Lives of Great Men...

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It's Shivaji Jayanti tomorrow, and whenever I think of the life and times of Shivaji Maharaj, some of the events regarding him that are chronicled in the annals of history, I recall this subhashitam –

उद्यमः साहसं धैर्यं बुद्धिः शक्तिः पराक्रमः। षडेते यत्र वर्तन्ते तत्र दैवं सहायकृत्।।

udyamah sahasam

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Meaning –

उद्यमः साहसं धैर्यं                     Hard-work, Courage, Patience

बुद्धिः शक्तिः पराक्रमः       Intelligence, Strength, Valour -

षड् एते यत्र वर्तन्ते                         - where (in whom) these six exist,

तत्र दैवं सहायकृत्           there (for him), Destiny (also) gives assistance.

The gist of the shloka is that Destiny favours a person who possesses industriousness, courage, patience, intelligence, strength, and valour.

In short, if you strive for these qualities, and imbibe them in yourself, you will find your plans getting materialized, missions being accomplished, goals getting achieved and so on. You will experience that Destiny is also working in your favour.

When you study Shivaji’s life, you will appreciate

...... the tireless work he put in to achieve Hindavi Swaraj,

...... the (at times, brazen) courage with which he planned some raids and battles,

    ...... the patience and forbearance he displayed in conceding defeat and waiting for the opportune time,

    ...... the sheer intelligence and strategy in guerilla warfare, killing of Afzalkhan and others,

    ...... the strength and valour he displayed as he led from the front in many wars!

Paulo Coelho has famously said “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”

But think about it - if you just keep wishing for something and don’t take any steps in making it happen, will this quote hold true? So what Paulo actually meant was that ‘When you want something very badly and leave no stone unturned to make it happen, even the cosmic forces start working in your favour to make it happen!’

And that is what happens in case of the protagonist in ‘The Alchemist’ too – the book where this quote comes from.

Another subhashitam puts it more directly –

उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि न मनोरथैः। न हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मृगाः।।

udyamen hi sidhyanti

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It means that –

उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि                      Tasks are accomplished by hard work

न मनोरथैः                         not by just dreaming about them.

न हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मृगाः Deer (by themselves) do not enter the mouth of a sleeping lion

Thus, do not build castles in the air! Start working towards your goals to make them a reality! (An earlier blog covers this subhashitam in more detail - https://pravin03458.wixsite.com/prajaktas-bloom/post/panchatantra-%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0)

On such days that commemorate great men, devote some time of the holiday to thinking about their lives, what you can learn from them and how you can use those learnings to make a difference in yours!

So that when it’s your time to say goodbye, you can, as H.W.Longfellow has said in A Psalm of Life –

…. And departing, leave behind us

                              Footprints on the sands of time!

विजयी भव।