100 inspiring stories to enrich your life - g. francis xavier

PublishedbyJaicoPublishingHouseA-2JashChambers,7-ASirPhirozshahMehtaRoad

Fort,Mumbai-400001jaicopub@jaicobooks.comwww.jaicobooks.com

©Dr.G.FrancisXavier

100INSPIRINGSTORIESTOENRICHYOURLIFEISBN978-81-8495-769-3

FirstJaicoImpression:2015

Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanicalincludingphotocopying,recordingorbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe

publishers.

Pagedesignandlayout:JojyPhilip,Delhi

DedicatedtoMr.NGUYENVUNGUYEN–General

Directorand

Mr.NHÂNLƯƠNGDeputyDirector

AsiaPacificTalentYouthTrainingJointStockCompany

HoChiMinhCity,VietnamWith

LoveandGratitude

Contents

1. 1.ConquerYourAnger

2. 2.LovePeopleandHelpThem

3. 3. Be Careful While Telling the

4. 4.HowLongDoesItTakeToAttainEnlightenment?

5. 5.PrayTwiceaDay

6. 6. When Can Your Action BeAlwaysRight?

7. 7.ShunRituals,PractiseLove

8. 8. Set Right the Man; the WorldWillBePerfect

9. 9. How Do You Measure SpiritualGrowth?

10. 10.BeCourageous

11. 11.CleanseYourMindConstantly

12. 12.LoveGenuinelyandDeeply

13. 13.NeverEverDiscriminate

14. 14. How Do You Measure YourGrowth?

15. 15.DeriveBlissByReducingYourWants

16. 16. Where Does True WealthReside?

17. 17. What Is The True Nature OfGod?

18. 18.TheExaltedLoveOfaMother

19. 19.ForgiveFromYourHeart

20. 20. Take Responsibility ForWhateverYouDo

21. 21.RenderSincereServiceAtYourOwnCost

22. 22.TheBestChoiceInLife

23. 23.WhatHaveYouDoneToday?

24. 24.KeepUpYourMarriageVows

25. 25. Time IsMore Precious To TheElderly

26. 26.ChooseHappiness

27. 27. Forgive Others For Their

Mistakes

28. 28. Develop Strength FromWeakness

29. 29.BearHumiliatonForThePoor

30. 30.DevelopTheVirtueOfHumility

31. 31. Remain Serene AgainstMeaninglessAttacks

32. 32.TheWonderOfAChild

33. 33. Enjoy The New World OfExperience

34. 34.HowToMakeLoveEnduring?

35. 35.BeHappyAndCheerful

36. 36.DutyFirstAndStudyNext

37. 37.BeShrewdAndIntelligent

38. 38. Examine And Correct YourFaultyLife

39. 39.EnjoyYourself

40. 40. Derive Happiness By LimitingYourDesires

41. 41.WhoIsAGenius?

42. 42.TurnYourEnemyIntoAFriend

43. 43.BeDedicated

44. 44.TreatEveryoneAsAMessiah

45. 45.Don'tHugYourSufferings

46. 46.ALessonForEveryWife

47. 47.ServePeopleInDireNeed

48. 48.ExclusivelyForLawyers

49. 49. Destruction Is The Task Of

Children

50. 50. Make Constant Efforts ToBecomeProficient

51. 51.HelpTheHelpless

52. 52.DevelopGodlyQualities

53. 53.AUniqueWayToPunishYourChildren

54. 54. Confess Your Sins And BePurified

55. 55.LiveBeforeDeath

56. 56.EveryoneIsAPotentialGenius

57. 57. Accept Your Ignorance WithHumility

58. 58. Remember Things ThroughAssociation

59. 59. BeautifyYour Life With InnerGlow

60. 60.ChooseTheRightCareer

61. 61. How To Reduce Stress andTension

62. 62. Intelligent Way To EscapeWrath

63. 63.NeverMakePrayerARitual

64. 64.BringTheKingdomOfGodIntoYourHeart

65. 65.DevelopTheQualityOfASaint

66. 66.CultivatePatriotism

67. 67.BelieveInGod

68. 68.NoOneIsTooStupidToLearn

69. 69.RetainTheRomanceOfLife

70. 70. Calamities Can Bring Growth

AndEnlightenment

71. 71.ExploreAllThePossibilities

72. 72.WorshipThroughDance

73. 73.CourageWinsTheHeart

74. 74. Spirituality In ProductiveActivity

75. 75. Every Bit Of Knowledge Is

Useful

76. 76. Pay Undivided Attention ToWhateverYouDo

77. 77.SetAnExample

78. 78.AvoidCarryingTales

79. 79.GodIsWatching

80. 80.BeBoldAndHonest

81. 81. Where Does Suffering ComeFrom?

