umayun, the Mughal Emperor, was perhaps the nicest and at the same time the most unsuccessful among the great Mughals. He was overflowing with the milk of human kindness. He loved and trusted his brothers and gave them kingdoms to rule. He was betrayed by his brothers and friends alike. He lost his em- Pire and became a fugitive.
Toward the end of his life as he was recovering his posses- sions one after the other, he fell from the stairs of his library and died. Aurangzeb presents a striking contrast to Humayun. He was the most successful in extending the boundaries of his empire both in the East and the South. He pursued his aim singlemindedly. He killed his brothers and imprisoned his father to pave the way for his unchallenged supremacy.
There is something in the mind-set of success seekers which prevents them from
being nice. As A.G. Gardiner says in "Pillars of Society", "Success is ruthless. It has no
bowels of compassion. It takes its instructions from the head and ignores the plead-
ings of the heart". Most successful people are self-seekers. They seek power, money
and fame and treat their relations, co-workers and people merely as tools to further
their egoistical aims. They would not mind forgetting or ignoring their friends and
helpers as soon as the utility of the latter to them is over.
They can literally step over the dead-bodies of their co-workers if reaching the goal of success requires them to do so. Shakespeare, the master interpreter of human emotions and weaknesses, has pre- sented in Macbeth the unredeemed ruthlessness of which an ambitious man is ca- pable. Macbeth feels no compunction in murdering his master Bancho who was in- strumental in the rise and prosperity of Macbeth.
Only a man of compassion is truly nice to others. He enjoys doing good to oth-
ers. He experiences delight in giving happiness to others. He does not find inconve-
nience or hardship experienced in his endeavour to work for others' benefit. He will-
ingly sacrifices his own interest to further the interests of others. Why does he do so ?
He considers others as similar to himself as they are also gifted with the same soul as
himself. In his identification with others, he goes even a step further.
