HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the obituary column. The news papers had reported the death of the wrong person by mistake. His first response was shock. Am I here or there? When he regained his composure, his second thought was to find out what people had said about him. 

The obituary read, "Dynamite King Dies." And also "He was the merchant of death." This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words "merchant of death," he asked himself a question, "Is this how I am going to be remembered?"

He got in touch with his feelings and decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered. From that day on, he started working toward peace. His name was Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great Nobel Prize.

Just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, we should step back and do the same. Today could be a wonderful occasion on a happy Onam day

Remember to ask these questions to your self in the end of the day

What is your legacy?

How would you like to be remembered?

Will you be spoken well of?

Will you be remembered with love and respect?

Will you be missed?

Motherhood means concern for the whole creation

Here comes a touching story of motherliness from the animal world. This story is told by a devotee who visited a temple in the midst of a forest near Wynad, Kerala. After his temple visit when he came out he spotted a tiny squirrel sealed on the top of a lintel,  which was squeaking with fear. Its mother obviously was away and a snake was making its way to the little squirrel and was about to catch it. 

At that moment from a nearby tree, a big owl flew in, pushed aside the snake and saved the little squirrel. The owl went back to its perch, but its attention was riveted on the helpless little squirrel. The devotee was fascinated by the timely action of the owl. After some time there came the snake again to snatch the squirrel. Lo! there flew in the owl again to save the helpless squirrel.  The snake retreated and the squirrel was saved. But the snake was not in a mood to give up. It came again after a brief interval. The owl got really angry and this time flew in with the intention of doing away with the snake and saving the squirrel from its cruel fate.

The devotee was overwhelmed seeing this expression of universal motherliness between two animals, even though the squirrel was the natural prey of the owl. The danger to the little squirrel in the absence of its mother touched a deep chord in the heart of the owl and it responded to it in the most touching way. The devotee could not help comparing it with what we find among humans, these days.

If only we keep our eyes open to the natural relationships and concern ever prevalent all around us, our minds can also expand and when it is filled with love and concern for all in the universe it raises us to the level of a Universal Being and we become entitled for the blessings of the Universe.

My Country My People

This is a real story of an Indian soldier when he faced one of the most feared Military Leaders of the modern world. 15 Aug 1936 was not the Independence day for India. Nonetheless the date is significant as it figures in the pages of world history and is worth sharing with our countrymen. 


It was the Berlin Olympics and India was to play the mighty Germany in the Finals of the Hockey tournament. Just before the commencement of the encounter the Indian Coach, Pankaj Gupta, got the Congress Flag (Tri colour with charka) into the teams dressing room. All the players saluted the Flag and sang Vande Mataram, the then acknowledged National Anthem of India. When India had reached the hockey finals, it was presumed that Germany would emerge the winner.  It was assumed that another gold medal was just a matter of time for the Germans. To boost the morale of his team, the Fuehrer Adolf Hitler decided to attend and witness the match.

By half time India was leading 1-0. The playing conditions were not conducive for India in the second half. Fearing defeat the German ground staff deliberately drenched and rendered the outfield wet to slow the fast dribbling Indians in their sub-standard canvas shoes. Dhyan Chand the captain of the Indian team was facing acute difficulty in running on the wet ground in his canvas shoes. Dhyan Chand calmly took off his shoes and started playing barefoot. India won the Final match and the Gold medal by 8-1, of which 6 Goals were scored by Dhyan Chand himself. Hitler, left the stadium halfway through the match, as he could not bear to see his team lose.

Later, when Hitler came to know about the magic of Dhyan Chand, he expressed his desire to meet Dhyan Chand. On being informed by the German Chancery, Dhyan Chand could not sleep the entire night. Dhyan chand was numb with fear as were every member of the team, wondering what would happen in the lion's den.

The next morning Dhyan Chand found himself, before Hitler.  Hitler took a look at the sub-standard canvas shoes of Dhyan Chand and enquired  "what else you do, when not playing hockey ?"


Dhyan Chand: I am in Army.


Hitler: What is your rank?


Dhyan Chand: I am Lance Nayak


Hitler: Come pver to Germany and I will make you a Field Marshal.


Dhyan Chand was in flutter, not understanding whether it was an instruction to him by the Supreme Commander of the mighty German Army or an offer. Breaking his silence after a few seconds, Dhyan Chand replied in chaste hindi, "India is my Country, and I am fine there".


