“Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached” is a sloka of Katha Upanishad which was popularised in the late 19th century by the noted Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda. It was his message to the people to get out of their hypnotised state of mind. Arise like a tidal wave. You can either see yourself as a wave in the ocean or you can see yourself as the ocean. Keep in mind one thing that no one is going to work on your dream and you yourself have to arise. Don’t aspire to shine like a sun if you don’t have the courage to burn like a sun. Every great thing takes the courage. Don’t just dream about the success, work for it. Don’t limit your vision and never be afraid to start alone. Don’t let your own negative thoughts limit your dreams. It is never too late to start the things which you love. Your vision has the ability to change the life, you need the courage to follow the path of your dream in order to make your vision into reality. Awake from your unskilful intentions. Unskilful intentions are motivated by impulsive selfishness, craving, confusion and ill-will. Mindfulness (samma sati), right view (sammadithi), right effort (sammavayama) can free us from this feedback loop, breaking open a circular track and turning it into a path that leads to awakening.
Mindfulness is necessary because without it, we are submerged in our thoughts and feelings. Unable to
stand back, we act unreflectively, strengthening our unskilful habits and creating suffering for ourselves. Right view is important because it allows us to evaluate our potential actions. We should realise which actions of ours can lead to negative consequences and which can prove beneficial for ourselves and others. Right effort is needed because it’s not enough just to know what we should do. We have to be willing to act in the right direction.
The best example is the story of Eklavya. Eklavya was a determined boy. He was the son of a poor
hunter. His father noticed that something was bothering Eklavya. When his father asked, Eklavya told that he aspired to be an archer and want to be tutored by the great archery tutor of Hastinapura, Dronacharya. He wanted to learn archery to save the deer in the forest that were being hunted by the leopards. Eklavya’s father was worried. He knew that what his son dreamt of becoming would not be something easy. In fact, it could also be something he could never have. But he loved his son dearly and did not want to refuse his wish. So, he blessed his son to be successful and sent Eklavya to the gurukul to learn from Dronacharya himself. Eklavya set out for the gurukul and soon reached the place in the forest where Dronacharya was teaching archery to the princes of the kingdom of Hastinapura. So, he went to Dronacharya and requested him to teach him archery. Dronacharya was the teacher of the Royal family. He refused to teach Eklavya on the ground that Eklavya was not fit to be trained with the princes. Eklavya returned to the forest. He made an idol of Dronacharya out of the mud and considering it his teacher began to practise archery. Eklavya kept an eye on what guru Dronacharya was teaching his pupils and especially his favourite pupil Arjuna. He learnt the techniques that Dronacharya taught Arjuna in the nights in the jungle. With regular practice, Eklavya soon became one of the best archers and was confident that he was better than even Prince Arjuna, Dronacharya’s best pupil. This
teaches us that most of the learning comes from your own hard work and dedication and through regular and continuous practice. Teacher has a very little role to play in your learning. At best, he/she can be an inspiration and give his guidance.
The real essence of life lies in struggle. Determination and calmness help a person in his endeavours. These provide him inspiration to achieve success. A wise man accepts the challenges of life with a calm mind. Our ancient scriptures also advocate that one should do one’s duty with determination. One should have a firm determination to strive and win.
Many great men tasted success by their sheer determination and focus. We all are born to succeed. We must achieve something great in the limited time that we call life. This is our duty—a duty that every man or woman should perform. But what should we do in order to achieve success? If you want to be successful in your work, you must follow this rule: focus on only one thing at a time. Being successful does not require one to be exceptionally talented. Faith in your abilities, determination to prove something to yourself and the world and the willingness to work hard can do wonders for you in your quest for success.
The most important thing is to fight. We should focus on our goals, aims, ambitions and dreams no matter what others say. Work done recklessly is hardly profitable. So, one should think over the situation many times before undertaking a project. Foolish people do things in haste and lose opportunities whereas wise people win the game by having patience and with meticulous planning. In the story of HARE AND TORTOISE, the tortoise wins the race because of its slow and steady performance whereas the hare loses the line because of its hasty performance. So, one should think over many times before doing something.
So, stop not till the goal is achieved. Whether you realise it or not, every step you have taken up to now has brought you closer to success. Failures are stepping stones on the road to success. You have the confidence to move ahead. Your desire for success has to be greater than your fear of disappointment and failure. Take the steps that will take you where you need to be. It is up to you. No hard and fast rules have been in sight for a sure success in life in spite of enormous development of humanity during recent years. Since time immemorial, it has been the effort of man to achieve success in his undertakings. Man has resorted to many ways and means to get a clue of the ultimate way to success but still it eludes many opportunities in life. A successful man is not a rarity as we see many successful people around us. Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow can be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.