Efforts and Fruits

I was reading an article of Swami Sukhbodhnanda on " Enjoy the effort no matter what effect" .

He has said " I will recommend another approach. You can have a desire. Put in your best effort to fulfil it. But make sure you enjoy the effort rather than its fruits".

I do not agree with his view. I feel that unless we pursue our goal relentlessly, the intensity of the effort will come down. If we celebrate only the march towards the destination, we may not ever reach the destination at all. My view is that if we fail, we should not get discouraged, We should make all out efforts towards reaching the goal. When we have a dream, we must believe that our dream will come true. We must plan and work hard towards the goal. Imagine what would have happened if leaders like Mahatma Gandhi,Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela had been satisfied only with their march towards destination and not the destination. It is essential to have faith in one!s own abilities. It is said "Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around".

Here, I want to cite a case known to me. One of my friends, from an early age, wanted to become a successful lawyer. He would tell me that he would become a Senior Lawyer of Madras High Court by the age of forty, After completing law, he became a Junior to Mohan Kumaramangalam. When his mentor became a Central Minister, he started his own practice, He struggled very hard. For some time, he was known as a 'briefless lawyer". He never gave up hope and never lost faith in his ability to achieve his dream. True enough, he became a Senior Lawyer before forty years of age. He also turned down an offer of a Judge of Karnataka High Court, as he was making big money in practice. Unfortunately,he died at a very young age of heart attack. His wife, who became a lawyer at his instance after marrige, took over his practice. To-day, she( Mrs Prabha SriDevan) is a sitting Judge of the Madras High Court. She may even become a Judge of the Supreme Court as she has age
in her favour.

I do realise that failure is a fact of life. There is a spiritual lesson in every failure. Failures are necessary to remind people of their essential human vulnerabilities. An unbroken string of success can create pride and a sense of invincibility about one self in a high achiever .Mohamed Ali bragged "I am the greatest". Such unbriddled pride precedes a great fall.

Humility is a necessary virtue.Surrendering to God is an act of bhakthi-devotion and surrender happens only in a spirit of humility.

Imagine a situation in the Office. A person works very hard and sincerely and always meets his targets. If he does not get promoted or does not get his deserved increments, will he continue his good work? If countries participating in Olympics are merely satisfied with their efforts, they will never win Gold Medal. It is only their zeal to win, combined with training and hard work, that can fetch them Gold.

Reaching the destination is more important than the march towards the destination.