Psychologists have estimated that man puts to use
only ten percent of the abilities with which he is
born. Professor William James of Harvard
University has very aptly observed, “What we
ought to be, we are not ready to be.” In spite of the
inborn qualities nature has endowed us with the
successes, which should have been ours in this
world keep eluding us for the simple reason that we
quite unthinkingly consent to lead inferior lives.
Then, discontented, we put the blame on others for
not giving us our due. But it is inside ourselves that
we should look if we are to find the reasons for
life’s deficiencies. Constantly viewing others with
envy and a sense of grievance will lead us nowhere,
and can turn us into our own worst enemies. The
fact should be faced fairly and squarely that it is
only if we exploit our own potential to the full that
we shall meet with success. Any other course will
lead to failure.
It is essential, however, to determine at the outset
whether our efforts are directed at worthwhile
objectives. Without proper direction our potential
will be wasted.
In ancient times and even up to mediaeval times,
gold being greatly prized, one of the great
preoccupations of the ‘scientists’ of those days was
to convert base metals into gold. Dreams of instant
wealth drove innumerable people over the centuries
to superhuman efforts. But all this expenditure of
time, money and energy was in vain, for death
always overtook them before they could achieve
anything. It never seemed to occur to any of them
that these metals with which they worked had a
different and greater potential than anyone could
ever have imagined. Iron, for example, was
convertible, not into gold, but into machinery, and
could be used as a versatile building material of
great strength. In the world of today, western
nations, having learnt these secrets and directed
their energies towards building up the relative
technology, have succeeded in acquiring far greater
wealth than mere silver and gold.
--Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
( Ref - The Moral Vision)
