A Matter of Cost
Al-Risala (English), June 1992, p. 10
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
A Matter of Cost
1992 6 June 10 A Matter of Cost (315) “One who wants to conquer Mount Everest never counts the cost of his shoes.”
This means that if you have a minor goal before you, ordinary efforts will suffice to achieve it. But if you have a major goal before you, you must realise that you will have to pay heavily for its achievement. One who wants to achieve greatness must be willing to pay a high price.
Outstanding success is no one’s monopoly. Anyone and everyone can be a super-achiever. Even so, we find very few people who have managed to reach the upper rung of the ladder of success. The reason is not far to seek. They are simply not willing to pay the price. Just as small items in the market are low-priced and bigger items are high-priced, so are the ‘goods’ of life low and high-priced. There is a principle operative in life according to which what one receives corresponds exactly to what one has paid - neither more nor less.
But ‘paying the price’ does not mean fighting and bloodshed. Nor is it concerned with money. It has to do with psychology. The greatest price in this world is that which is paid at the psychological level. It means tolerating unpleasantness, remaining unruffled in the face of provocation, treating others fairly despite their unfair treatment of oneself, not becoming discouraged in an adverse situation, remaining hopeful in spite of recurrent losses, seeing the bright side of things even when there is darkness all around.
The greatest sacrifice is to extinguish the flames of anger and revenge which rage within oneself. One who can master his feelings in this way will never bear a grudge against anyone who harms him; when faced with a negative situation, he will respond positively and, rather than become engulfed in an unfavourable environment, he will rise above it.
Contributed by Maulana Faridul Wahidi of Jeddah.
