From Grain to Mountain
There is an old saying: “If you want to move a mountain, first learn to move small grains.”
A person who attempts to move a mountain all at once will not succeed. But if he understands the secret—that a mountain is composed of countless small particles—and starts by working with those grains, then one day he will certainly reach the mountain. By handling one grain after another, anyone can eventually move the mountain. However, someone who tries to grasp the mountain on the very first day will never succeed in achieving their goal.
In life, nothing is truly impossible—unless you try to achieve it through an impossible method.
You can build a house by placing one brick at a time. But if you expect the house to appear all at once, you’ll be disappointed. The Creator of the world has designed life to grow from small to whole. Success lies in following this natural law. There is no other way.
Many people fail because they refuse to start small. They think: “Why bother with the grains? Let me conquer the whole mountain today.” But this thinking is a serious mistake.
The one who moves forward step by step will eventually reach the mountain. But the one who insists on catching the whole mountain at once will never get anywhere, even if they spend their whole life trying.
There’s a story about two brothers. One wanted to become rich overnight. He would pray, “Oh God, give me a quarter of 56 crores!” He spent years doing spiritual exercises and magic, trying to capture jinns or discover treasure. But nothing ever happened.
Then he turned to gambling and lotteries. He spent years filling out prize forms and buying tickets. But fortune never smiled. In the end, he died with his dreams unfulfilled.
The other brother took a different path. He learned calligraphy, worked for newspapers and magazines, and later joined a printing press. He worked hard, bought a small hand press, and gradually expanded his business. Today, he runs a successful printing press. His entire family works with him, and they live a respectable and stable life.
One brother tried to grab the mountain all at once—and failed. The other moved grain by grain—and succeeded.
The Urdu poet Ismail Merathi (1844–1917) beautifully expressed this truth:
Yoon hi phoonk phoonk kar bharta hai jheel taal
Yoon hi kodi kodi hua jama maal
A lake is filled slowly, drop by drop.
Wealth is collected, little by little.
This couplet speaks a universal truth that applies to every aspect of life.
Consider the Ganga River. In the plains, it looks like a wide and mighty stream. But at its source in the mountains, it begins with tiny trickles—small drops flowing from snow-covered rocks. These streams merge to form a larger flow and eventually become the powerful river we see.
If someone expects the Ganga to gush forth as a river from the very first step, it won’t happen.
Because even the Ganga begins not with a flood, but with many tiny sources of water.
Balanced Life
There is a man in Japan named Shigechiyo Izumi (d. 1986) who is considered the oldest living person in the world. He was born on 29 June 1865, and even at such an extraordinary age, his physical condition remains remarkably good. He lives a simple life on Tokunoshima Island, located in southern Japan. Due to his exceptional health and longevity, he has gained fame. In fact, he has become a must-see attraction for tourists visiting Japan. Almost 200 tourists visit this island each day just to meet him. Most visitors ask him the same question:
“In your view, what is the best way to live?” And in the words of Izumi, his answer is always: “Live an ordinary life and don’t go to extremes.” (Hindustan Times, 8 July 1981)
This brief sentence conveys a profound truth. It is true that if a person simplifies their food, clothing, housing, and other basic needs, they will stay healthier and avoid many unnecessary stresses and complications.
In reality, most of our problems arise from unnecessary complications—and the easiest way to avoid them is not to bring such complications into life at all.
You can see examples of both extremes all around you. On one side, there is a type of person who lives in constant fear of losing status or reputation. Driven by this fear, they host guests with excessive formality, spend more than they can afford on decorating their home, and spend too much time grooming themselves before going out. When they travel, they carry so many unnecessary items that the journey becomes a burden. Such a person can never be truly happy, nor can their health stay stable.
In contrast, there is the person who values necessity over appearance. When guests arrive, they share whatever is naturally available in the home. For their house, they consider cleanliness enough rather than lavish decoration. When going out, they step outside as they are, without pretense. Their journeys are light and effortless, so much so that no one even notices when they leave or when they return. Such a person remains content, healthy, and free from tension. They work with energy during the day and sleep peacefully at night.
The same principle applies to human relations: extremism often causes problems rather than solving them. Conflicts inevitably happen between people, yet many respond with harshness instead of moderation—answering brick with stone. But this does not fix anything; one extreme prompts another, multiplying problems instead of ending them.
This pattern also appears in those who take every criticism too personally or judge others in extremes—forming friendships that are overly intense and enmities that are just as severe. Such individuals can never find peace. In contrast, those who overlook minor issues, make balanced judgments, and keep both friendships and hostilities within reasonable limits lead calm and stable lives. Their days pass smoothly, and their nights are peaceful. As Whittington observed: To dwell in paradise after death, one must first learn to dwell in paradise before death.
All India Radio, New Delhi, 21 August 1981.
