Monday, April 29, 2013

The True Power Of ONE


The True Power Of ONE


People often say : 'How can I make a difference in the world? I am just one person among billions of others, what could I possibly do that would change anything? Everyone else should have to change in order for me to make a difference.'

Well, here is the story of a man who single-handedly moved a mountain!

About five decades ago, a landless farmer, Dashrath Manjhi from Gahlor Ghati of Gaya, Bihar decided to take into task the difficulties of his villagers who were almost cut off from the rest of the world by rocky hills, almost making the place impassable.
Around 1959, his wife passed away from illness and lack of immediate medical care, when there was no way of taking her to the nearest medical center over the 300 feet high hills.

Heartbroken after her death, Manji alone resolved to create a pass, so that no one person would have to suffer the fate that his wife did. He sold his goats to purchase chisel, rope and a hammer.

This sudden change in his demeanor made him a laughing stock with people, who laughed at him, calling him eccentric and crazy.

Unfazed by their remarks, Manji hammered away with consistent determination for 22 years. At the end of his arduous labor, he finally came face to face with his dream: the OTHER SIDE of the HILL! He shortened the distance from 70 km to just ONE KILOMETER, 16 ft wide!

Once this task was accomplished, Dashrath Manji became known as the Mountan Man. Sadly, this amazing man breathed his last on August 18, 2007, after fighting cancer at New Delhis' AII India Institute of Medical Sciences and received a proper state burial.

Dashrath Manji, a man who was mocked and ridiculed for his strong will and determination, leaves behind a legacy of strong will and determination.

What are the morals of the story?

1. Patience is the greatest virtue that leads us to success;
2. Dream the impossible!
3. Attitude Matters;
4. Stay Positive;
5. Don’t lose heart if people call you mad and crazy for your unique ideas/thoughts;

Source: True Activist;



More than 30 years ago, a teenager named Jadav "Molai" Payeng began planting seeds along a barren sandbar near his birthplace in India's Assam region, the Asian Age reports.

It was 1979 and floods had washed a great number of snakes onto the sandbar. When Payeng -- then only 16 -- found them, they had all died.

"The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms," Payeng told the Times Of India.

"It was carnage. I alerted the forest department and asked them if they could grow trees there. They said nothing would grow there. Instead, they asked me to try growing bamboo. It was painful, but I did it. There was nobody to help me," he told the newspaper.

Now that once-barren sandbar is a sprawling 1,360 acre forest, home to several thousands of varieties of trees and an astounding diversity of wildlife -- including birds, deer, apes, rhino, elephants and even tigers.

The forest, aptly called the "Molai woods" after its creator's nickname, was single-handedly planted and cultivated by one man -- Payeng, who is now 47.

According to the Asian Age, Payeng has dedicated his life to the upkeep and growth of the forest. Accepting a life of isolation, he started living alone on the sandbar as a teenager -- spending his days tending the burgeoning plants.

Today, Payeng still lives in the forest. He shares a small hut with his wife and three children and makes a living selling cow and buffalo milk, OddityCentral.com reports.

According to the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Gunin Saikia, it is perhaps the world’s biggest forest in the middle of a river.

"We were surprised to find such a dense forest on the sandbar," Saikia told the Times Of India, adding that officials in the region only learned of Payeng's forest in 2008.

Finally, Payeng may get the help -- and recognition -- he deserves.

"[Locals] wanted to cut down the forest, but Payeng dared them to kill him, instead. He treats the trees and animals like his own children. Seeing this, we, too, decided to pitch in," Saikia said.

Source: Huffington Post;

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