82. 82.TheCourageOfAPresident

83. 83.AttributeYourSuccessToGod

84. 84.BeGoodAndServeSociety

85. 85. SpendYour Time Productively

AndCreatively

86. 86. True Courage Is To Live ForOthers

87. 87. Become More Virtuous ThanYourEnemies

88. 88. Check On Your PerformancePeriodically

89. 89. GetA Positive Response FromTheWorld

90. 90.TimeHealsEverything

91. 91.HowDoYouTolerateAnInsult?

92. 92.LeadALifeOfAwareness

93. 93.NeverPrayForSelfishEnds

94. 94.BeTrueToYourself

95. 95.LiveNow,HappilyAndMerrily

96. 96. Realize The Genuine Love Of

YourParents

97. 97. What Makes A DeathbedTerrible?

98. 98. Only Fools And CowardsCommitSuicide

99. 99.WhatIsMeditation?

100. 100.HowDoYouPray?

Acknowledgements

IamhighlyindebtedtoMr.AshwinShahandMr.AkashShah,publishers,JaicoPublishingHouse, Mumbai, for bringing out the fourthvolume of my story book. Further, I alsoexpress my deep gratitude to them fortranslatingmy storybooks in to eight Indianlanguages.

IexpressmyprofoundgratitudetoMrs.andMr. Nigel Fernandes of Asian TradingCooperation, Bangalore and also Mr. AnilRego, Managing Director, Brilliant Printers,Bangalore, for their continued support inmyliterarypursuit.

Further, I expressmydeepgratitude to allmyfriendsandtheparticipantsofmyvarious

training programs. For easy reference, thenamesaregiveninalphabeticalorder.

V.Acharya,ArthurMonteiro,ArunKumar,C.Andrew,AnindyaDuttaChowdhury,BharatKapasi,Bro.JacobEzhanikat,Dr.CecilRoss,Chhavi Kochhar, P. Gasper, Gunakodisekar,IlyasMontri, John Joseph,Dr.M. Joseph,K.Jothiramalingam IAS, Mrs. Kalpa Rajesh,KamalAgarwal,KamalKumar Sawhney,M.Kandasamy, Kanneganti Srinivas, J. KrishnaKishore, Kuruvan M., P. Lakshmipathi, V.Manikesi, Fr. Dr. S. Mariadoss, Dr. MaryOkelo,P.NarayanaBhat,NeerajKumar,Mr.Naveen Nahar, Sr. Nicola Sprenger, PatrickD’Souza,Dr.PiusK.Okelo,PradeepAcharya,Prem Pius, Radhakrishnan Thampy, Dr.Rajinder Singh Bedi, P. Raj Kumar (park),Ramanujam,RatnakarS.Ahire,RajniShah,J.N.Reddy,ReinhardSprenger,B.RoopaRao,Fr. Ronnie Prabhu, Sanjay Sharma, S.

Sathishkumaran, Sanjay Malik, Ms. SeemaSingh,Dr.Shankar,ShanmughaVerma,V.S.Shivan, Simen Lourds, Dr. Sunitha, TapsiArora, M. V. M. Velmurugan, VijayaSaraswathy,VenugopalReddy,Yashwanth.

IEXPRESSMYLOVEANDGRATITUDETo my Family Members: my wife Mrs. A.Antoniammal,mychildrenandtheirspouses:Dr. Denis B. Xavier and Godfreeda, PrakashXavierandRupaDas,AnneSheelaPeterandPeter Vijay Kumar and my grandchildren:Nikita,Alan,PreetikaandRosanna.

Dr.G.FrancisXavierE-Mail:gfrancisxavier@gmail.com

Website:www.drxavier.in

Foreword

All of us love stories. The fortunate amongus grew up reading, listening, and enjoyingmany stories — the memories of which arefondly cherished for months, years anddecades. These stories have enhanced ourlearning, enabled us to experience and enjoythebeautifulworldaroundus,aswellasteachusmanyoftheprinciplesandtruthsthatguideus in our wonderful journey called life.Storieshaveamagicalcharmaboutthemthatappeal to the young and also those who areyoungatheart.

Storiesprovideimportantinsightsthathelpus take on life’s challenges in a proactive,constructivemanner.Incourseoftime,wearefaced with endless challenges and this is

wherestoriescometotherescue!Theycanbereadinminutes,canchangeourstateofmindinstantaneously,andcanaddtothequalityofourlivesinaheartbeat.

I met Dr. G. Francis Xavier in Singaporeand was at once impressed with his energy,passion and enthusiasm. We discussed ourmutual passion for learning, sharing andcontribution to personal growth, self-development and personal awarenessprogrammeinIndiaandSingapore.Oneoftheunique methodologies of training that Dr.FrancisXavier adopts is “StoryMeditation”.Hehasusedhundredsofstories toacceleratelearning and accentuate the key message inthestories.Afewyearsback,theparticipantsof his programmes urged him to publish hisstories.And I am pleased to have addedmysupporttothiswonderfulinitiative.

