Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Times of India I January 30, 2011 | Page 15

Swami Vivekananda was a man of great wisdom. He was mature enough to meet any challenge that came before him, however serious it might have been. One of his stories is worth quoting.

His Christian friend, intending to test the Swami's mettle, invited him to his house where he seated him in a room, opposite a table on which lay piled, one on top of the other, sacred books of major world religions. They were placed in such an order that the Bhagavad Gita was at the bottom and the Bible was right on top. Would Vivekananda get provoked, the host wondered.

But before his guest could say anything, the host pointed towards the books and asked: "Swamiji what is your comment on this arrangement?" Swamiji smiled gently and said: "The foundation is really good."

Austrian psychologist, Alfred Adler, in his book, Individual Psychology, wrote that he observed humanity all his life and found a unique and special quality in both men and women: their ability to turn a minus into a plus. The above incident, in which Swami Vivekananda turned a potentially unpleasant situation to good account, is an apt illustration of this principle. It is a fine example of how it is possible to turn a potentially inflammatory situation into a favourable one; one could extend this principle to deriving success from what seems like failure; to meet a challenge by using God-given wisdom.

Potentially, all of us have this unique capacity. But to turn this potential into reality, another quality is required and that is patience. It is patience that makes you turn your potential into reality. Without patience, miracles cannot be performed.

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Being patient means having a calm nature. When you are calm you can serenely face a challenge without allowing yourself to be provoked, making yourself strong enough to overcome all difficulties. Emotionally unshaken, you are able to develop the capacity for unbiased thinking. Only patience will enable you to use your mental capacity to the fullest extent, so that you may be able to perform miracles.

Our world is one of provocation. Whenever there are provocations, big or small, you have only two options: either to succumb to anger and hatred and fail to do anything positive in the situation, or to remain patient. By being patient, you save time and energy.

Patience is a precious virtue; it costs nothing to acquire this virtue. It requires only the training of your mind; you have to train yourself to control your emotions. This is the most important aspect of this successful formula.

Through patience you can turn your fortune around; without patience you can expect nothing but failure. The kind of problems you face are not important. What is important is how you choose to tackle them. The result is in your hand. If you become impatient, you will be a failure, but if you are patient, you have the chance of registering your name in the list of super-achievers.