Kural 591
Possessing belongs only to the industrious. Do those
who lack such energy really possess their possessions?
Kural 592
Those who own a mental energy possess a thing of worth.
Material wealth is an unenduring possession that goes away.
Kural 593
Those who possess persevering industry
will never say in despair, ”We have lost our wealth.”
Kural 594
Good fortune of its own accord ferrets out and
finds the man of unflagging energy.
Kural 595
The length of the lotus stalk depends on the water’s depth.
Even so, a man’s greatness is proportionate to his mind’s energy.
Kural 596
Let all thoughts be thoughts of noble progress,
for then even failing cannot be called a failure.
Kural 597
Elephants stand firm even when wounded by a barrage of arrows.
Strong-willed men are not discouraged when they meet disaster.
Kural 598
Without a zealous spirit, one will never enjoy
the proud exhilaration of the world’s generosity.
Kural 599
The towering elephant, with his tapering tusks,
still shrinks in fear when a fierce tiger attacks.
Kural 600
An industrious mind is a man’s real wealth.
Lacking it, he is immobile–more tree-like than human.