I am confident that this collection ofmarvelous stories will provide insights todevelop and explore one’s identity. Thesestories will inspire, entertain, educate andbringa smile to the reader’s face!As storiesappeal to all, we can use these wonderfulstories as tools of learning, teaching, sharingand connecting with friends, family,colleagues, associates and most of all, ourinnerself.

Happy story-reading, story-sharing andstorytelling!

DaveRogers,Singapore

Preface

Iamavoraciousreaderandparticularlylovereadingbooksonself-improvement.ThisIdowith great passion to improve my ownpersonality.Apursuitthatisgoingstrongforoverfivedecades!

I have collected thousands of inspiringstories thatareused inmy trainingprogramscalled “TRAINERS’ TRAINING” and “TAPYOURGENIUS”.Thefirstoneisintendedtocreate trainers in the field of Memory, SoftSkills, Study Techniques, Personality andCareer Development and the latter is atechnique-oriented multidimensionalPersonality Development Programmedesigned to ignite the spark of genius in theparticipants. Each story I tell, has a theme

with an intended philosophy, principle andobjective for self-improvement. Theconclusiontothestoriesisnotrevealedtothereadersandtheyareurgedtothinkofanswers.Icallthisprocess“StoryMeditation”.

Myparticipants enjoy these stories. Itwasat their insistence, that I wrotethe world'sbest inspiring stories, which was wellreceivedbythousandsaroundthecountry.

The stories in100 Inspiring Stories toEnrich Your Life have been drawn fromvarious sources that have inspired me themost.Mycontributionisthelanguageandtheexplanationoftheimplicationofeachstory.

Togetthemostfromthisbook:Gothroughthe story. Reflect for a moment on the twoquestions at the end. Think of the possible

answer.Thenrefertotheanswergiven.Ifyoufollow this procedure, your creativity willimprove and you will learn some invaluablelifelessons.

Parents,presentthisbooktoyourchildren.Theywould not just love these stories; theirpersonalitytoowillimprovetoaconsiderableextentwithoutanysermon.

Dr.G.FrancisXavierPh.D.

ConquerYourAnger

A man who had a storm-tossed life,cultivatedanangrytemperament.Angergavehim power over people. One day, he met astranger and vented his anger on him. Butsurprisingly,thestranger’seyesseemedtoseepast the anger and into theman himself. Hetoldtheangrymaninacalmvoice.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidthestrangertellhim?

2. What is the implication of thisstory?

ANSWERS

1. Thestranger toldhim,“There isno

needtobeafraid.Just let theworldknow and see the true you, hiddenbehind this angry mask of yours.”The hostile man began to thinkabout that and turned much morepeacefulthaneverbefore.

2. What was so special about thestranger that changed this hostileman? The stranger saw the realperson behind the mask and toldhimtoletallhisfearsgoawaywithanger. Children get angry and beat

adults. No one is afraid of thechild’s anger. The simple reason isthatthechildishelplessandwearesuperior to the child physically. Apersonwithsuperiorspiritualpowerisnotafraidofanything,becausehisexpectations are few and he willnever be disappointed withanything.

LovePeopleandHelpThem

In anAmerican city, lived a great surgeon,whowasalsoaprofessorinamedicalschool.He was a true physician in that he not onlyhad superlative skills but also loved peopleandwentaboutdoinggood.Hebecamedeeplyinterestedinthelittlecripplednewsboyatthecorner, where he regularly bought hisnewspaper from. The boy was a bright littlefellow, and one day the surgeon told him,“Johnny,wouldyouliketohavemecurethatleg of yours so that you could run and playlikeotherboys?”Theboyreplied thathedid

not have enough money to pay for theoperation. The doctor agreed to do it out oflove and not for money. “Oh, Doctor, thatwouldmakemesohappy,”repliedtheboy.

At the operation theatre, before he wasadministered anesthesia, the boy wanted topray. He was granted permission. Then heprayedaloud,“God,grant thesurgeona longlife so that he may save the lives of manyotherpeople.”Theprayertouchedtheheartofthesurgeonandlaterhecommented…

QUESTIONS

1. What was the comment of thesurgeon?

2. Whatistheimplicationofthestory?

ANSWERS

1. “InmylifeIhaveoperatedonmany

people occupying very highpositions and received fabulousamounts for such operations. But Idid not get the enormoussatisfaction that I did when Ioperatedonthisyoungboy.”

2. A simple act of love and servicewithout any expectation is farsuperiortoanyamountofmoney.

BeCarefulWhileTellingtheTruth

ThereisanoldtaleofSatanwalkingaroundin the street of life, sulking in the shadowswith his hunting dogs, the little imps ofhumanweakness.AmanRagu,camewalkingdownthestreetandSatanspottedhim.Hetoldthe imp to go andget him.Quickly, the impcrossed the street silently and lightly hoppedon to the man’s shoulder. In his ear, hewhispered, “You are discouraged!” The manreplied,“No,Iamnot.”

