Charles Darwin (1809-1882) one of most famous
thinkers of modern times, (although the writer does
not agree with his views) played a major part in the
intellectual formation of modern man.
Darwin achieved this position of eminence in the
modern world by dint of exceptionally hard work.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1984) says of him:
“All his mental energy was focussed on his subject
and that was why poetry, pictures and music
ceased in his mature life to afford him the pleasure
that they had given him in his earlier days.” (5/495).
Such intellectual concentration is vital to peak
achievement in any field, be it right or wrong. Man
has to be so engrossed in his work that everything
else pales into insignificance beside it. Unless
everything else loses its interest for him, he cannot
climb to any great heights of success. If we examine
the lives of the truly great, we find that they all
worked in the same dedicated way.
In any task of greater or lesser complexity, there are
always aspects of it which present problems which
appear at first sight to be insoluble. Sometimes
innumerable facts have to be marshaled which can
be interpreted only with the keenest of insight.
Often a mysterious, elusive factor emerges just at a
point when one thinks that all questions have been
answered. Such difficulties can be overcome, and
such secrets unveiled only when one’s total
intellectual capacity is directed towards the
unraveling of the mystery. Without the utmost
devotion and one hundred per cent concentration,
success will remain forever beyond one’s grasp
(125:20).
--Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
( Ref - The Moral Vision)
