Page 168 - SocialHarmony

172 Social Harmony

resources and where people are constantly struggling in their
day-to-day life. Gujarat is deprived of natural resources. Those
who have travelled across India must be aware of the fact that
many Indian states thrive with natural resources. But God has
His own way of giving strength. If any society uses these
strengths appropriately, they would pass through God’s tests
and would be able to live a prosperous life. The same thing has
happened to Gujarat. As we lacked in natural resources, our
ancestors had developed the skills and the habit of hard work.
And we have inherited those skills. It is hard to imagine that
despite sayings such as, Daalbhat khau shu sha paisa char (money
that gets us food is enough), even 400 years ago, our ancestors
had reached to the remotest places in the world in their tiny
boats.

Recently, I had been to Russia to enter into an agreement
with the country of Astrakhan. There is a building of Indian
origin in Astrakhan. If we test their DNA, we would realize
that most of them living there are Gujaratis. The people of
Astrakhan did business with traders in Okha. They are all aware
about their ties with Okha. They have a rich heritage of historical
tales, according to which, our ancestors were brave, skilful and
hardworking and we are enjoying the fruits of it.

The competitive age of today demands more than just hard
work. Until you make optimum use of your inherent skills, your
hard work doesn’t pay. Moreover, you have to seek opportunities
to expose your skills and that is where the test of human beings
starts. You might have everything that you need to start up a
business, i.e. a firm determination, raw material and enough
time, and the will to work hard, and yet, you need to overcome
many a barrier until the actual venture materializes. It is most
difficult to clear this very first stage.

The Sindhi community is a living example of the perfect
social set up that we had for starting up a business. The Sindhi
community has a unique custom. On the inaugural day of any
Sindhi’s business, his community people gift a blank sealed
envelope of money. They do not write their names on it, but the
envelope usually has a large amount of cash in it. Thus, the