None of the Generals accompanying Hitler could respond to the patriotic rebuff rendered by the plucky Indian Soldier. Hitler is said to have taken his eyes off Dhyan Chand's canvas shoes briefly and retorted," As you like it " and stomped away in a huff.

We should be proud of the humble Lance Nayak of the Indian Army who did the Indians (then under the yoke of Britain) proud. Indian Hockey is in very bad shape today. But Dhyan Chand who was later granted a Commission in the Indian Army and ultimately retired as a Major, is immortal in the annals of Indian Hockey.

Do Something

A man distraught by all the pain and suffering he saw all around him broke down and banged his fists into the dirt.

His head turns upward and he yells at his God.

"Look at this mess. Look at all this pain and suffering. Look at all this killing and hate. God. Oh God! WHY DON'T YOU DO SOMETHING!!"


nd his God spoke to him and said"I did. I sent you."

---

Do something, take responsibility, both your indecision and decisiveness does make a difference

The King's Leather Sandal

A Maharaja decided to walk around his kingdom to see how are his people doing. Just few steps out of his castle, his foot was injured by a stone lying unseen on the road. He thought, "So the road in my kingdom is this bad. I have got to get it fixed."

Maharaja then summoned all his ministers. He ordered to have all the road in his kingdom be layered with the best of leathers. As soon as it was ordered, the ministers started getting the things ready, they gathered the cows from the whole country of the kingdom only to be made into leather.

Amongst such extraordinary busyness, came a wise renunciate came to see him. He said to the Maharaja, "O the Powerful One, why would you make have so much leather just to cover the whole roads spreading throughout the country when actually what you really need is just two pieces of leather to cover your soles?

Since that momentous time that the world invented what we call 'Sandal'

****

The world we live in is full of rocky roads. Which one do we choose, to cover all those roads with furry soft carpet so that we never have to encounter any pain or to cover our heart with a leather cover made of love, so that we can get through those roads safely?

To make this world a comfortable place for us to live in, sometimes we just need to change our perspectives, our heart, and ourselves, rather than changing the whole world.

The Greater the Haste the Slower It Is

A youth went up to a mountain to look for a famous swordsman to learn swordsmanship

"Master, if i practice diligently, how long would it take me to become adept at it?"

"Perhaps ten years"

"My father is getting old and i must take care of him. If i work far more intensively, how long would it take me?"

"In that case, it might have to take thirty years."

"You first mentioned ten years, and then you said it takes thirty years. I do not mind undergoing whatever hardship. I must learn it within the shortest possible time."

"Then you would need seventy years to master it"

----

More haste, less speed

Those who are too eager for results are apt to end up not having achieved anything. "Ordinary-mindedness is the way" means exactly this.

The Miracle Lioness: Kalmuniak

SAMBURU , KENYA - In Biology, we know that there exist the thing called food chain. It could be like this: soil nutrients consumed by grass, grass consumed by deer, deer consumed by lion, lion die consumed by micro organism into soil nutrients, and so on. The food pyramid draws on who eat who and who get eaten by who. This means, an oryx, a kind of horned deer living in Africa, is a food to wolves, leopard, lion or other predators.

However, as what was reported in BBC, A lioness in central Kenya has baffled wildlife experts by adopting a baby oryx. Reports say the full-grown lioness came across the oryx two weeks ago in the Samburu Game Reserve, scaring off its mother. Instead of then attacking the defenceless calf, the lioness adopted the baby, protecting it from other predators, including a leopard.

The local witnesses stated that every evening the lioness and the baby oryx would rest together. The lioness would curl up her body to the side of the oryx. The lioness even allowed the real oryx mother to come playing with the baby oryx, giving the baby milk. When the baby gets full, the lioness would then chase away the mother to go. That also means extra work for the lioness, for she has to protect the baby oryx. In any way, the oryx do rise the appetite of her predator relatives, many other lions would love to meal on the oryx.

However on Sunday of 6 January 2002, the sad end to the story came when the lioness led the oryx to the river to drink. Weakened by two weeks of looking after her adopted baby, she fell asleep, failing to notice a hungry male lion in the area. The oryx was no more.

