Self-Reliance

Essay No. 01

Self-reliance is-a sure key to success and happiness. A self-reliant person always depends upon his own energy, capacity to work, prudence and the resources. Therefore, a self-reliant person is master of himself and the circumstances as he does not depend on others. Such a person is always calm, sure, confident and self-possessed. He is firm, prompt in action and ever ready to face any challenge, and fertile of resources. While others who are not independent are surely much handicapped. It is really a slavery to depend on others for help, guidance, aid or resources and a slave is always at a great disadvantage. A person is most happy and. satisfied when he relies upon his own strength, power and resources. He ever walks without crutches or outside support.

Self-reliant people have always been found sure, self-assured, decisive, optimistic, free, independent and bold. They do not suffer from indecision or delay. They are rich in expediency, quick in action and steadfast in decision. Their will power is ever strong; their resolutions unfailing. They are the makers and masters of their destiny. They never blame fate, circumstances or the tools for they make their own tools and use them with greatest skill and concentration which is at their command. Their work, their creations and achievements bear the stamp of their personality. They are original in ideas and in shaping things and events. They achieve what they will because they are self-dependent, resolute, single minded and self-controlled. They know well their strength and weakness and so use their energies and resources in such a way as never to expose their weakness and when they achieve their victories, their ambitions and goals, then their joy is an unalloyed bliss for the glory is not be shared with others.

Self-reliance is the best support, the best tool and the shortest way to success. Lord Buddha said: “You are both friend and enemy of yourself. The heaven and hell lies within you. It is upto you what you choose. You are your own lamp, guide and staff. Never depend on others. Be the maker of your destiny. Help yourself and the world will help you.” It reminds us of the famous saying, “God helps those who help them-selves”. All successful men and women have been self-reliant. They achieved what they desired because they did not depend on others. They ran fast and in time on the road of self-reliance. A man walking with the crutches of others help cannot think of running a race, he cannot compete; he is sure to end with the crutches. For example, take the case of countries taking foreign aid. Such countries are virtually slaves. They depend on others for their planning, development and economic advancements. Such nations are like puppets with their strings in the hands of their aid-giving nations. Such aid has always strings attached to it.

Gandhiji has been a great example of self-reliance. He always depended on his inner spiritual strength and the moral power. It was because of his unmatched power of self-reliance that he could defeat such powerful adversaries as the Britishers, that too, with the weapons of non-violence, non-cooperation, and satyagraha. The whole nation rallied behind him because he was a self-reliant. Though so frail in body, his self-confidence, born out of his spirit of self-reliance, was amazing and wonderful. His moral courage has no equal. The strength of his character has- a few parallels in the human history. Napoleon said that the impossible word is found in the dictionary of fools. And he was right. A self-reliant person is always courageous, and nothing is impossible for him. There is no substitute for self-reliance, no external help can replace it.

A really self-reliant and brave person never waits for a favourable chance, a helping hand or a god-sent opportunity. He creates opportunities against odds by dint of firm resolution and iron-will. The beggars cannot be choosers. But a self-reliant person’s selection prevails, he is a chooser because he is not a beggar. He is not a slave of the habit of depending on others. Dependence on others weakens our faculties of judgment, will power and firm action, while self-reliance brings out the best in men and women. The odds, the unfavourable circumstances work like a healthy challenge to a self-reliant person. There are not fruits without sweat and labour, no victory without struggle and fight. It is the crisis which calls forth the best skills and abilities of a person. We grow strong through sufferings and struggles. Self-reliance and power to overcome odds are two aspects of the same coin. Occasional failure make people alert, vigilant, watchful and resolute. It sharpen our sensibilities and matures our judgment. Difficulties and adverse circumstances form the touchstone to test our courage, strength of character and self-reliance. The path of self-help and reliance is strewn with thorns of difficulties but at the end, there are flowers of glory and success full of rarest fragrance. Support, favours, helps, etc., from others spoil us; they make us handicapped and slaves. The ease, comfort and facilities weaken us from within. “Let us not lose heart, then, when beset by difficulties, or sharply tried, or oppressed with failure, for these things are designed to stimulate us to higher and purer effort, and to teach us the great and glorious lesson of self-reliance”. Truly, there is no royal road to success and satisfaction, but the path passes through self-reliance, self-help and struggle.

Essay No. 02

Self-Reliance

Man must go on in life without relying on others, self-dependent and self-confident. In other words, self-help should be the guiding principle of his life, his ideal and his aspirations. But circumstanced as man is, absolute self-reliance is impossible. He lives in a society where the rule is mutual help and co-operation. He gives and receives. This is perfectly right. Wrong comes in only when one takes without giving anything in return, when rights are enjoyed without discharging obligations—when there is begging, stealing or plunder but not exchange. But though absolute self-dependence is impossible, yet there is ample room for self-reliance in life.

