Working Hard but with No Results? From Tales of Namo

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“Wake up Namo. It is time for our morning training” Gautam yelled. Namo opened one eye saw Gautam pull his blanket up and went to sleep again. Gautam was perplexed as Namo never woke up late for the morning training.

“Namo are you not feeling good? Should I call Guruji?” Gautam asked. For some time there was absolute silence.

Then Gautam slowly went beside the bed and lightly touching Gautam’s forehead he said “Namo”. The forehead was at normal temperature. There was no sign of fever.

“Please leave me alone for some time” Namo said softly.

Not able to understand what happened to his best friend Gautam stood up and went outside.

At training ground

“Suprabhath (Good Morning) Gautam” Guruji said to Gautam as he was practicing archery alone. Gautam after putting his bow down. Touched the feet of the Guruji and said “Suprabhath Guruji”. “Ayushman bhava (Live long)” Guruji said putting his hand on Gautam’s head.

“So how is your archery practice going” Guruji asked. “It is going very well Guruji. Now I am able to hit the target more often” Gautam said cheerfully.

“That’s good my son. But where is Namo? He is never late for the morning training.” Guruji asked. Now looking.

Not sure how to answer this Gautam started to gather his thoughts before speaking. “Ummm he is in the room. He never wakes up late but today he didn’t get up from his bed and when I asked was he not feeling good. He just said to leave him alone”

Guruji looked into Gautam’s eyes as he spoke trying to understand the situation. After listening Guruji smiled and said “Don’t worry about Namo. Just focus on your training Gautam. I will speak to him.”

“Thank you Guruji” Gautam said feeling relief.

Near Namo’s room

“Suprabath Namo” Guruji found Namo sitting under a tree. Namo stood up startled, not expecting Guruji at that place. But as quicked he composed himself and touching his feet he said “Suprabath Guruji”.

“Ayushman Bhava. Why are you not at morning training my son?”

Namo feeling ashamed looked down and remain silent.

“Son I am your Guru. If you are facing any problem it is my duty to solve it. Speak your heart out. What is it that is troubling you”

Namo still looking at the ground started to speak in a murmur “I am a failure”

“Look at me Namo” Guruji said.

Namo raised his head and not able to control his emotions he started speaking “I am a failure Guruji. Doesn’t matter how much I work hard, I am not able to improve myself in anything. It feels so frustrating when you work so hard and there are no results. If there will be no positive result then why should I work hard”

Guruji looked into Namo’s eyes, trying to understand his emotions but remained silent.

“Guruji, I am trying hard but my life is feeling stagnant. I am studying hard and I am training hard but all my peers are getting ahead of me. It feels so frustrating that I just feel like giving up. What should I do Guruji”

After a moment of silence, Guruji started speaking “I can understand my son how you feel. Before telling you what should you do. Let me ask you some things about Chinese Bamboo”

Namo perplexed looked at Guruji and nodded.

“How much time does it take for a Chinese bamboo to grow?”

Namo has learned this in his flora and fauna class so he quickly replied “Chinese Bamboo has rapid growth. It grows nearly 90 feet in a span of five weeks”

Guruji smiled and replied “Good. That means you pay attention to your class. But it is half knowledge, my Son.”

Namo remained silent, waiting for further explanation.

“So just after planting, Chinese Bamboo does not grow even an inch for 5 years. Could you guess why does it not grow during these five years?”

Namo thought for a while “I can’t think of any reason”

“During those 5 years, Chinese bamboo expands its roots in the ground. And as its roots become strong it gains strength. And after five years it rapidly grows 90 feet tall within the next five weeks. So, understand my child you may feel that your hard work is not paying off. But at that point, your roots are growing and as soon as the roots grow strong you will see the results rapidly. But the thing is in life you don’t know the exact time when the roots get strong enough for you to see the results”

Guruji closed his eyes and recited:

“कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || “

(Meaning: Perform your duties without worrying about the results. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.)

–Chapter 2 Verse 47

Thus, my child perform your duties and one day when the roots are strong enough you may see exponential growth”

“Thank you, Guruji. Please allow me to go into the training ground for my archery practice” Namo said with a big smile.

The Greedy Monk

More from Tales of Namo the wise:

How to handle hard times when everything seem lost

Life moves on. Thus, you should too!

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