A SURE PATH TO SUCCESS
No Substitute for Hard work
WHEN the Indian freedom fighter, Raja Mahendra Pratap, (1886-1979) met Vladimir Lenin in Moscow in 1919, the first thing that the leader of the Russian Socialist Revolution said to his Indian guest was: “In which language should I speak: English, German, French or Russian?” Lenin had learnt all these languages. On this occasion, it was decided that the conversation should be conducted in English.
How had Lenin become so well-acquainted with so many languages? The answer is: by following the example of his elders and then building upon it with sheer hard work. Lenin’s father died when Vladimir was only sixteen, and he was nurtured for the most part by his mother, Maria Alexandrovna. Her household, writes Lenin’s biographer David Shub, “was run along Spartan lines and the children were largely self-educated. Maria Alexandrovna taught herself German, French, English and the piano.”
The sure way to success lies in taking up the best traditions of the past, then building upon them for the future with sheer hard work of our own.
The manner in which Lenin followed in the footsteps of his mother is illustrated by his learning of the English language. While banished to Siberia by the Czarist regime (1897-1900), Lenin and his wife, Krupskaya, spent mornings translating Sidney and Beatrice Webb’s Theory and Practice of Trade Unionism. Not only did they translate the book from English into their native Russian, but Lenin also used to translate it back into English, without referring to the original text. In a letter to his sister Anna, he wrote: “I have concluded from my experience that this is the most rational method of learning a language.”
When Lenin and Krupskaya went to England in April 1902, they found that though they had translated Sidney and Beatrice Webb, “their knowledge of English bore only a remote resemblance to the native product. With his usual zest, Lenin set to work learning the language. He went wherever he could hear English spoken, to pubs, to Hyde Park, to all sorts of meetings. Crowding up front, he listened carefully to every word and watched the lip movements of the speakers. In addition, he hired two English teachers whom he taught Russian in exchange for English lessons. With these efforts his English soon became fairly proficient, if not fluent.” (Lenin: A Biography, by David Shub, Pelican Books, p. 70).
The method that Lenin adopted in learning English shows us the way to success in life. While taking up the best traditions of the past, we are to build upon them for the future with sheer hard work of our own. This method may require years of toil, and temporary disappointment, but it is sure to be successful in the end.