Birlaji never left for the morrow anything that could be done today. This was the key to his success.

Shri G. D. Birla was a visionary. He always thought of the future. He remained always a great student of our culture and philosophy. Although he was a Hindu by birth, he revered every other religion as he thought that the basic tenets of all religions were the same. He was a man of character.
His wife died when he was only in his thirties , but he decided to lead the life of a celibate till his last breath.
In 1942 when the Quit India Resolution was passed, Mahatma Gandhi with all his associates was staying with Birlaji in Bombay. He and his elder brother, Rameshwardasji were the hosts. One fine morning Gandhiji decided that nothing would help the freedom movement than the “Quit India” Resolution. As he was staying with a big industrialist having great stakes under the British rule, Gandhiji did not want to embarrass his hosts. He, therefore, decided to shift to the Congress Office in Bombay.
When Rameshwardasji and Ghanshyamdasji heard of this, they were shocked, and felt insulted. They approached Gandhiji humbly and told him that he would be doing injustice to them if, for fear of their bearing the anger of the British Empire, he shifted to the Congress Office and passed the resolution there. “God willing, we will be able to weather the storm, if at all it comes, and we would request you to stay on here and pass the resolution,” they said.
The resolution was ultimately passed in the Birla House and it was from there that the British police took Gandhiji and his associates at midnight to the Yeravada Jail in Pune. That shows the principle to which Birlaji attached the greatest value and to which he adhered till the very last moment of his life.

In his “Neeti Shatakam,” Bhartruhari describes the characteristics of a wise man in the following lines:
Whether people well versed in the art of Neeti blame them or praise them; whether Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth goes to them or deserts them; whether death overtakes them instantly or after a Yuga, wisemen never forsake the path of Neeti.

Four Rules
I came across a poem written by Henry Vandyke giving four rules for a successful life;
To think without confusion clearly,
To love his fellowmen sincerely,
To act with very honest motives purely and
To trust in God and Heaven securely.

(Contd...)