Author: Dr Manasa Nagabhushanam, Daiv
Repeated failure is not a verdict; sometimes it is the long preparation for a very large success.
The ancient epics tell of King Sagaras sixty thousand sons, who were turned to ashes by the sage Kapilas glance. Their souls could find peace only if the river Ganga, then in heaven, were brought down to earth. Sagaras grandson Anshuman tried and failed. His son Dilipa tried and failed. Generation after generation, the effort ended without success.
Then Dilipas son Bhagiratha took up the task. He performed severe penance for years, pleased Brahma and obtained the Ganga's promise. But the force of her descent could shatter the earth, so he prayed again, this time to Shiva, who caught her in his matted locks and released her gently. Bhagiratha then led the river to the ashes of his ancestors. To this day, the river is called Bhagirathi, and a great, persistent effort is called a "Bhagiratha Prayatna".
The Gita offers an assurance for such efforts: "Na hi kalyana-krit kashchid durgatim tata gachchhati" (6.40), one who does good never comes to grief. Our failures may be the earlier generations of an effort whose result is still to come.
Today, take the task that has failed more than once, and change one thing about the method. Then begin again, with a prayer asking for strength, and let the result be arranged in its own time, as Bhagiratha did.