Patrick Muriungi, a receptionist at Samburu Lodge, told AFP the lioness was grief-stricken when she awoke to realise from the small noises of what had happened. The lioness was right away very enraged and attacked the male lion. "She was very angry. She went around the lion about 10 times roaring, and then the lioness disappeared," he was quoted as saying.

Of course this extraordinary case attracts the attention of many. "This is either an extraordinary case of maternal instinct or simply the eighth wonder of the world," the local Herman Mwasaghu told The Nation newspaper. "What is baffling is why the relationship has lasted so long," said Wildlife expert Vincent Kapeen. He also thought the lioness spared the oryx "because animals have a special instinct to care for the young". Or could it be because the lioness was being lonely? How about you? What do you think?

Local people in Kenya named the lioness Kamunyak, which means “the blessed one” in the local Samburu language. Since then she has cared for five more young Oryxes, but none lives longer than a week and the last escaped back to it's mother. Kamunyak was last sighted in February 2003, and despite a number of searches, she has not been spotted again. Her story was recorded by Saba Douglas-Hamilton and her sister, Dudu, between January 2002 - August 2003. Their film, Heart of a Lioness, was shown on the BBC and Animal Planet. This a powerful message for us all to fight racism. If an animal can overcome her hunger and instinct to protect, imagine what we humans can do, if we really wants to.\

Stamp Box and The Stamp

Once there was an official who had done so many corruptions in his office, that the emperor sent an auditor to audit him. Realizing what was going to happen, the official asked help of a thief to steal for him the auditor’s official stamp that was in the auditor’s office. The next day when the auditor was going to start his work, he found out that his stamp was missing. He was very sure that it had been stolen by the corrupt official. In response, the auditor pretended to be severely ill. Some of the officials came to visit him, a very common practice of that time.

When the corrupt official came to visit him, the auditor only talked light common matters. While they were conversing, somebody from the back corridor shouted, “Fire…! Fire…!” Hearing that, the auditor immediately took his stamp box and while being witnessed by several other important people present there, he presented it to the corrupt official and said, “Please go home and take care of this stamp box, as the stamp inside is very important.” The corrupt official left hurriedly.

Only when the corrupt official got out of the auditor’s residence, he realized that he had been trapped, but it was all too late. The next day, the auditor requested the corrupt official to return back his stamp box that was being stored by the corrupt official. In such dilemmatic position, the corrupt official had no other choice but to return the stamp box together with the original stamp. If not, it would be seen that he made lost a government stamp.

Right after the stamp got back to the rightful owner, the auditor immediately stamped the documents he had made, including the letter of mutation of the corrupt official. Not long after, the corrupt official was removed from his office.

God! Grand Me Strength!

It was a merry afternoon at the hall. Oh, one could see that a toy-car race was being held, and the final round is a few minutes away. There were only four participants left and each of them proudly exhibit their own made toy-car. And so it was in fact that the rule of the game, the toy-car had to be one's own handmade.

Among the players, were one child whose toy-car wasn't in any way looking marvelous nor special in its look, though surprisingly he was one of the four boys who made it so far to the final round. Compared to his other players, his toy-car was the least magnificent and imperfect. Some of the audience doubted the toy-car capability to race against the other three.

Yes, it was true, the toy car looks pretty dull. With simple wood materials and few blinking lamps on its top, the toy car doesn't appear so interesting as compared to the other lavishly decorated toy-cars. Even so, the owner was less proud with his toy car, since it was original of his own creation.

Every kid got his car ready on the start line, and at the slightest signal from the jury, they pushed the toy-car as fast as they can. They pushed and pushed, ran and ran along with the car as fast as they could, and at the end, surprisingly, the kid with the least magnificent looking toy car got his toy car touching the finish line first among other players.

The champion was then asked by the organizer before receiving his award, "Hey champion kid, i saw you praying before the final round started, you must have prayed deeply to God that you may win this tournament, didn't you?" The champion was silent for a moment, then replied, "No sir, that was not what i prayed, i thought it was not fair to ask for God to help me defeating the other players. I only prayed that God help me not to cry if i lose." After a few moments of silence by the audience, the hall was then filled with applauses from the audience.

Contemplation:

How often do we pray that our wish may be granted? But do we realize that sometimes our wishes are just the opposite of what the others may pray for? If God exist in the conventional sense, then does God side on one but not the other? For example, if we pray for a win that benefit us, at that same time, one party or more would be disadvantaged. Then would it be appropriate for us to be joyful of it while on the other hand the other person might be suffering and disappointed? There are many things more important than just winning or losing. Wouldn't it be better for us if we pray for us to be accepting of whatever the results may be? Be it a defeat or a win, we can still choose to be happy.

