Extraordinary People

Extraordinary People

1992 6 June 20-21 Extraordinary People (660) “In battle there are no ordinary-soldiers; they are all extraordinary.” So says Bruce Van Voovst, a veteran American journalist with a fine reputation as a war correspondent, who has visited actual battlefields and sent on-the-spot reports of the war of the Dominican Republic, the uprising of Iranian revolutionaries against the Shah, the Iraq-Iran war and the Gulf war.

Time Magazine of February 4, 1991, published some of his experiences, one of which was directly concerned with the integrity and personal qualities of the soldiers when actually in combat. When the fighting begins, their performance is superlative. Whatever the odds, they carry out their duties superbly.

What this American journalist has said about the soldier in battle being ‘extraordinary’ applies equally to all men in challenging situations. Man, by birth, has been endowed with great potential. In ordinary, everyday situations this potential remains untapped. But, whenever there is danger, a challenge, all his slumbering potential is awakened. If, prior to this emergency, only one bulb of the powerhouse was on, now all of its bulbs light up.

Now his brain races, his body is charged with renewed energy. His whole being takes on a heroic character, for challenges transform the weak into the strong, the foolish into the clever. Challenge may appear in the guise of a setback, but as far as its results are concerned, it is the greatest ladder to success. Before the challenge, all men are ordinary human beings, whereas after the challenge they become extraordinary. Supreme progress indeed.

Where, before the challenge, there had appeared to be no scope for advancement, after it, opportunities are legion.

Let us take the example of the young Muslim who went to stay with relatives settled in the U.S.A. After the completion of his education there, he took up a job for a period of two years. Then, feeling that he would like to go back to his own country to build his future, he returned to India.

When I met him some time after his return, he told me that he had been suffering from mental frustration ever since he had come home. All his friends and relatives had kept on telling him what a foolish mistake he had made in leaving the U.S.A. where there is much greater scope for a talented, qualified person than there is here in India.

My answer to that was that the very opposite was true. “There is scope in India for the very simple reason that there appears to be no scope. That is because you are considering external rather than internal opportunities. The former relates to those opportunities that exist outside you, in the external world. While the latter relates to the natural capabilities of body and mind bestowed upon you by God. If you take stock of these qualities within you, you will begin to see opportunities all around you which you never imagined existed. Every opportunity for success which is available in the U.S.A. exists in equal measure in India. And, in fact, with the challenges posed by the Indian environment one can make even greater progress here than in the U.S.A.”

This is not immediately obvious to people because their sights are usually set on external opportunities. This is why they are quick to point out that opportunities exist everywhere but on their own doorstep. What they fail to appreciate is the importance of the latent capabilities bestowed upon man by nature. That factor is much more important than mere opportunities.

It is only when man is challenged by life’s difficulties that his latent potential begins to awaken. He is awakened from his slumber by the shock of circumstances. This awakening in his life is essential if he is to make any progress. If scope in America signifies the existence of external opportunities, scope in India means the kind of challenge which will awaken a man’s potential to the full. The latter is far more precious than the former.