Please stay
here as my child enjoying all this property". But the young man has no
mind to listen to her. By then her charming daughter comes out and addresses
that handsome and robust young man in her bewitching tone: "I had not
offered my heart to anyone till now. But now I have given myself over to you.
Please stay here". The reply of the young man is as adamant as ever. He
says, "I go forward. Nothing can stop me", and proceeds onward.
One such instance happened in the life of Tatya
Tope, the great general of the 1857 War of Independence. Azijan, a young Muslim
dancing girl, was struck by the manly beauty of the general. She employed her
charms to captivate his heart. But Tatya Tope told her, "Well, you know
that the one passion of my life is driving out the English. There is no place
in me for any other thought. But if you really love me and desire to bring joy
to my heart, then you also join hands with me in this noble cause". Azijan
agreed instantly. She gave away all her money to Tatya Tope and, in pursuance
of his designs, went to the English army camp. There she lured those captains
by her charms and shadowed their movements and conveyed their plans to the
leaders of the national uprising. She remained faithful to the cause up to her
heroic end in the war itself.
Such are the men who can, by a
mere touch, turn base metal into gold, turn the severest of difficulties into
opportunities and even temptations into their allies in the grand battle for
achieving their ideal. In the words of Swami Vivekananda they 'worship the
Terrible' and love to live dangerously. With the fiery energy of youth in their
nerves, the flash of idealism in their eyes, steadfast and unruffled amidst all
storms of temptations and adversities, and radiating inspiration all round,
they press forward triumphantly from success to success till they achieve the
goal of their dreams.
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