Louder andmore decidedly, the little imprepeated, “Yes, you are discouraged.” Ragucropped his head and murmured, “Well, Isuppose I am.”The little impdarted back toSatan and said proudly, “I’ve got him. He’sdiscouraged.”

Another man, Ramu passed and this timeSatanspottedhimandgaveditto instructionsto the little imp. The proud demon ofdiscouragementrepeatedhis tactics.ThefirsttimehesaidtoRamuthathewasdiscouraged,Ramu flatly refused to accept it. The secondtime too, the demon aggressively told himthat he was discouraged. This time Ramudenied it evenmore emphatically.When thedemonapproachedhimfor the third time,hesaidsomethingto thedemon.Thedemongotdiscouragedandcame toSatanand informedhimthathewasdiscouragedhimself.

QUESTIONS

1. What did Ramu say to the demonthatdiscouragedhim?

ANSWERS

1. Ramu replied rather harshly, “Lies,

youarealiar,Iamnotdiscouraged!Now go away and leave me alone,youliar!”

2. Truth burns. Telling a crippledperson that he is blind will notbother him. Tell him that he is

crippledandhewillgetwild.Calladishonest person dishonest and hewillgetmad.Callaliaraliarandhewillflatlyrefuteitandpounceuponyou.Thisisapplicabletoallthebadqualities of a human being and notfor the good qualities. Tell ahardworking person that he is hardworking and he would feel elated.Therefore,whenbadqualitiesaretobe pointed out, remember thedictumthat‘Truthburns’.Betactfulinyourapproach.

HowLongDoesItTakeToAttainEnlightenment?

One day, aman approached theMaster andaskedhim,“TellmeMaster,howlongdoesittake to attain enlightenment?” Said theMaster, “Ten years.” The young man wasshocked. “So long?” he asked incredulously.Said theMaster, “No, that was amistake. Itwill take you twenty years.” The youngmanasked,“Whydidyoudoublethefigure?Iamprepared to work very hard for attainingenlightenment. In that case how long does ittake?”

TheMasteranswered…

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwastheMaster'sanswer?

ANSWERS

1. Said theMaster, “Come to thinkof

it,inyourcaseitwillprobablytakefiftyyears.”

2. The heightened form of wisdom isenlightenment. If anyone thinks ofattainingwisdom or enlightenment,

he will never get enlightened. It isnotagoaltobeattained.Noonecanfixagoaltobecomeanenlightenedsoul. It may be possible to getenlightened if one is totallyoblivious to getting enlightenmentatall.Itisnotastationtoarriveat,but a manner of travelling. If youtravel too fast, you may miss thescenery.

PrayTwiceaDay

NapoleonBonapartewastherulerofFrance.He believed deeply in God and religion.Followingisanincidenttoprovethis:

Once, thescheduleofanewlybuilt schoolfor girls was shown to him. Among thevarious regulations, he read the following—“The young ladies shall attend the prayerstwiceaweek.”Napoleonthentookapenandmadeacorrectionandsubmittedthescheduleback to the school authorities. The principalon reading the corrected version was veryimpressed with Napoleon and followed his

correction.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the correction made byNapoleon?

ANSWERS

1. Napoleon tookapenandstruck the

words ‘twice a week’ and changedthemto‘twiceaday’.

2. Napoleon had firm faith in theefficacy of prayer. He insisted that

thegirlsshouldprayinthemorningandalsointheevening.“In the morning the prayer is theKeythatopenstousthetreasureofGod’smerciesandblessings; in theevening, it is the key that shuts usup under His protection andsafeguard.”

—HWBeecher

WhenCanYourActionBeAlwaysRight?

ThedisciplesoftheMasterwouldfrequentlybe absorbed in the questions of right andwrong, and sometimes they arrived at anevident answer. But sometimes, the answerwouldbeveryelusive.TheMaster,evenifhewas present, would never take part in suchdiscussions. Once, however, he wasconfronted with this question, “Is it right tokill someone who seeks to kill me or is itwrong?” TheMaster replied, “How should Iknow?”Theshockeddiscipleanswered,“Thenhowwouldwetelltherightfromthewrong?”

The Master said something that explainedeverythingtohisdisciples.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatdidtheMastersay?

ANSWERS

1. The Master said, “While alive, be

dead to yourself. Be totally dead.Thenactasyouwillandyouractionwillalwaysberight.”

2. Thesentence,‘Whilealive,bedead

to yourself’ refers to detachment.Paradoxically,themoredetachedweare while performing any activity,thegreaterthepossibilitytoachieveexpertise. When there is noattachment to anything, theintention to manipulate or tocommit any mistake is far-fetched.Detachmentbringspeaceofmind.Aperson will never commit any sinwhile his mind is calm and quiet,sereneandtranquil.

