उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि न मनोरथैः।

न हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मृगाः।।

udhyamena hi siDhyanthi kaaryaaNi na manoraThaih |

na hi supthasya simhasya pravishanthi muKhe mrgaah ||

Meaning: 

Success is achieved with effort, not merely by wishing for it. Just as no animal enters a sleeping lion’s mouth and offers itself as prey, without effort, one does not gain success through dreams alone.

In this episode, Dr. N. Hema Malini, Madhavi Nadig and Chai Nadig discuss how consistent, coordinated and focused efforts lead to success.

• A similar subhashitha is

यथा ह्येकेन चक्रेण न रथस्य गतिर्भवेत् |

एवं परुषकारेण विना दैवं न सिद्ध्यति ||

yaThaa hi ekena chakreNa na raThasya gathirBhaveth | 

evam puruShakaareNa vinaa daivam na siDhdhyathi ||

Meaning: Just as a chariot does not move ahead with a single wheel, if a person doesn’t work towards their goal, destiny does not favour them.”

• “Luck is the residue of hard work”. One becomes “lucky” as the result of all the work they’ve previously put in.
• The popular English saying “Man proposes, God disposes” captures the essence of the second subhashitha.
• As a dog trainer, Madhavi has observed that dogs usually choose to work for their food vs eating what’s offered freely in their bowl. This is called “contra freeloading”.
• Big plans materialize through a series of small steps.
• There is a similar Kannada saying: "ಎತ್ತು ಏರಿಗೆ, ಕೋಣೆ ಗದ್ದೆಗೆ ಎಳೆದಂತೆ."
• When a bullock and a bison (male buffalo) are tied together to pull a cart, the bullock pulls towards the land while the bison pulls towards the muddy waters. Each animal is exhibiting its inherent nature. But the cart goes nowhere since they pull in opposite directions.
• One needs support to make progress.
• The Divide and Conquer algorithm in computing is used to complete complex tasks. The task is split into smaller bits, distributed to different workers (machines, processes, or threads) and their results are combined at the end. Thus the complex task is completed sooner than if a single worker had to do it all.
• In Kannada, you could say “ಕಣ್ಣು ಹೇಡಿ, ಕೈ ರಥ”. It means, “Even though the eyes balk seeing a large or complex task, once you start working hands-on, the task gets done, sooner or later.”
• Both subhashithas urge us to work towards achieving our goals. And so does the Karma theory. If one does the right thing, they acquire some good karma. If one chooses to do nothing when an action is needed, they lose some of their good karma.
• In the book called “The Alchemist”, Paulo Coelho writes, “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” But, for the universe to hand it to you, your “want” should extend from mere wishes to focused efforts.

What did this subhashitha make you think of? Share it with us in a comment.

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