The choices, and integrity

Choosing one path. 'choosing to lead one kind of life means putting aside the desire to pursue other options.'

He could have:

• had a career in metallurgy (the science of metals, which he had trained for) and become chief executive of a large company;
• joined the Indian Army and retired as a general;
• gone to the US and become a very successful NRI.

'Yet I chose none of these because somewhere, deep down, I knew I could make a more meaningful contribution by working here in Anand, Gujarat.' He agreed, fifty years ago, to work for a small cooperative of dairy farmers.

Serving farmers was not the career he had envisioned (imagined) for himself. A series of events swept him along, and then he chose.

His wife's choice. She knew Anand could not offer even simple comforts. Yet she ardently (with strong feeling) supported his choice. 'That choice of your grandmother to stand by me has given me an everlasting strength', helping him carry his responsibilities with poise (calm confidence).

Whenever he was honoured, he said it was a recognition of the work of many people. He adhered to (stuck to) values learnt from his parents and family elders, and seen in his mentor in Anand, Tribhuvandas Patel.

Integrity was the most important. Personal integrity 'is being honest to yourself. If you are always honest to yourself, it does not take much effort in always being honest with others.' Know your own mistakes; honesty with others then comes easily.

Life is a privilege. 'to waste it would be wrong.' So:

• accept responsibility for yourself;
• use your talents as well as you can;
• contribute to the common good, which 'will present itself to you in many forms every day': a friend who needs help, a teacher looking for a volunteer, your community.

What is failure? 'failure is not about not succeeding', but about not putting in your best effort and not contributing, however modestly.

The medal. In 1999 the President gave him the Padma Vibhushan. Little Siddharth put the medal round his neck and asked if he could keep it. The answer: the medal was his as much as his grandfather's, but he should not be satisfied with keeping it. The challenge was to earn his own reward through his own life's work.

He ends: if we are 'brave enough to love, strong enough to rejoice in another's happiness and wise enough to know that there is enough to go around for all', we will have lived our lives to the fullest.