The success factor

Years of self-absorbed inaction dulls the drive, robbing one of the capacity to work hard or be able to change

Once upon a time, in a community of ordinary men and women, lived a man who claimed and was believed to be very pious. He was certainly very proud of his virtue and did all in his power to maintain its appearance: he did not engage in any physical labour — either at home or outside — saying that doing so would defile his purity; he did not seek an education because he maintained that all he needed to know was contained in the religious texts he kept on his shelf and most importantly, he did not engage with anyone — unless they appeared as pious as himself — because he feared they would distract him from thinking about his virtuous image.

Our hero felt very comfortable in the knowledge that he was better than the men and women who surrounded him and didn’t lose any opportunity to say so. There was, however, only one thing that he did not understand: why was it that he remained poor whilst his neighbours grew more successful and more confident by the day? He sometimes wondered if there was a certain prayer that he had omitted or a formula for prayer that he was unaware of that could deliver him and his family from poverty. He then sighed and reminded himself that poverty earned him the charity of others and after all, he had the riches of heaven to look forward to. Surely, those would be his.

One day, our hero was very excited to learn that a great spiritual master was visiting his town. He rushed over to meet him, confident that this great man would not only recognise him as a kindred spirit, but also reveal to him the secret formula for success that had eluded him despite all his own efforts. When he arrived at the house where the spiritual master was staying, he was surprised to see him simply dressed and surrounded by people, not only mixing freely and happily with them but also preparing tea for them with his own hands. He was even more surprised to catch references in the great man’s speech to disciplines and texts other than religious.

It was, therefore, with some hesitation that our hero approached this great man and asked, “O Master, I am pious in my thoughts, actions and appearance and yet my family sleeps hungry every night. Share with me a prayer or a formula that I too may be successful.” The great man observed our hero carefully and answered, “There is only one secret of success, and that is hard work.” Even as our hero stared in astonishment, the great man continued, “Prayers and faith have their place but are no substitutes for focused, determined action. Go out in the world, acquire knowledge, learn from people. Don’t consider yourself too good for anything and you will succeed in the world and the hereafter.”

Upon hearing this sermon, our hero did not gain instant enlightenment — he only became more confused. He returned home and repeated the sermon to his family and continued to do so faithfully and regularly to anyone who cared to listen to him. He did not, however, change his lifestyle. Those who had been hoping for his transformation were angry at first because they thought our hero was stubborn and lazy. Soon, however, even they realised that our hero did not change because he could not: years of self-absorbed inaction had robbed him of the capacity to work hard as well as of the ability to change. He had no choice but to live out the rest of his years at the mercy of those around him.

I was reminded of this story recently when I observed an interaction between a Pakistani and an English lawyer. The Pakistani claimed great faith in God, appeared to espouse the right moral values and behaved with propriety, whilst the English was renowned for his legal skills. The Pakistani realised he needed these skills to succeed and expressed a desire to learn. However, when the English lawyer told him the kind of work it entailed, I felt the Pakistani lawyer shrinking inside of him. At first I felt angry until I realised that years of ‘getting by’ in a system that demanded nothing more from him, had dulled his drive. He could not push himself even when he wanted and needed to. And therein lay not only his, but also Pakistan’s tragedy.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th,  2015.

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