500+ Words Essay on Self-Reliance/Self-Help
God helps those who help themselves. The best kind of help comes from within. It suggests the supremacy of moral and spiritual strength. It generates self-confidence which leads us to the way of success. As we are social beings, we have to depend somewhat on others. But we should not always idle away our time awaiting help from others. We should remember that when we depend on others, we take risks, because they may stop helping us at any time, with or without warning. Moreover, others can help us once or twice or thrice. We cannot expect help whenever we are in need all through our life.
There are examples of self-made men and countries before us. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a self-made man who stood against his poverty and all sorts of obstacles that appeared in the course of his life. Michael Faraday began as a bookbinder but turned out to be one of the greatest scientists of the world. The history of human achievement is indeed a record of what man can do by himself. Great heroes, great scientists, great businessmenâthey are all self-made men. Thrown upon their own resources, they accept the challenge of life and develop new virtues and new qualities. Their latent powers awaken and flourish. They are even ready to take the initiative, always confident of finding a way out of difficulties. It is true for a country too. Japan, our Asian neighbour, has become a world power even after the massacres of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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It is said in Greek mythology that Hercules, the god of strength, does not help a person who sits idly and only prays. Once a carter fell in danger when the wheels of his cart got stuck in mud. He sat on his knees and prayed to Hercules for help. But Hercules did not help him directly. He advised him to put his shoulders to the wheel and pull them. The carter did so, and the cart got free. Likewise, a beggar who lives on charity and does not try to help himself remains a beggar throughout his life. It cannot be a path to follow. The real path to follow, rather than the greatest virtue that one should try to cultivate in life, is the habit of self-reliance. A man who relies upon himself wins a sort of glorious independence. But unfortunately, we are by nature somewhat fatalistic in our attitude. We tend to depend too much on fate or help from others. This habit destroys the springs of action. But if we have courage and initiative, we may become the masters of our destiny. There are many who make their fortune by their own efforts. If we think poorly of our own abilities, if we look to others for help at every step, we cannot expect to be rated highly. As a rule, the world estimates us as we estimate ourselves.
Of course, self-reliance does not mean that one should be proud of oneself. It should always go hand in hand with a proper feeling of modesty. Another defect to be guarded against is selfishness. The self-reliant man should not be unwilling to accept help from others where it is really needed.
Not only in individual work, we should share our responsibility in teamwork too. Any teamwork may fail if we do not perform our own shares perfectly. However, we should remember that God has given us heads, hearts, and hands. We should fully utilize these gifts to enrich our life. There is a vital role of self-reliance in the Indian context today. India is now under tremendous pressure of unemployment. No government can provide employment to all unemployed youths. Self-reliance may be the only reasonable way to solve the problem of unemployment. So, in our country, the lesson of self-reliance is particularly needed. We must remember that an ounce of work is heavier than a ton of talks.