God helps those who help themselves

God helps those who help themselves

• Introduction-Sound, age-old logic.
• Inspiring life stories as proof.
• Fortune favors the brave.
• Importance of Karma in Hindu mythology.
• Conclusion — Need to strive for our own betterment. 

The above is an age-old logic that is indisputable. We hay all heard of the fable, in which a carter who on seeing his wagon stuck in the mud, prayed to 'Hercules' the god of strength to get it out for him. Hercules answered his prayer by saying, "Put your shoulder to the wheelman". The carter took his advice and lo and behold, the wagon was out of the mud. This simple fable yery effectively portrays the value of self-help.

There are many truly inspiring life stories of great men who were born in extreme poverty, but by sheer dint of their hard work and sincerity, they rose to the highest position in their country. Names like Abraham Lincoln and Lal Bahadur Shastri are illustrious examples of what wonders can be achieved by self-help. Abraham Lincoln began his life as a woodcutter while Shastri was a schoolteacher. They, however, rose to become the President and the Prime Minister of their respective countries, by virtue of their labor. 

We are also privy to real-life 'Rags to riches' stories of great industrialists, who had little, ally nothing to start with. They, however, not only became wealthy but also created an industrial empire. Examples of such men are Svvaraj Paul and our own Dhirubhai Ambani of the Capro and Reliance empire fame. While Swaraj Paul came as a refugee from what is now Pakistan, Dhirubhai a small trader of Gujarat, had the courage to challenge the multinationals and today heads one of the largest private sector companies in the country. They were able to achieve such phenomenal success due to their qualities of self-reliance, perseverance, and enterprise. They arc but living examples of the adage 'Fortune favors the brave'.

In Hindu mythology also, Karma or deed is of supreme importance and it is the purpose of our life. Lord Krishna in The Bhagwat Gita, extols the virtue of 'Karma ' to Arjun, inspiring him to wage war, for that was his Karma as a Kshetriya. The Gita also tells us that we must continue to do our karma (Duty) and not wait for a reward, for it is bound to follow sooner or later.

We must, therefore, pay heed to the above and continuously strive for our own betterment. We must not forget, that when even disabled people like Helen Keeler who was deaf, dumb and blind could overcome her handicaps and contribute to society, we as normal people have no reason to fail. We are reminded of what William Penn said "No pain, no palm, no thorn, no gall, no glory, no cross no crown.''