God made the Plan of Evolution and he set it working. Evolution has been going on from time immemorial. The plan has a system behind, and it is open to one and all to cooperate with it and accelerate his or her evolution. God became man for us. Should we not have a plan to become god for Him ?
We know knowledge is power – power to unfold latent powers in man. Intelligent and sustained efforts lead us to success. A ship, howsoever strongly built and mechanically impregnable by bullet it ought to be equipped with direction pointing and other guiding instruments, so that it may reach the destination.
To get full return of one’s labour and efforts, one should always keep alert, and be ready to meet any challenge whatsoever. Everything should be planned in advance so that one may be in a position to receive the full award and advantage of one’s potentialities. Remember, the more ambitious the plan, the greater the difficulties, the more strenuous efforts would have to be put in. The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius said some 2500 years ago that “A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door”. The novelist of all times, Victor
Hugo advises his readers to lead a planned life : “He who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.” The orderly arrangement of his time is like a ray of light which darts itself through all his occupations. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidents, all things lie huddled together in one chaos, which admits of neither distribution nor review. Most of you must have seen big executives and men who matter maintaining diaries of their assignments and engagements. The first thing a successful officer does in the morning, as soon as he takes his seat, is to consult the nothings for the day and go through the schedule.
A note of caution be struck at this point. Although the fundamentals of the plan may remain the same, it should be open for minor changes here and there to suit the changing conditions. As rightly pointed out by Publilius Syrus, “It’s a bad plan that can’t be changed”.
To achieve the object or the goal, we must first of all, have a strong urge or burning desire for it. Without this urge or the will to do it, there will be hardly any commitment, and as such, the pursuit thereof is bound to be half-hearted. The German philosopher poet, Goethe, reminds us again and again that, “He who is of firm will moulds the world to himself”.
Some people talk of one important factor, the circumstances, and may go to the length of quoting such statements as “Man is the creature of circumstances” (Robert Owen), “Men are the sport of circumstances (G. G. Byron) and the like. But we must accede that different persons work differently and show different results in the same circumstances. The same teacher imparts the same lessons to a number of students present in the classroom, but no two students show the same result or get the same number of marks at the examination. It may help our attitude towards the
circumstances, if we try to take to our heart these words of C. N. Bovee, “It is our relation to circumstances that determines their influence over us. The same wind that carries one vessel into port, may blow another offshore.” Sir William Osler gives us a tip regarding the influence of the circumstances and their role in the scheme of things : “When schemes are laid in advance, it is surprising how often the circumstances fit in with them”.
There may be occasions when one is likely to be tempted by small gains, and give up efforts to see the plan through. These small successes are like the serpents coiled beneath every flower, which seek an opportunity to detract the worker from his goal. So, neglect the serpents of small gains and go ahead till you reach the temple of success on the top of the hill.
Success is not a fruit which drops from a road side tree, nor a matter of luck or chance. The tree, yielding the fruit of success, does not grow in vacuum or on a barren land. It is made to grow in the land where soil is tilled with sweat-shedding and sustained hard labour. The challenges of circumstances, are to be met with self-confidence and indomit-able courage and undiluted and pointed devotion to your plan. Know it from the masters, who preside over our destinies that the world is meant for those who are reckless of wind and weather. There is no room for the lethargic and slothful.
Above all, your success would depend upon your ability to apply your intelligence in the hot pursuit of your plan and to the working thereof with full and true commitment. You will convert the adversities into opportunities and bounce into the fight or the fray again and again till you come out with flying colours.
To each individual, there is one road. The ambitious one has to find the road which suits his nature, temperament or Dharma. The plan to go along the road has to be drawn, and details be worked out. A navigator has before him the map of the routes he has to take; the compass is a constant companion of an experienced sailor. Then why not should a plan of work ever be before an aspirant and the one who is destined to achieve heights in his life ?
So, plan your work, and work your plan.
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