ShunRituals,PractiseLove

Therewas once a very austeremanwho letno food or drink pass his lips while the sunwas in the heavens. In what seemed to be asignofheavenlyapprovalforhisausterities,abright star shone on top of a nearby hill,visible to everyone in broad daylight,although no one knewwhat brought the starthere.Oneday, themandecidedtoclimbthemountain, but a little village girl insisted ongoingalongwithhim.Thedaywaswarmandsoon the two of them were very thirsty. Heurged thechild todrinkbut shesaid that shewould drink if he would too. The poor manwasinaquandary.Hehatedtobreakthefast,

but he couldn’t see the child suffer. Finally,heateanddrankforthesakeofthechild.Fora long time he dared not look up at the sky,for he feared that the star would have gone.Butfinally,hedidlookupatthesky.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidhesee?

ANSWERS

1. Themansawnotonestarasheused

to, but two stars shining brightlyabovethehill.

2. Austerities and rituals were

designed to tame the rebelliousmind.Theendresultofallreligionsistoloveoneanother.

SetRighttheMan;theWorldWillBePerfect

There was a strict disciplinarian father. Hehad a brilliant daughter who was noted forbeingmischievous.Oneday,hewastryingtoconcentrate on some work but his daughterwould not leave him alone. To get her busy,hetookaworldmapfromthenewspaper,cutit into different sizes and asked her to put itback again. The girl finished the task verysoon.Shecalledher father and toldhim thatshe had finished her task. The father wassurprised at her dexterity and asked her howshewasabletomanageit.Thegirlreplied…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthegirlsreply?

ANSWERS

1. The girl replied, “Behind theworld

mapwasthepictureofaman.Whenthemanwassetright,theworldfellintoplace.”

2. Peoplemaketheworld.Setthemanrightandtheworldwillbesetright.Allthemajorproblemsoftheworld

arecreatedbymanhimself.

HowDoYouMeasureSpiritualGrowth?

One day, a disciple asked his Master, “Isthereawaytomeasuremyspiritualgrowth?”

TheMastersaid,“Thereareseveralwaystodothat.”

“Giveusone,”requestedthedisciple.

TheMasterspoke.

QUESTIONS

1. What did the Master say to hisdisciple?

2. Whatistheimplicationofthisstory?

ANSWERS

1. Find out how many times you

become emotionally upset in thecourse of a single day. Maintain arecordof it.Whenthenumbergoesdown, you are on your way tospiritualgrowth.

2. Spiritual strength canbegaugedon

thebasisofequanimityofthemind.Whenapersonisspirituallystrong,he does not struggle, for heunderstands that he is being ledthrough the work that the supremewithin him must do. He does notsufferpainordefeat,forheseesthatin the end, there is victory and joyforhistrueself.

BeCourageous

February 1975 witnessed a horrible and atragic accident, the crashing of anunderground train against a stone wall atMoorgateStation,London,killing41people.This accident had injured a 19-year-oldpolicewoman named Margaret. She foundherselfsittingonthefloorwithoneofherlegsunder her body and a man on top of her.Neithercouldmovewithouthurtingtheother.Inthedarknessandthestenchofalltheotherdeadbodiessurroundingthem,shedecidedtohelpthemangetup.

“You are beingvery brave,” theman said.“Ihavetobe,”sheanswered.“Iamapolice-woman.”Thefiremenwhoreachedthespotalittle late, tried to pull them out butMargaret’s left leg was trapped under thehugesteelgirder.Bythetimetheyreachedthehospital,Margarethadlostalotofbloodandthe doctors suggested that it was best theyamputate her leg, and so, her left foot wasamputated. Everyone who knew her washorrifiedandpitiedherfate.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidshedofurther?

ANSWERS

1. Shemarvelledeveryonearoundwith

her ability to laugh and tell jokesdespite the terrible tragedy.Withintwo days, shewas sitting up in thehospitalchattingcheerfullywiththevisitors.Her courage received a lotof appreciation the world over.More than all the gifts and cards,shewoneveryone’sheartsaswell!

2. Fear lies in themind.Truecouragecomesfromlookingfearintheeye,bravely. Margaret inspired manypeople around the world, andbecameatruetrendsetter.Shecouldhave sat down and cursed herdestiny, but she didn’t do so. Herstory is a lesson for all those who

think their life is miserable andhelpless.

CleanseYourMindConstantly

After completing his post-graduation, ayoungmanstartedhuntingforalucrativejob.He approached the MLA in his area torecommend his case to the Minister. TheMLAagreedandpromisedto take theboytothe house of the Minister. On the way, theMLAsensedafoulsmellfromtheboyanditwas found that his socks were stinking verybadly.TheMLAadvised theboy togohomeandcomebackthenextdayafterchanginghissocks. The boy agreed and returned the nextday. TheMLA again encountered a stinking

smell from the boy. This time, he got angryandshoutedathimsaying,“DidInotaskyoutochangeyoursocks?”