Welcome New Year 2012

Dear All,

Wish you and your family a very happy,healthy and fruitful New Year 2012.

All the best for all your personal and spiritual endeavors.

With Regards

sudhakar

Seek the Truth

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day one fellow met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?". "Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test.". "Triple filter?". "That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. 

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?" "No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and...". "All right," said Socrates. "So you don't know if it's true or not.

 Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?" . "No, on the contrary...". "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true.

You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?" "No, not really." "Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

Lesson:
Well we can always participate in loose talks to curb our boredom. But when it comes to you friends its not worth it. Always avoid talking behind the back about your near and dear

Hidden Bliss

Among the villagers that live on the border, there was a family head who was very eloquent in speaking. One day his family horse without any clear reason fled to the North. Everyone tried to cheer him up. 

The family head said, "Will this sad event turn up to be happy event?" Few months have passed, and one day the horse returned back bringing back with him a very beautiful horse from the North. Everybody came to congratulate him. 

The man responded, "Will this happy event turn up to be sad event?" The family had owned another beautiful horse. The son of the family loved riding the horse. One day he fell from the horse and broke his leg. People came again to cheer him up. 

The head of the family again said, "Will this sad event turn up to be happy event?" One year later, a conqueror from the North came leading his army invading the borders. Everyone there who was still young went for the army. 

Almost 90 percent of the borders' citizens were recruited. The son of the man, as his leg was disabled, could not go for the war. Both the father and the son survived."

Importance of Faith

Sri Rama Krishna Paramahamsa often used to describe a story to highlight the importance of faith.

A farmer's daughter duty was to carry fresh milk to customers in various villages, one of whom was a priest. To reach his house, the milk-maid had to cross a good-sized stream. People crossed it by a sort of ferry raft, for a small fee.

One day the priest, who performed worship daily with the offering to God of fresh milk, finding it arrived very late, scolded the poor woman.

"What can I do?" she said, "I start out early from my house, but I have to wait a long time for the boatman to come."

Then the priest said (pretending to be serious), "What! People have even walked across the ocean by repeating the name of God, and you can't cross this little river?"

This milk-maid took him very seriously. From then on she brought the priest's milk punctually every morning. He became curious about it and asked her how it was that she was never late any more.

"I cross the river repeating the name of the Lord," she replied, "just as you told me to do, without waiting for the ferry."

The priest didn't believe her, and asked, "Can you show me this, how you cross the river on foot?"

So they went together to the water and the milkmaid began to walk over it.

 Looking back, the woman saw that the priest had started to follow her and was floundering in the water.

"Sir!" she cried, "You are uttering the name of God, yet all the while you are holding up your clothes from getting wet. That is not trusting in God!"

If you lose faith you lose everything.

Faith in our selves, faith in God this is the secret, greatness.

If you have faith in all the three hundred and thirty million gods... still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you.

Boy’s Weakness

A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move. “Sensei,”(Teacher in Japanese) the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?” “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.” Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.


Moral: Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame God, the circumstances or ourselves for it but we never know that our weaknesses can become our strengths one day. Each of us is special and important, so never think you have any weakness, never think of pride or pain, just live your life to its fullest and extract the best out of it!

Success Story of Sminu Jindal, MD, Jindal Saw Ltd.

You might be excused if you gape at Sminu Jindal. She is quite used to it. Busy shuffling around in her wheelchair as she goes about her office work, it takes a while to realise that she is paralyzed waist downwards. She makes multitasking on a wheelchair look so simple. As the managing director of Jindal Saw, one of the flagship companies of USD 12 million of OP Jindal Group, Sminu has been instrumental in the diversification for pipe manufacturer to one with interest in infrastructure, transportation, logistics and fabrication.. .Sminu Jindal is the first lady entrant in the country to do her gender proud by breaking the glass ceiling in the steel, oil and gas sector in India. She is a woman of steely resolve. Sminu Jindal broke the stereotypical Marwari family mould and stormed the corporate boardroom that too in a wheelchair.

In spite of being confined to the wheelchair due to an accident at the age of 11, she has not allowed her spirit to be chained. On the contrary, it has added wheels to her determination to take life head on.

