Acharya Tulsi
Some of his Japanese friends came to Sarvoday Leader Jaiprakash Narayan. They wanted to know something about public awareness and public life-style of India in course of travelling the villages. Observing their intense desire, J.P. led them to the villages. They saw in a village that villagers are sitting in groups consisting of five-ten people. Some people are talking with each other, some are smoking “Hukka” some are napping and some are bursting into laughter. Seeing them one Japanese fellow said—— “J.P. we have heard that India is a poor country, but after coming here, our feeling is somewhat different. Whether India has become so rich in these years?” J.P. smelt satire in these words. He said in a serious mood, “How can you say so? How our country can be prosperous on the ground of prosperity of some persons‘? Common people of our country are very poor. Some person is even below the poverty level.
Japanese people could not understand the concept of poverty and laziness. They told that if India would not have become prosperous could so many people sit here idly. Have a glance to our country—-Japan. We were splitted fully due to the havoc of war. Today you will find no people sitting idle. Even after going on strike workers of Japan do not abstain from work. They express their protest by binding black badges on their hands, but never damage national property by abstaining from work.
J.P. turned the trend of talk and said, “You are rightly saying. But here only one difficulty prevails—insufficient scope of work. What people would be doing all day long? Another fact is that there is no way of entertainment in the villages. After the work, tired people talk with each other in leisurely mood and appease their tension by sharing own joys and pain.” Hearing this, one Japani said, “J.P. your sympathy with these people is worth mentioning. But you pointed out about less scope of work. It is surprising to us. See there are so many pits here, thorny hedges are scattered here and there, and fields also appear to be barren. If these people work with full dedication, this place will turn around. Now let us think about entertainment. Whether there is any fixed time for it. When wished, you may sit to relish yourself. This is not the way. So far as the issue of the source of entertainment is concerned, it is your responsibility to provide these facilities.” J.P. was not in a position to say anything. He diverted the attention of his friends towards lather matters.
On the day J.P. told me the said happening. I was convinced that only hard worker can rise to the top of progress. People of India talk more, but at the time of work they are inactive. In this situation how new dimension of progress can spring out‘? The synonym of progress is boldness and manliness. People of those countries who are bold enough and manly, they may achieve anything they want. Japan witnesses this truth. Citizens of Japan, the country which was fully splitted, renovated their country with utmost promptness. Whether Indians can take lesson from them.
