How Just These 6 Life Lessons From This Mountain Man Can HelpYou Living A Wonderful Life
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”- Isaac Newton
I am a staunch believer in leveraging the stories of others for success. This is because, often, as individuals, we assume our paths are unique to us, and we are the first to trudge through certain struggles toward achieving our dreams.
However, nothing is truer than the words from one of the holy books, “There is nothing new under the sun”.
With more keen eyes and open minds, we will see many who have font through worse things and yet have carved their name in the annals of history. Men and women were born in the most disadvantageous conditions, yet lived their life for the liberation of others.
In this article, I shall be sharing with you the story of one such person. A man who based on his should not even be remembered. A man who if not for his “braveness” would be counted among the many who are casualties of the cruelty of life.
I shall be sharing with you the story of Dashrath Manjhi, the mountain man. His story is one of resilience. A man who literally moved mountains, or might I say, moved through mountains.
The Story Of Dashrath Manjhi
Dashrath Manjhi was born in 1924 in the small village of Gehlaur, India. There was nothing exuberant about him, just another child of a poor family, that belonged to the lowest rank in India’s caste system.
He ran away from home at an early age and soon began to work at a coal mine. He soon returned to Gehlaur, where he got married and began working as an agricultural laborer.
Gehlaur, back then and till now is bordered on the south by an ascending ridge made of quartzite. This meant back then, transportation into and out of the village from the south took a long time, due to the absence of any government road.
Tragedy soon struck the couple. His wife sustained injuries along a narrow path while walking through a narrow path in the ridge on her way to deliver food to him, at his work.
She soon died from her injury, because they couldn’t get her fast enough to the nearest hospital due to a lack of road.
Dashrath Manjhi was left alone, to grieve the death of his wife. His was another sad story, one we would probably not have heard of if it were not for what he did.
He decided to carve out a path through the mountain. Fortified by the resolution to ensure his village had quicker access to the next village, and equipped with just a hammer and a chisel, he got to work.
Of course, he was met with laughter and mockery. Villagers thought he had run mad from his grief. It is impossible for one man to carve out a road through a mountain all by himself, with just a chisel and a hammer, they said!
22 years later, Dashrath Manjhi successfully carved out a path for his village through the ridge. Measured 110 meters long, 7.7 meters deep in certain places, and 9.1 meters wide, one man successfully cut out a road through a mountain.
6 Things Dashrath Manjhi’s Life Teaches Us
1. Success Starts From Within
The story of Dasrath Majhi is inspiring. It reflects a fundamental truth which is “people succeed first in their mind”
And, Dasrath Majhi knew he would succeed. He wanted it so badly, he was ready to give his life for it. He knew he had only one option and that was to achieve his goal no matter what.
Norman Vincent Peale in his book explains the mentality of throwing yourself over obstructions in your mind before attempting to overcome them.
Before Dasrath chipped his first rock, he most definitely had broken through the mountain before him in his mind.
2. Success Does Not Always Come Easy
The path to success is full of bumps and dirt and it can be longer than you think. I am certain Dashrath Manjhi didn’t know it would take him 22 years to achieve his goal.
Those who do not prepare themselves for the eventuality for more time may never achieve their goals.
Thunderstorms, blockage, and all the miseries lay on the way- and you can not always tell when they will show up, but they certainly will.
Of course, there are certain ventures you can predict how long it would take, but there are others you might be trailing, where many have not. In such a case, you might as well just start today.
According to Seneca “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable”
3. Focus Is Key
Anybody can succeed but not everyone will succeed. The reason is that not everybody truly desires to be successful.
As much as resources are not evenly distributed, there are certain things we all have in common, and one of them is time. We all get 24 hours in the day.
Eventually, it is the individual’s ability to use time wisely, focusing on the most important things that would determine whether or not we would be successful.
Zig Ziglar in his book explains vividly that the lack of focus and direction is one of the causes of failure rather than the limited resources.
4. Never Blame Others
Dashrath Manjhi had enough blame to round after his wife’s death. He could have blamed the government, the unjust societal condition, the caste system, the impoverished of his village, and his own inability to make a life of comfort for his wife.
But he did not. Instead, he took the bull by the horn and did what needed to be done.
Blaming, criticizing, and fault-finding are the right ingredients for failure. Unfortunately, many have an abundance of blame to put on others instead of taking responsibility and moving ahead.
Kathleen Pleasant encourages us to always assess situations and look inwards to pick out our own responsibility in them. Dashrath Manjhi is a great example for all of us.
Of course, there are times we have no hand in some tragic event. In such cases, we should focus on preventing them from happening again than point fingers.
5. Hard Work Pays
The story of Dashrath Manjhi is unique and an example of hard work, perseverance, and dignity. And it proves that anybody is capable of making a miracle of one’s life.
His task was a laborious one. There is no telling the physical exertion required to chip at a mountain with a hammer and a chisel and other hand tools.
Can you imagine yourself doing what he did, day in and out for 22 years? This is hard work accompanied by a strong mind.
Dashrath Manjhi symbolizes the fact that hard work trumps talent when talent doesn’t work.
6. We Must Sacrifice
Everybody wants to succeed and live the life of dreams but when it comes to sacrificing comfort, only a few people take the spot.
The world today is filled with people who hate the slightest discomfort, yet they want the crown, forgetting heavy is the head that wears it.
From the life of Dashrath Manjhi, we see a man who gave up comfort and ease for the greater good. Today he is a celebrated figure in India. His life story has become an inspiration for many Hindi movies.
There is no dearth of amazing stores like that of Dashrath Manjhi. Even today, many are giving them all to make the world a better place, motivated by the tragedies of their life. If you look around you, you will find such people. Let their story become the inspiration you need to succeed.
Does not in make sense to learn from him? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS……
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