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Leading A Spiritual Life
kind of categorization fails to explain the real situation.
There are many people who were born in the have-not
group but, by the time they died, they had become
honourable members of the group of haves.
One great example of this is the late Dr. APJ Abdul
Kalam. Dr. Kalam was born into a family so poor that
they were unable to pay his school fees. Yet, in the latter
part of his life, he rose to the highest position in the
country, that is, he became the President of India. In
his youth, he was an unknown person whereas, towards
the end of his life, he became an internationally well-
known figure.
This means that the ‘haves and have-nots’ equation
is wrong. It is better to categorize people as ‘potential
haves’ and ‘actual haves’. When Dr. Kalam was born, he
was a member of the ‘potential haves’ category but, at
a later stage, he became a member of the ‘actual haves’
category.
The fact is that all men and women are born with
great potential but it lies dormant. In this sense everyone
belongs to the ‘potential haves’ category. If one is able
to activate one’s capacity, and is able to plan one’s life,
one is bound to become a member of the ‘actual haves’
category. Almost all the super achievers were super
failures in the early phase of their lives but, in the later
phase, they emerged as super achievers. If you have
been born into a so-called poor family, don’t say that
you belong to a poor family. You should say rather that
you belong to the ‘potential haves’ group.
Nature is not unjust to anyone. It is generous to
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