*The UnKnown Hero Mr. Dashrath* *( Received from a friend )* * *
*After having received my Bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Sri SathyaSai* *University in 2001, I felt the need to continue my studies and opted to* *pursue my Master's degree in Maths and Computer Science, the easiest* *way, I felt, to be with Bhagavan Baba for another couple of years. Five years* *didn't seem to be enough at the Divine Feet of the Lord because of which* *I found yet another excuse to be in Prasanthi Nilayam. I spent yet another* *two years there to complete my Master of Technology in Computer Science* *in 2008.* *It was in my second year of M. Sc. that I had the good fortune of* *meeting a great person called Dashrath Manjhi. This unassuming person won my* *admiration with his 22 years of generosity and goodness. Dashrath is a* *daily wage labourer by profession who took pride in what he did for a* *living. He hails from a village called Gahlar nestled in the state of* *Bihar . The nearest town that had a reliable hospital was 80 kilometers* *away. Water and sanitation, let alone a decent school, was a huge* *problem in this village. In other words, a child in that village had hard time* *surviving People with health problems found it burdensome to walk on a muddy road* *for 80 kilometers to get their first ray of hope in the form of a pill or* *the doctor's advice. Some people even died on the way to the nearest* * hospital.* *Now, there was a short cut (relatively) across a hill to the nearest* * town.* *Well, the short cut wasn't exactly an easy path to take, which meant* *That it didn't really serve the purpose at all. Dashrath's family was no* *exception to the inconvenience. The rough road caused many an injury to* *people traversing that distance through the hill.* *One day Dashrath's wife fell down on that very path when she was on the* *Way to meet Dashrath with his midday meal. It was at this point when* *Dashrath decided to build a tunnel through the hill to make life easier for his* *village folk. Obviously the whole village thought Dashrath had gone* *insane.* *How could he think that he could dig a tunnel through a huge hill? Some* *dream it was! We all claim to welcome new ideas, but this didn't seem to* *go down too well with his people in the village. People laughed and* *dismissed it even before they heard him out.* * * *Dashrath remained unfazed and began his task of cutting through rocks in* *his attempt to build a tunnel. His children abandoned him calling him a* *madman. The new name caught on and the rest of the village called him* *the same. He earned his daily wages as a coolie, and then devoted a few* *hours everyday to this new challenge. It was in 1984 when he spelt out his* *dream and began to make it happen.* *22 long years passed him by, but not without the realization of his* *dream - the tunnel that he had visualized in his mind. 25 feet in diameter and 1* *kilometer long. Trucks could pass through the tunnel from the nearest* *town to Dashrath's village and back. The village was blessed with a new* *lifeline. People from the village could reach the nearest hospital in 10* *minutes.* *The road lay in front of him, his eyes shone with pride. It is another* *story that his wife wasn't there, the reason for this noble gesture. But he felt peace in his heart as he knew an entire village benefited from this* *work of art. Didn't Shah Jahan take 22 years to build the lovely Taj* *Mahal for his wife? Well, there's a difference though. While Shah Jahan had* *The aid of 20000 labourers, all that Dashrath had was a chisel and a hammer.* *Such is the strength of the human spirit! It is easier said than done,* *But Dashrath did it!* *The then President revered Abdul Kalam honoured him with the Padmashree* *Award for this very selfless act. The government offered to give him a piece of land and a house. It was more of an embarrassment than honour* *for Dashrath Manjhi. He requested the government to build a hospital in the* *land given to him. What selflessness before our eyes.* *My friends and I were intrigued by his great act. We asked him a few* *questions as we couldn't contain our curiosity.* * * *Sai Get Inspired* *Q: What is your education qualification?* *Ans: Why do you need a qualification? Educated people only know four* *things: ka, kha, gha and ma.* *ka: kaam karna (work for a living)* *kha: khana (eat)* *gha: ghar banana (build a house)* *ma: marna (die)* *In his wisdom, he said: "Educated people work for themselves with selfish* *interests. They make massive buildings but have small hearts. Modern* *education is making people increasingly selfish."* *Dashrath Manjhi went to Prasanthi Nilayam to have Swami's darshan along* *with a group from Hyderabad . We could see Swami talking to this hero* *when Dashrath pointed out his cap (visible in the photo) to Swami that had* *details of his name, the size of the tunnel he had dug single-handedly,* *and the time it took to complete this mammoth task.* *It's time for us to dwell in a few minutes of introspection. If a coolie* *could do so much for his entire village; isn't there something we can* * do?* *Something small but significant, if not any grand contribution? The* *Choice is ours to define life beyond the four words: ka, kha, gha and ma.* *Dashrath Manjhi is no more, but lives in our midst in spirit. The* *Article was written in honour of his meaningful life before his demise.* * * *Service Above Self cnu.pne***