The boy replied, “I bought a new pair ofsocks and I haveworn them.Here is thebillfor the new socks. I knew that youmay notbelieveme.Therefore…”

QUESTIONS

1. WhatdidhefurthersaytotheMLA?

ANSWERS

1. He said, “I brought the old socks

withmetoshowthemtoyou.”

2. We may compare the stinking pairofsockstoourunhappymind.Ifthemindisunhappy,evenifyouareinheaven, only unhappy feelings willprevail.Unlessthemindiscleansedthroughprayerandmeditation, it isdifficulttochangethepatternofourthoughtsandfeelings.

LoveGenuinelyandDeeply

A boy and a girl were deeply in love witheachother.Theycelebratedalloccasionswithgreat enthusiasm and soon, it was time forChristmas. Both were too poor to offeranything as Christmas gifts to one another.However,theydecidedtodosomethingaboutit.

The only precious possession the girl hadwas her long, golden hair. The boy’s onlypossessionwasawatchwithaworn-outstrap.The girl sold her golden hair and bought astrapforhiswatchandtheboysoldhiswatch

andgottwocombsforherlovelyhair.

When Christmas came, they exchangedtheirgiftsandlaughedattheironyoflife.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwastheironyoflife?

ANSWERS

1. Therewasnowatchforthestrapand

nohairforthecomb.

2. Theycame forward to sell off theirmost precious possessions for thesake of love. The self-sacrificinglove which they exhibited wasabsolutely priceless. Peoplenormallyofferworldlygiftstoeachother. But there is no gift greaterthantruelove.

NeverEverDiscriminate

Therewasatimewhenracialdiscriminationwas at its worst and black people the worldover, were looked down upon. There wereterrible death threats given to black peopleand they constantly lived in fear.Amid this,therewasachurchwhichhadablackmanfora priest. He would regularly conduct massesforoneandallandwaslovedandrespectedbymany.Once,thechurchwasattackedbyafewmiscreants who had set out to burn it downbecause it was run by a black priest.As themobapproached tohurt thepriest,hecalmlysteppedbackandsaid…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidtheblackpriestsaytothemiscreants?

ANSWERS

1. “IfyoudonotlikemebecauseIam

ignorant,Icanbesenttoschoolandbe educated. If you do not likemebecause I amdirty, I can be taughttowashandbeclean. Ifyoudonotlike me because of my unsocialhabits,Icanbetaughthowtoliveinsociety. But if you do not like me

becauseof the colourofmy skin, IcanonlyreferyoutoGodwhomademe.”

2. “Thecolouroftheskinissomethingwe are born with and cannot bechangedatwill.Therefore,itcannotbe an excuse for people todiscriminate.”

HowDoYouMeasureYourGrowth?

Sameer, who was in college, consideredhimselffullygrown-up.Enjoyingcollegelifeto the hilt, he smoked, drank and flirtedaroundwithgirls.Hebelievedthesewerehisgreatest conquestsof adulthood.Everynight,hewouldreturnhomelateandlieshamelesslyto his father when questioned. One night,when Sameer returned home late yet again,his father gently put his arm around hisshouldersandaskedhim,“Son,whendoyouconsiderapersontobegrown-up?”

Sameercouldnotanswerthatsmokinganddrinking made one grown-up. Observing hissilence,hisfathertoldhim…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidthefathersaytohisson?

ANSWERS

1. “A person could be considered

grown-up the day he realizes thefutility of telling lies to anyoneaboutanything.”

2. Tellingliesisasignofanimmaturemind. Moreover, it is cowardice.Truthdemandscourage,andcourageimpliesbeinggrown-up.

DeriveBlissByReducingYourWants

Therelivedawoodcutterinavillage.Hewasnot able to make both ends meet by cuttingtreesinthenearbyforestandsellingthewoodin the town. One day, he saw a monkmeditatingat theedgeof theforestwhereheused tocut trees.Hedecided toapproach themonk to get his advice to earnmoremoney.When the monk opened his eyes frommeditation,thewoodcutteraskedhimwaystoearn more. The monk advised him to go alittledeeperintotheforestsothathewouldbeable to earn one month’s food by working

only for one day. As suggested, thewoodcutter went into the forest and foundsandalwood trees. By cutting them, he wasable to earnmuchmore thanwhat hewouldnormally earn. He approached themonk andthanked him for his valuable advice. Themonktoldhimthatifhecouldgostilldeeperintotheforest,hewouldbeabletoearnmuchmore than what he earned now. Thewoodcutter went deeper into the forest andfound a silvermine.He brought the treasureand again met the monk and thanked him.Onceagain, themonkadvisedhimtogostilldeeper where he could get real treasure andthere would be no need for him to workanymore. The woodcutter followed themonk’sadviceandfoundagoldmine.Hewasimmensely happy. Once again, he met themonkandexpressedhisprofoundgratitudetohim for guiding him to such fabuloustreasures.

The woodcutter also wondered why themonk himself didn’t go into the deep forestandgetthetreasuresasheknewaboutthem.

