Vikram wiped his brow and said, “I know two things: the village needs water, and I know how to dig. The result is not in my hands. But the act of digging? That is in my hands.”
Vikram smiled gently. “Brother, I did not dig for the spring. I dug because it was the right action to take. The Gita teaches us: ‘Karmanye vadhikaraste, ma phaleshu kadachana’ — You have a right to your action, but never to its fruits.” bhagavad gita quotes on karma
Arjun rushed to his own shovel, but it was too late. The spring had found its path through Vikram’s canal. Arjun’s field, which he had refused to work on without a guarantee, remained dry. Vikram wiped his brow and said, “I know
That evening, a dejected Arjun sat with Vikram under the banyan tree. “You were lucky,” Arjun said bitterly. “You found a spring.” That is in my hands
On the tenth day, a strange thing happened. As Vikram dug, he struck a layer of porous rock. Water—not from rain, but from an underground spring—began to seep into the canal. Slowly at first, then in a steady, cool stream. By the twelfth day, the spring water reached Vikram’s field and began flowing toward the village well.
So, dear reader, when you face your own dry season—your own uncertain river—remember the two farmers. Pick up your shovel. Do the work in front of you. Leave the rest to life itself.
One year, the rain was late. The ground was cracked, and the sun was merciless. The village elder announced, “If we do not dig a canal from the river to our fields within two weeks, the harvest will fail.”