After completing her elementary schooling in Delhi, Sminu had joined the boarding at the prestigious Maharani Gayatri Devi School in Jaipur with a view to acquire holistic quality education. It was on one of those drives back home from Jaipur to Delhi that she met with a near fatal accident.

It was while she was returning to Delhi from her school, Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School in Jaipur, that her car met with a terrible accident in which she lost movement of her lower body. “It took me a long time to realise what had happened to me, but my parents stood rock solid in helping me cope with the repercussions of the accident.

She was fortunate to survive but sustained a severe spinal cord injury and brain hemorrhage. The spinal injury left the lower half of her body paralysed. The next few years were very difficult and traumatic for her. She was just a young child of eleven in class six. As she woke up to the reality facing her, she shuddered at the thought that it would no longer remain the playful carefree life she had known. What hurt her most was the realization that she would no longer be able to dance. She was a talented Kathak dancer and a distinction holder at Bhartiya Kala Kendra at the age of nine.

Sminu does not flinch a bit while talking to me about this agonizing phase of her life and recalls with serene equanimity that it was indeed a period of complete personal mess. It was her family that became a deep source of emotional and psychological support for her in those moments. Her parents, especially her mother Arti, instilled the confidence in her that she would be able to go to a normal school and continue the day-to-day activities. They would encourage her to do the small routine things on her own without seeking anyone's sympathy or support. She would carry her bag to school, go for tuitions outside home like her sisters did and later joined a regular co-ed college after studying in a convent. Thus she 'was cared for but was not pampered'. This significant training at home toughened her mind and made her self-reliant so that she could face the life ahead with courage.

They never treated me differently from my sisters. My two younger sisters were also very sweet. When we would fight, I would call out to them to come and get thrashed by me and they would come! So it was a very normal upbringing for me where

I was never given any special consideration, be it organizing my cupboard or getting stuff from the kitchen. What is great is that once my parents accepted my condition, they educated themselves about it and found out the best possible treatments that would help me grow up the normal way.

They got me a machine that would make me stand up for a few hours everyday, so that I would be able to grow proportionately. I was at a growing age when the accident happened, and being confined to a wheelchair could have hampered the normal growth of my legs.”

And all this does not come out of quivering lips. Sminu is jovial and jests all along. She talks about her condition in the most matter-of-fact way. There is no hesitation or reluctance. She has no problem in accepting her condition, and neither has her husband, Indresh Batra, found it an issue.

They met at a friend’s party where the two got along over “nonsensical banter”. After which one thing led to another and they got married. They have two sons aged six and three. Incidentally, Sminu had a natural conception, after which she went to the US where experts tracked her pregnancy.

“We have a normal family life. Just like my parents, my husband too doesn’t give me any special treatment. We fight like every other husband and wife and indulge our children like other parents.”

Her message is simple: “What makes a person special is her work, her compassion and not her condition.”. It is easy to get impressed by her, since Sminu Jindal is an exceptional and exemplary woman of substance who does not shy away from challenges in all walks of life.

Her organisation ‘Svayam’ (an initiative of S J Charitable Trust) has been working closely with NDMC, ASI, DTC and the Education Ministry of Delhi to make public conveniences units, historical monuments like the Qutub Minar and Jalianwala Bagh, bus queue shelters and government schools accessible to all those with reduced mobility. Next on her agenda is to sensitize tourism in India - to help people with reduced mobility enjoy the splendour of our country.

....The Comfort Zone

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly.

He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch.

Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, "May be I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem." So he cried out to his court, "Go and get a farmer."

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, "Bring me the doer of this miracle."

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the falcon fly?"

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, " It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting."
.......................................................................................................

We are all made to fly -- to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of doing that, we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us.

The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling.

So let us learn to destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free ourselves to the glory of flight.

........How to Handle Problems Coming your Way

A wealthy man decided to go on a safari in Africa. He took his faithful pet Dachshund dog along for company.

One day, the Dachshund starts chasing butterflies and before long the Dachshund discovers that he is lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the obvious intention of having lunch.

The Dachshund thinks, "I'm in deep trouble now! Then he noticed some bones on the ground close by and immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the Dachshund exclaims loudly, Boy, that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any more around here."

Hearing this, the leopard halts his attack in mid-stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away into the trees. "Whew," says the leopard. "That was close. That Dachshund! Nearly had me."