He asked the monk, “Why did you notventure into the forest yourself when youknew that such treasures existed in the deepforest?”Towhichthemonkreplied…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthemonk,Sreply?

ANSWERS

1. The monk replied, “The treasures

thatyougotwillsatisfyyouonlyfora specificperiod. Ifyouwant tobeeternally happyyouhave to sit andmake an inward journey, as I havebeendoing.”

2. Enduring happiness can be derivednot by greedily running aftermaterialwealth,butbyreducingourwants further and further. Thisheightened form of bliss is calledthe‘Samadhi’stageinYoga.SwamiShivananda describes ‘Samadhi’ asadesirelessstage.Blisscomeswhenthereisnodesire.

WhereDoesTrueWealthReside?

A miser in France did not even marry forfear that he might have to share his moneywithhis family.Hehada secretcellar inhishousetostoreallhistreasure.Hewouldgoupthere regularly every night, admire all histreasures,andcomeout.Hewouldsaveeverysingle penny to add to his treasure.Once, hewasn’t seen around for many days and soonthe days turned intomonths andword of hismysterious disappearance spread all over thetown. Since there was no one to claim hisproperty and house, it was finally legally

taken over by theGovernment and then soldoff to someone. After a long time, the newowner found the cellar while building anextension in the house and to his surprise,found…

QUESTIONS

1. What did the new owner find inthere?

ANSWERS

1. Hefound themiser’s rottingcorpse

amid theglitteringgoldand jewels.

In his mouth was a candle piece.Thiswouldmeanthathemighthavetried toappeasehishungerbyeventryingtoeatthecandle.

2. Merelycollectingandaccumulatinglarge amounts of money does notmakeonewealthy.Greedonlyleadstomisery.Truewealth lies inwhatyouareandnotinwhatyouhave.

WhatIsTheTrueNatureOfGod?

The Master of the monastery was oftenamused by the preconceived notions thatpeople had about God. He never ceased toattack the notions about God that peopleentertained and believed to be real. Peopleoften claimed that itwasGodwho got themout of trouble and that it was Hewhomadetheir life and destiny. The Master wouldalwayssay,“IfyourGodcomestoyourrescueandgetsyououtoftrouble,thenit’stimeyoustartedsearchingforthetrueGod.”

QUESTION

ANSWER

1. You are responsible for your own

actions,destinyandlife.Nooneelsecan influence it any further. Takeresponsibility foryourownlifeanddonotexpectanyonetohelpyouinthisprocess.RequestingGodtohelpin all your ventures is a ridiculousidea.

TheExaltedLoveOfaMother

TheAmerican explorer William Kirdy wasreturning from an expedition. When hereached Hudson Bay, he met a Red Indianwoman lying on the ground exhausted,covered in blood and wounds. The explorerhadherwoundsbandagedandtookcareofherandthenaskedheraboutherself.

The woman was hundreds of miles awayfrom her tribe. Her tribe was at war withanotheroneandshehadhadtoemigrate.She

later became exhausted and had to remainbehindwithherson.

“How about the wounds?” asked theexplorer.“Nodoubt,youwerewoundedinthewar?”

“Oh,no,”shesmiledfaintly.Thesewoundsare self-inflicted.” She looked at a fishhookbesideher.“Justbeforeyoucame,Itookthisfleshfrommyarmtofixitinthefishhook.”

The explorer was incredulous, but thewomancontinuedherstory.

QUESTION

1. Whatdidshefurthersay?

ANSWERS

1. “I have been hungry for the past

threedays.Mybreast iscompletelydried-up and the baby is about todie. What could I do? I tore somefleshfrommybodyandputitonthefishhooktotrytocatchsomefishsothatIcouldnursemychildagain.”

2. Allmothers are like the one in ourstory.Theygotoanyextentfor thesakeoftheirchildren.Thesacrificesthat mothers make, can never becompensatedeven ifweserve them

ourentirelife.

ForgiveFromYourHeart

Agroupofcollegedropoutswerelookingfora way to make easy money. They began bypetty thieving and with time, graduated tobigger loot.Once, they burgled amonastery.They managed to loot everything. As theywereleaving,theheadofthemonasterystoodintheirpath.Themiscreantsthoughtthattheywerecaughtandthattheoldmanwouldhandthem over to the police. The old man wascarryingabagandtoldthem…

QUESTIONS

1. What did the old man tell theburglars?

ANSWERS

1. “Whydidyou leave this bag in the

cell?Youmaytakethisbagtooifithelps you.” The robbers could seehis sincerity. They felt sorry forwhat they had done and becamedisciplesinthemonastery.

2. Forgiveness wins over everyone.Thequalityofforgivenessshouldbecultivated meticulously.Forgiveness is the virtue of saintsandseers.

