Winning through Discipline and Diligence

I remember a story by Leo Tolstoy in which the devil wishes to deceive and lure Ivan the Fool. After failing many attempts to lure him, he finally proposes to teach Ivan and all the fools how to do brain-work. He says that they who work with the mind can do better than they that work with the hands. This interests Ivan the Fool who remarks that he wanted to learn how to work with the head so that it'll help when they're tired working with the hands. So, the fools gather around the devil who ascends to a tower and begins his lectures on how to work with the head. They wait and wait and wait, until someone asks "Has he yet started working with his head?" to which another responds "No, he's just been talking all along." So, they all start leaving because they can't leave their works and listen to speeches when he promised them to show them how to work with the head. After three days of lecturing, the devil is exhausted and hungry. He asks for bread, but the people say that if working with the head is better than working with the hands, then he should be able to procure his bread thereby. The devil, finally, can't take it anymore and falls down hitting his head against a pole. Someone, exclaims "Oh, he's started working with the head." And, people rush to him as he keeps tumbling down and down. But, then, suddenly there's a hole in the ground and the devil disappears out of the sight. He has lost.

The lesson is that simple-mindedness with manual labor has great gain than philosophizing about the universe and doing nothing with the hands.

Following are few proverbs from the Bible about the same:

"He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich." Proverbs 10:4

"The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labour." Proverbs 12:24

"The soul of the lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich." Proverbs 13:4

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty." Proverbs 21:5

However, this doesn't mean that intellectual reasoning is not important. For instance, Jesus Himself taught that a person should first calculate his budget before beginning to build a house, because it would be bad to begin something and not be able to finish it because all resources were depleted half-way. And, winning is certainly about finishing something. No one gets a prize for just beginning a race; one gets it for finishing it and winning it. Therefore, proper thought should precede proper action. Even the Buddha talked about "Right Views" before "Right Aspirations" and "Right Action".

Secondly, diligence is the result of a disciplined mind. The mind is a horrible wanderer. You may know the story of a man who went to hunt a lion; then, finding the traces of deer, turned to follow them, then finding that of a boar, turned to it, until by the end of the day, he could hunt nothing. That's what an undisciplined mind does. One believes something is right today, and changes it tomorrow. One speaks one thing before one person with strong reasoning, and changes it later on. If you want to reach the shore, your boat should follow the compass, and work the rudder and the sail. You can't just keep on tossing from wave to wave and play the yo-yo between winds of the world all the time. Care not for what people say. Follow the truth. Guard your heart. Believe the right thing. Act with honesty, truth, and diligence, and prosperity is in your way.

Set up goals. Plan carefully and determinedly. Carry out the work with diligence, discipline, and determination. Win through discipline and diligent action!

© Domenic Marbaniang, February 2011

Story of the Song Stuti Aradhana Upar Jati Hei

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Ibadat Karo by Anil & Reena Kant (Lyrics and Translation)

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Domenic Marbaniang

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