Dashrath Manjhi, a poor, illiterate, landless labourer, lives in a backward village called Gahlore situated in the state of Bihar in Eastern India. What a person like him could give to others?
Dashrath worked on a field near the hill that rose near the village. This hill stood between his village and civilization with only a treacherous pass between it. Since most of the cultivable land and shops were on other side of the hill, the poor villagers had to brave the dangerous pass number of times in a day. The authorities kept turning a blind eye towards the problems for decades. One day his wife slipped and got injured while crossing the pass on the hill, while bringing lunch for him. The incident disturbed Dashrath so much that he decided to do something about it. He sold his goat to purchase a chisel, hammer and a rope. And with these simple equipment he set off to dig a tunnel through the mountain, all by himself. He dug for 22 years to create a passage that is 360 ft long, 25 ft high and 16 ft wide, enough for a vehicle to pass. People called him mad, but he was a man with a purpose.
Today, because of him the life of his fellow villagers has become easier. He has thrown the doors open for the development of his village as the passage reduced the distance between two districts from 50 km to just 8 km. The state government rewarded his achievement by giving him five acres of land. But his story does not end here. Unfortunately, his wife did not survive to witness the miracle her husband has created. She died of an illness without treatment because of lack of proper medical facilities. So, now he wants to build a hospital on the land he got as reward.
Somebody rightly said that when dreams are big enough facts don’t count. This poor, illiterate gentleman, belonging to the most unprivileged class of Indian society is a perfect example of success. His go-give attitude, his compassion, dream, courage, faith in himself, determination and perseverance raise him to level of greatness.
A lamp burns its own existence till the last moment to fight darkness and give light. Tree never asks anything for itself, but gives flowers, fruits and shade to all who need these. This kind of sacrifice is only possible for those whose heart is filled with love and compassion for others. Their spirit has a passion for serving and an ability to feel pain of others in their own soul.
It requires a go-give attitude more than a go-get attitude.
Akhand Jyoti Magazine 2009 May-June
