Each and every man must have a goal to make the life fruitful. One can attain success only by having a goal. At the same time, we must also know few secrets to invite success in our lives.

Once, a person wanted to learn sword fighting and hence approached a Guru. He prostrated to the Guru and asked him within what time frame he can finish learning the sword fighting. Guru saw him, laughed at him and said that it will take 10 years to learn the art. The student immediately asked the Guru how long he would take to learn the art if he practices in a non-stop manner. Guru then warned him for his hastiness and told that it would certainly not take such a long time to learn. But instead he told that he would need 20 long years to learn the fight. A seeker must never be hasty in any aspect. Those who are always hasty cannot achieve anything easily or at the earliest. We must remember this. In case, we succeed in our attempts despite the hastiness, it will not bring happiness to our mind.

There lived two Yogis. Narada once came to see them. One Yogi asked Narada when he would attain salvation. Narada advised him to remain patient for 3 years. As soon as the Yogi heard this, being upset, he lost his patience completely. The second Yogi also posed the same question to Narada. He then replied that he can attain salvation only after taking as many births as the number of leaves in the nearby tamarind tree. Listening to this, the Yogi’s joy knew no bounds. Immediately, he attained liberation. Here, the first Yogi did not learn the quality of patience along with his sadhana (practice).

There are many who ask questions like “When will I attain salvation?”, “Can I see God by chanting a mantra for 5 lakh times?” Such questions indicate impulsiveness. They must not be entertained at all. The first Yogi forcefully and reluctantly continued to do his sadhana for the period of 3 years. He did not attain liberation because he considered the spiritual practice to be a struggle. But, another Yogi had pleasure in his sadhana. He was wholeheartedly ready to take as many births as the number of leaves of the tamarind tree because he strongly believed that doing sadhana is his way and goal. He was in fact happy to get the confirmation that he would attain liberation at least after taking as many births as the number of tamarind leaves. Hence, he began his sadhana happily listening to the words of Narada. So, he attained liberation immediately whereas the first Yogi did not because he was stricken by grief.

Those who merely want to finish off the task or those who simply wait for the goal to be reached cannot yield good results. Only those who find joy in the job at hand and work towards the goal to achieve it will get good results. Many wait for the work to be finished. Such people cannot attain the goal. One must keep on doing the work with a strong resolve entertaining no second thought. With such an attitude, the work gets finished much earlier because there is happiness in doing it. If we break down seeing the task, we only end up in failures out of hastiness. Hence, any work/responsibility that is done with a strong goal-oriented resolve will certainly bring success.

Jai Guru Datta! Sri Guru Datta!