There is no short cut to success

]

 

The maxim means that man has to adopt the right path, howsoever; difficult it may be, to attain success in life. Candidates appearing in competitive examinations have to prepare a number of compulsory and optional subjects. They are required to study the suggested basic references in order to deal with different types of critical questions. If candidates do not go through the original references, they cannot answer the questions satisfactorily. Likewise students of literature, without thoroughly going through the novels and poetry, are not expected to deal with questions critically. They are supposed to be fully conversant with the text. Students, who adopt short-cuts by resorting to the study of cheap notes, do not do well in the examination. There is a tendency to adopt short-cuts to attain success in different fields of life.

 

A motor mechanic must possess the fundamental knowledge of mechanics. He must-know the basic principles of mechanics. After gaining an understanding of the basic principles, he must undergo the necessary training to acquaint himself with the working of a motor engine. He must understand the working of the engine. He should be able to detect the defect in the engine on the basis of his theoretical and practical knowledge. He would turn out to be a good mechanic if he possesses theoretical and practical knowledge of the working of an engine. In the West, highly qualified persons enter the profession. Success demands thoroughness on the part of man.

 

Iqbal rightly said that one has to give one's heart's blood to achieve success in life. The goddess of success is a jealous goddess which demands perpetual devotion on the part of its devotees. The Urdu verse of Allama Iqbal runs as:

 

نقش ہیں سب نا تما م خو ن جگر کے بغیر

One has to follow the path that bristles with unlimited difficulties in order to reach one's destination. One can bleed in the process of long travel. It is a fact that travel is dear to life than goal. One has to travel and travel in life in order to attain one's objective in life.

 

Oscar Wilds' short story "The Red Rose and the Nightingale are relevant to be quoted in the present context. A lover pines for his beloved, who tells him to get her the red rose. A nightingale sitting on a tree overhears it. She decides to help the lover to win over his beloved. She goes in a garden of rose flowers. She is told to give her heart's blood to redden the rose. She decides to make a sacrifice for the lover. She holds on the branch of the rose flower and a big thorn pierces into her heart. The blood of her heart begins to flow into the veins of the rose plant. The rose is reddened with nightingale's blood in the early dawn. She falls dead. The lesson which the short story brings home to the reader is that one has to struggle hard to achieve one's objective in life. There are no short-cuts to success. Those who adopt short-cuts in life do not achieve success in the real sense.