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes. But the Dachshund sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, here monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine.

Now the Dachshund sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks What am I going to do now?" But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet... and just when they get close enough to hear, the Dachshund says,

Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard."

Moral: It doesn't matter what cards you hold but how you play them!!
The more we sweat in practice, the less we bleed in battle.

The Fruits of Labour

There once lived a rich businessman who had a lazy and fun loving son. The businessman wanted his son to be hard-working and responsible. He wanted him to realize the value of labour. One day he summoned his son and said: "Today, I want you to go out and earn something, failing which you won't have your meals tonight."

The boy was callous and not used to any kind of work. This demand by his father scared him and he went crying straight to his mother. Her heart melted at the sight of tears in her son's eyes. She grew restless. In a bid to help him she gave him a gold coin.

In the evening when the father asked his son what he had earned, the son promptly presented him the gold coin. The father then asked him to throw it into a well. The son did as he was told.

The father was a man of wisdom and experience and guessed that the source of the gold coin was the boy's mother. The next day he sent his wife to her parent's town and asked his son to go and earn something with the threat of being denied the night meals if he failed.

This time he went crying to his sister who sympathized with him and gave him a rupee coin out of her own savings. When his father asked him what he had earned the boy tossed the rupee coin at him. The father again asked him to throw it in a well.

The son did it quite readily. Again the father's wisdom told him that the rupee coin was not earned by his son. He then sent his daughter to her in-laws' house. He again asked his son to go out and earn with the threat that he shall not have anything for dinner that night.

This time since there was no one to help him out; the son was forced to go to the market in search of work. One of the shopkeepers there told him that he would pay him two rupees if he carried his trunk to his house. The rich man's son could not refuse and was drenched in sweat by the time he finished the job. His feet were trembling and his neck and back were aching. There were rashes on his back.

As he returned home and produced the two rupee note before his father and was asked to throw it into the well, the horrified son almost cried out. He could not imagine throwing his hard-earned money like this.

He said amid sobbing: "Father! My entire body is aching. My back has rashes and you are asking me to throw the money into the well."

At this the businessman smiled. He told him that one feels the pain only when the fruits of hard labour are wasted. On earlier two occasions he was helped by his mother and sister and therefore had no pain in throwing the coins into the well.

The son had now realized the value of hard work. He vowed never to be lazy and safe keep the father's wealth. The father handed over the keys of his shop to the son and promised to guide him through the rest of the life.


Some of the life's best lessons come from the hardest situations.

Real Prosperity

A rich man asked Sengai to write something for the continued prosperity of his family so that it might be treasured from generation to generation.

Sengai obtained a large sheet of paper and wrote: "Father dies, son dies, grandson dies".

The rich man became angry, i asked you to write something for the happiness of my family! Why do you make such a joke at this?"

"No joke is intended, if before you yourself die your son should die, this would grieve you greatly. If your grandson should pass away before your son, both of you would be broken-hearted. If your family, generation after generation, passes away in the order I have named, It will be the natural course of life. I call this real prosperity", so explained Sengai.
***

What is natural flows effortlessly yet its course does not stray from perfection.

Threatening crisis

A president, a proffessor, a priest and an adventurer was flying with a private plane. However suddenly something unexpectedly bad happened to the plane during the flight. The pilot announced that the plane was in crisis and the four passengers would have to jump out using parachutes. However, there were only 3 parachutes available in that private plane, while there were 4 passengers abroad.

The first passenger, the president, stood up and said, "I am the president. My people and my country needs me. I'll take this parachute!", the president grabbed one and off he went. 

"I am a very highly educated man, and i play very big role in the society. My students and the society needs me, so this parachute shall be mine." said the second passenger, the proffessor. He then took several seconds whispering this to the priest, "Take this last parachute for yourself, teacher. Forget about that good for nothing lad". Hurriedly the proffessor grabbed the parachute and off he went.

The priest thought to himself, "I have always been teaching people to love others like how they love themselves and that is how i live...".So without further consideration, the priest said to the lad, "You, take this last parachute. My life is in His hands!" 

"Isnt there enough two parachutes for both of us?"the lad finally spoke up, "I think the proffessor was too tense and was in such rush that time that he grabbed the my backpack instead of parachute...".

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When faced with urgent critical situation, one's real face tend to appear.