Acharya Tulsi
American President Abraham Lincoln's administrative work expanded and he needed an assistant to help him in his work. He resorted to a special method to choose the assistant. He made an announcement through a government official and invited those people who were qualified to be an assistant of the President.
The President sat on a high seat. The invited persons were coming in by turn. There was a book lying in the passage. Every person who entered fixed his eyes on the President. He did not notice the book. Somebody stepped on the book. The dust raised by somebody else's feet covered the book. And the pages of the book were getting torn. Somebody else kicked the book. The President was keenly observing their behaviour. All the candidates greeted the resident and moved on. The President did not talk to anyone.
Among those invited people there was one person who looked young in age as well as in experience. He noticed the book lying in the passage. He stopped for a moment, picked up the book, shook off the dust on it and kept it on a stool which had been placed on one side. Then walking in the manner suggesting confidence, he greeted the President and was about to move forward, when the President announced "I have selected my assistant." Who was selected? How was he selected? When was he selected? So many whispering voices trembled in the air.
President Abraham Lincoln said in a grave tone, "I am announcing a person as my assistant whom I do not know well. He neither has degrees and testimonials nor is he a big man. Still he has passed my test."
One person with a commending personality came forward and said, "You have disgraced all of us. If you needed a boy like him, why did you call us at all? Are our degrees and positions of no value at all?" The President said, "Gentlemen! I do not need your testimonials. The greatest and the most relevant testimonial is your conduct. How could you trample a book under your feet? Is this all your efficiency? How would an official who cannot take care of a book be able to look after my papers?”
Anuvrat says—a person may or may not pray God and perform rituals, he may or may not give charity, he may or may not preach religion, but if he keeps his conduct pure, accepts morality as his support and protects human qualities, he is entitled to be called a human being in every sense of the term. The worth of a man is judged not on the basis of power and wealth, nor on the basis of degrees and testimonials, but on the basis of lofty behaviour. Man's character is the mirror of the character of the society and the nation. The purer his character is, the clearer too would be the reflection of the society and the nation. The inspiration of anuvrat is the inspiration for character building. If the lamp of character keeps burning, the darkness of immorality would be definitely dispelled.
