Reiteration on Personal Effort
Sri Vasista
With a disease-free body and a mind of least distur- bance and achieving a `samadhi' - like equality, one will surely not be born again and again.
Whoever wants to avert fate (daivam) with personal effort, he shall achieve all his desires in this and the other world.
Those who depend on `fate' (daivam) , leaving aside Self effort, are enemies of the self. They destroy their `dharma', their desires and wealth.
The responding rhythms and quivers of knowledge, mind and senses are verily the constituting elements of human effort. The fruits emerge out of them.
Mind resonates with the quivers of knowledge. Body reacts and follows mind and the fruits follow accord- ingly.
Human action and effort in the world is according to the preparation done from childhood onwards. Fate and destiny are never seen any where.
Brihaspti, the guru of gods and Sukra, the guru of demons,are there because of their self-effort.
Many noble people reached the levels of Indra by self- effort in spite of their poverty and distressed condition.
Many people who enjoyed fabulous riches have be- come guests of hell due to faulty effort by them.
The beings of the world have avoided and got rid of many calamitous conditions by their own personal ef- fort.
Scriptures, gurus, and personal efforts-these three help achieve the desires and purposes of a person, never by anything like fate or providence.
A mind gripped by inauspicious and ignoble activity should be made to emerge into noble paths by (intense) effort. This is the essence of all the teachings of scriptures.
`O son, with effort, practice and follow the ways that are safe, noble and virtuous'- this is what a guru says.
`As I strive, so I achieve, I achieve everything by my effort - never due to anything providential'.
All accomplishment is due to personal human effort. Only by dint of effort people become wise. Fate and providence are to console simple minded people in their sorrows.
The direct proof of the validity and correctness of hu- man endeavour can be seen in the travel across and between places (performed by people).
Enjoyment and satisfaction are for one who eats, not for one who has not eaten. One can reach (some place) when he walks, not when he does not walk. One can say something when he talks, not when he is silent. Simi- larly men can achieve something only by self effort.
Wise people overcome their problems and difficult situ- ations by self effort, not by keeping wastefully quiet.
One gets the fruits according to the effort made. One who keeps quiet (without effort) will not get anything.
O Rama, by auspicious action, auspicious fruits are achieved, by inauspicious and bad action (effort), bad results are obtained. Do as you please.
Either immediately or after a while, whatever results or fruits are obtained through human effort, in the context of time and space, is called fate (daivam) or luck.
`Daivam' is not visible to the eyes, Nor is it located in another world. What ever is accomplished(achieved) or obtained in this world as fruit of action is called `daivam' (destiny)
A person is born here (in this world). He grows up here. He becomes old here. In all these `daivam' (fate) is not seen (as distinctly) as childhood , youth and old age.
Wise people call human effort (paurushama) as that by which human purposes are achieved by devoted hu- man effort. By the latter everything can be accomplished.
Moving about from place to place, holding of things in and by the hands and all such movements of limbs are through human effort-not by any luck or fate or anything providential.
Devoted action for achieving bad things is a mad ac- tivity. Nothing is achieved by this.
Virtuous people, who follow dharma, accomplish their purpose through action guided by mind sharpened by scriptural learning and interaction with noble people.
One's supreme purpose (goal) is (to have) infinite equal- ity and bliss. That can be achieved by effort guided by scriptures and serving saints and wise people (who know the truth).
The quality of interaction with wise people and the qual- ity of scriptural learning increase the (quality and abil- ity of) mind and vice versa in course of time through constant practice. It is like the lake and the lotuses in it enhancing each other 's beauty.
Good and beneficial ends can be achieved by human effort tempered by scripture guided practices and in- teraction with wise people from childhood onwards. Lord Vishnu conquered the demons and created and 31. sustained the worlds with his effort only, not by any luck or destiny or something providential.
O Raghava, the world is existing by personal effort. Make such effort without any hesitation to avoid the state of being like a tree or serpent.