In actual practice we depend too much on others. We rely too much on others’ help, sympathy, fellow feeling and goodness. But this habit in actual term is really harmful. It takes away our energy and initiative. It fills us with a sense of helplessness. It weakens our moral nature. Just as a child, who is never allowed to walk for fear of falling, becomes lame in the long run, so we become morally lame and deformed if we always lean on others and never try to practice self-help in life.

Moreover, by expecting too much from others, we invite ridicule, pity, scorn and disgust. People look upon us as hangers on and parasites. We ourselves become dead in terms of self-respect and sense of honour. Our own importance in the midst of men, full of energy and will power, makes us miserable. The sight of success on all sides excites energy. We become at last cynics and haters of mankind. Jealousy poisons our whole life. Nothing is more pitiable than to live in jealousy.

Different, however, is the picture of a self-reliant man. He is brave and determined. He trusts no outside help, expects no windfall, but struggles with obstacles and difficulties, gathering strength and experience at every step. He may succeed or fail, but he is always an object of awe, respect and admiration. For greatness of man depends upon his effort and not on his success or failure. Such man teaches the world fortitude, patience and self-help. The weak and the wavering are strengthened by them and the unhappy are consoled. Nothing, in fact, is more cheering than the sight of a brave soul struggling heroically with circumstances, grappling with his destiny and at last conquering it.

The self-reliant is rewarded by the earth and heaven alike. He gets the homage of men, commands their admiration, love and respect and earns name, fame, wealth and prosperity. He becomes their leader. Men trust him with life and property and have faith in his wisdom and capacity. In a world where success is so rare, he succeeds; where many are called but a few chosen, he receives the invitations. But it is not by man alone that he is rewarded; heavens also help him in his struggle.

Nothing, in fact, is nobler and surer than self-help. Gifts of fortune are uncertain. Even when we get them, we cannot always enjoy them in peace. There is always a feeling that we have got more or less than we deserve. Moreover, there is always an anxiety that these gifts, being not earned, may go away suddenly as they came. The pity of a benefactor wounds our self-respect. But the things for which we have toiled and paid the price, the things which we have earned with our life-blood, are our own by moral right and we can enjoy them with peace. There is far more joy in this than in the gambler’s luck or in the beggar’s dole.

Practice begets felicity. If we make up our mind not to depend upon others, but to do all our works ourself as far as possible, if we are determined to stand on our legs and not lean upon others, we are full of energy. We shall soon get enough self-confidence, a faith and will-power which will move even mountains.

Essay No. 03

Self-Reliance

Self-Reliance or self-help is a must to achieve success, happiness and progress. It is of no use to wait for others to help, assist and guide. The saying, “God helps those who help themselves,” very beautifully and aptly underlines the truth. Only the weak and helpless call on gods for help instead of putting their own shoulders to the wheel. One must learn to trust one’s own hands, power and strength instead of depending on good luck and the grace of the gods. Man is his own friend or foe. It is he himself who can make or mar his fortune. One is what one chooses to be. Lord Buddha taught man to be one’s own lamp and light and not to depend on borrowed light. Shelley, the great English poet, once remarked that God has given man arms long enough to reach the skies, if he should only put them out.

A self-reliant person depends on his own brain, power, capacity, resources, and prudence. Therefore, he is master of his fate and fortune. He shapes his own course of events and is never a slave of circumstances. Equipoise, confidence, alertness, perseverance and patience are his sure tools with which he carves out success and happiness. Such a person is firm, prompt in action, decisive, bold, self-possessed and ever ready to face any challenge anytime, while others are much handicapped and doubtful starters. They lack self-confidence, independence of judgment and action. Success is the sweetest when earned with one’s own sweat, labour, perseverance and resources. Fruits of success wouldn’t taste as sweet if achieved with the help of others. One can never run fast with crutches. Dependence on others is like working with crutches. The lesson of self-reliance is one that all young men and women should learn and imbibe if they want to succeed in life. It never means that he or she should not take into consideration the advice and counsel of their friends, well-wishers and elders. Self-help also never means not learning from the experiences of others. It only means that one should not depend on these nor should they be ever expected. One may accept co-operation, and guidance, etc. when willingly offered but, “God helps those who helps themselves” should always be their guiding principle and light.

It is with determination and self-reliance that all hurdles can be removed one by one. There is no substitute for hard work and toil. Therefore, never hesitate to soil your hands, to shed your sweat and to depend on your strength.

