Your Success is a Sum of Many Known and Unknown Contributions

Be Thankful to Those Who Contribute to Your Success

In the final battle of Mahabharat, when Arjuna and Karna were opposite to each other, displaying their skills of archery, each of them was sure of his win as they were incredible and invincible warriors. As Arjuna would shoot an arrow, it hit Karna’s chariot with a fierce speed and the chariot was pushed 25-30 feet back. Not just the people around, even the Gods from heaven were amazed to witness ARJUNA’s skills and his extraordinary powers.

Karna was no less than his formidable opponent, when he shot to retaliate, Arjuna’s chariot would shake and go back 3-4 feet. Krishna was so mesmerized with Karna’s archery skills that every time when he hit Arjuna, Krishna applauded him wholeheartedly but he never admired Arjuna, not even a single time.

At the end of the day, Arjuna was angry and felt agitated over Krishna’s partial behaviour and couldn’t hold himself for longer to ask, “O Lord, my arrows shook Karna’s chariot and displaced that more than 30 feet every time and he couldn’t move me significantly, yet you praised him a lot and not appreciated me even once." Krishna smiled and replied, “Hey Parth! How can you forget that your chariot is protected by the Mighty Hanuman, you have me as your charioteer to guard you against any attack and Sheshnaag at its wheels to strengthen it, yet the whole chariot would shake and displaced at every shot of the valiant Karna so why shouldn’t I appreciate his valour and skills?”

It is said that when the battle got over, Krishna refused to get off the chariot and he forced Arjuna to leave it first. As soon as Krishna left the chariot it caught fire and charred to ashes. Krishna concluded this as: "O Arjuna!, you don’t know, your chariot was destroyed by the arrows of Karna, a long time ago but I kept it intact so that you can continue the battle. But never forget that you alone could never win this battle, you must never have the arrogance to boast about your bravery and skills, never think that you have achieved great heights; if you have really achieved something it’s all because of the divine contribution and the contributions of your well wishers that always guarded you, cleared your path and provided you with the right opportunities at the right time”

This story and conversation of Krishna and Arjuna are still relevant in our day to day life and associated with every small or big story of success. But, ironically the moment we take a step higher, we forget the previous step taken, we forget that there were many behind us who pushed and supported us with a little extra force so that we don’t stumble while taking a leap higher. We ignore the importance who knowingly or unknowingly,  intentionally or unintentionally, took pains to make us happy and to clear our roadblocks.

Gratitude is the most powerful universal phenomenon that can brim you with joy and abundance yet, most often overlooked. We forget that when we were struggling hard to achieve our goals, someone had offered his/her shoulder to let our head rest on, someone was there to say, 'Don't worry, every thing will be fine', there were many who clapped for our efforts and there were smiles in galore to celebrate our victory.

Never Forget the Good Deeds

It’s important to remember and revere whatever good done to us by others, whether a small or a big one, our people contributions holds a great significance in our life and what we can do in return is just a moment to acknowledge and appreciate their support and concern during the period when we were grappling with the hardships in our life. People often forget the good deeds done to them and take pride in their own self without being grateful to those who contribute to their success. And this self pride eventually throw  you into oblivion of all those known and unknown contributions to your life. Make introspection a daily habit and enjoy the world of goodness around you. When you look within, you find that your success is a sum of many known and unknown contributions of the people around and they leave no stone unturned to make your life worth living. 

Interesting Read: Life of Maharana Pratap

Thanks Giving is the Best Virtue

If we acknowledge and express our gratitude to every minuscule contribution made by others to support our journey of excellence, it fortifies our potential and powers to achieve the unsurmountable. The practice of thanksgiving has tremendous benefits on your intellect the quality of LIFE. No pleasure can soothe you if you are clouded by conceit and angst, no victory can glorify your courage if you don’t accredit it to the sacrifices made by many. The pursuit of excellence and happiness is the sole aim of each human life and we often tend to forget spare a minute and say thank you to those who contribute to our success. Thanksgiving always help us to connect to our larger and stronger self. It makes every day of your life like a festival that you celebrate with fervor and zeal.  

In the words of Khalil Gibran, "Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruits." And to experience this love let's cultivate the virtue of thanksgiving. Let's spare a little time to appreciate the efforts of others that made our life fulfilled. Let's never forget that our success is a sum of many known and unknown contributions.