Be your own guide, lamp, staff and help and never crave for favour if you desire to achieve a respectable measure of success. Heaven and hell, victory and defeat lie within you. It is up to you what you choose. You are the maker and master of your destiny. Never think it is decided and governed by any force outside you. Self-reliant people are always optimistic, cheerful, positive thinkers, decisive, free, independent, reliable, courageous and people of character and destiny. They are rich in expediency, quick action and steadfast in resolve. They never blame fate, circumstances, or lack of opportunities because they can create opportunities and make their own   tools and use them with all the skill, strength, precision and concentration at their command. Their work, creation, achievement, and success all bear the stamp of their personality, character and authority. They are the real heroes and the chosen ones. They are original in ideas and imagination in shaping things and events. They achieve what they do because they are self-reliant, resolute, single-minded and self-disciplined. They know their strengths and weaknesses and use their power, energies, resources, skills and capabilities in such a way as to never to show a chink in their armour.

All great and successful people have been self-reliant. They led their people and achieved what they had set their minds on. For example, take the case of countries depending on activities. If man takes care of his minutes, then the hours and days will take care of themselves. Time is more precious than money. Time is universal and eternal. We all grow in time, live in time and ultimately perish in time. Time may not be defined exactly, but we all know what it is and how valuable.

Our life is a bubble, a short morning dream, brittle as glass and, therefore, we should take good care of it and make the best use. We all want fame, success, happiness, and prosperity but only a few are able to achieve this because only they make the best use of their time. Time and tide wait for none. They cannot be commanded. They are to be used in the best possible manner. We should be prepared to make the best use of an opportunity when offered. Time once lost can never be recovered. The flow of time is ceaseless and eternal and we all are like small, insignificant and helpless particles in this endless and continuous flow. Time is destiny. It is more powerful than the most powerful monarchs, princes, and rulers. These come and go but time is forever, eternal, without an end, without any beginning. Time is creation, birth, growth, ageing, decay and also death. Nothing escapes time. Time is abstract but its footprints are concrete and palpable. Time may be spent wisely or foolishly. The choice is ours and so are its consequences. It is the basic building block that goes in making our success, career, happiness, and status in society.

Shakespeare has declared in a clarion call:

There is a tide in the affairs of man

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and miseries.

On such a full sea we are afloat,

And we must take the current when its serves,

Or lose our ventures.

All great and successful men and women have been great economisers of time. They never squandered their evenings, mornings, afternoons or nights but used them in the best possible way. This helped them to not only find place in the history of mankind but could also change its course. They have left their footprints on the sands of time:

Lives of all great men remind us

We can make our lives sublime

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time.

We should try to follow these great and successful people, the heroes of history, the guiding stars of humanity.

It is foolishness to think that we can make up for lost time. The past is dead and the future unborn. There are no tomorrows and yesterdays. It is today which is important. It is really sad that people spend their present in repenting over the uselessly spent past. Shelley has underlined this tragic fact so beautifully, thus:

We look before and after,

And pine for what is not:

Our sweetest ‘laughter,

With some pain is fraught :

Our sweetest songs are those

That tell of saddest thoughts.

It makes one sad and hopeless to think how all the teachings, sayings and fables of the wise, the sages, the seers, the poets, the divinities, and great men of learning and letters have been of no avail in the matter. We waste our precious moments either’ grieving over the past blunders or making castles in the air for the future. In other words, we waste today in fretting over the dead yesterday, or in day-dreaming about tomorrow, which yet does not exist at all. And it reminds the well-known and oft quoted lines of Macbeth, the famous tragedy of Shakespeare:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and the tomorrow, creeps in this petty peace from day-to-day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death.

Men are great, good and famous in proportion of the time best utilized. All men and women of substance make the best use of time and opportunity. In this context, it has been beautifully said that, ‘Time wasted is mere existence, used is life’. How many of us are really alive in this sense is the million-dollar question? Time is eternal, boundless, endless and without either end or beginning but for us, as individuals, it is very limited, finite and short-lived. You can neither borrow nor steal nor earn time. When we say ‘A stitch in time saves nine’, we say the same thing idiomatically. A work done in time is time earned; a decisive action at a given moment is vital.

Successful men and women seldom talk of leisure because they hardly have any time to spare. Their every moment is well planned. It is the idler who has sufficient time to gossip, to indulge in loose talk, to rue the lost past and to build castles in the air for the future. Such people should heed the advice of the poet:

Think not a trifle, though it small appear,

Small sands make the mountain, moments make the year,

And trifles, life.

A proper use of time means the right use of an opportunity. Remember, time is money. It is precious and it waits for none. How important are small moments in life is again underlined in the following lines of poetry:

Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean

And the beauteous land

And the little moments

Humble though they be,

Make the mighty ages of eternity.

Opportunities are. few and far between. That is why they are rare and called golden. The wise make the best use of them when they occur. Those of us who miss them or fail to recognize them in time, have to repent all our life. It also implies that we should be punctual and regular in our work-schedule. Nothing should be done in fits and starts. We are often plagued with lethargy, passivity, indecision, procrastination and vacillation and these are our greatest enemies.