TakeResponsibilityForWhateverYouDo

An archer, highly dedicated to the sport,becameworld-famous. But famewent to hishead.Onemorning,animportantofficialofanearbytownapproachedhimwithhissonandrequested the archer to be his tutor. Quitepuffed up, the archer began to show off hisskill to the little boy.When an arrow struckbull’s eye, the archer praised himself aloud.Thesecondonealsohitbull’seyeandagain,he cheered aloud. But when the next arrowmissed the target completely, the archerangrilyblamedagustofwind.

THEMESSAGETaking credit for what turns out right andblaming someoneelsewhen thingsgowrongisahabitofmanypeople.Thisattitudeneedsto change and one should take responsibilityforone’sownactions.

QUESTIONS

1. What did the archer say at thattime?

ANSWERS

1. Thearcherangrilyblamedagustof

windformissingthetarget.

2. Taking credit for what turns outright and blaming someone elsewhen things gowrong is a habit inmanypeople.Thisattitudeneeds tochange and one should takeresponsibilityforone’sownactions.

RenderSincereServiceAtYourOwnCost

Once,therewasasinceredevoteewhokneltto be initiated into discipleship by the guru.Theguruwhisperedthesacredmantraintohisear,warninghimnottorevealittoanyone.

“What will happen if I do?” asked thedevotee.

Said the guru, “Anyone you reveal themantra towillbe liberated from thebondageof ignorance and suffering, but you yourself

will be excluded from the discipleship andwillsufferdamnation.”

No sooner had he heard thosewords fromthe guru, the devotee rushed to themarketplace, collected a large crowd aroundhimandrepeatedthesacredmantraforall tohear. The disciples later reported this to theguruanddemanded that themanbeexpelledfromthemonasteryforhisdisobedience.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwastheguru’sreaction?

ANSWERS

1. The guru smiled and said, “I have

already expelled him from themonastery.Thereisnoneedforhimto stay here any longer. I havenothing further to teach him. Hisactionhasshownhimtobeaguruinhisownright.”

2. Our ultimate objective in life is tohelp others. If anyone has thetendencytodosomesincereservicewithout expecting anything inreturn, he is a master in his ownway.

TheBestChoiceInLife

A man had three grown-up children. Oneday,hecalledallof themanddecided toputthemtoatestsoastounderstandthembetter.He asked them to choose any one thing theydesiredthemostinlife.

The first son said, “Money”.The daughterreplied, “Beauty”. The third son said,“Wisdom.”

Thefatheratoncerepliedthatallthethreethings they desired the most in their lives

were nothing but zeroes and had no value atall. He added that there is onemost covetedthingintheworldwhichishighlyuncommonbutcarriesmaximumvalueinreallife.

QUESTIONS

1. What is that one thing mostdesirableinlife?

ANSWERS

1. The man said, “Virtue is the most

desirablethinginlife,whichcannotbecomparedtoanythingelse.”

2. Five things constitute virtue —

Courtesy, Magnanimity, Sincerity,Earnestness and Kindness. Withcourtesy, you avoid insult; withmagnanimity, you win all; withsincerity, men will come to trustyou; and with earnestness andkindnessyoucanachievesuccess.

WhatHaveYouDoneToday?

The greatAmerican steel magnate, CharlesM. Schwab, began his career by workingunderAndrewCarnegie.He owed all that helearnt in his life to him.He said that it wasbecauseofhimthathecouldbesosuccessful.Schwabandhismenwereexceptionallygoodattheirwork.Oneday,hehappilywentuptoCarnegieandsaid,“Webrokeall the recordsyesterday.”Onhearingthis,Carnegieaskedaquestion that left Schwab absolutelyspeechless.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatdidCarnegiesaytoSchwab?

ANSWERS

1. He asked, “That’s about yesterday,

butwhathaveyoudonetoday?”

2. Success is not a destination but anongoing process. To compete withourownperformanceisrealsuccessinlife.

KeepUpYourMarriageVows

Amanlovedagirlpassionatelyandmarriedher. They were blessed with a son. Thoughthey got married out of love, in due course,they began to quarrel with each other overpetty things. Their young son one day askedhis mother, “What do people say when theyget married?” The mother lovingly repliedthat the couple getting married promise toloveeachotherandbekindtoeachotherforthe rest of their life ahead. The little boyconsidered this briefly and asked hismother…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidtheboyaskher?

ANSWERS

1. Theboyinnocentlyremarked,“Then

youarenotalwaysmarried,isit?”

2. People often forget the vows takenat the timeofmarriage.Suchvowsaremeanttobekeptthroughoutlife.Unfortunately, they are done asmererituals.

TimeIsMorePreciousToTheElderly

There was once a crowd in the doctor’swaiting room because none of theappointments were on time. An elderlygentleman rose and approached thereceptionist, “Madam, my appointment wasfor10am,butitis11amalready.Couldyoukindly giveme another appointment? I can’taffordtowaitforsolong,”hesaid.

One man in the crowd leaned over to theotherandsaid, “Thismanseems tobe inhis

seventies. What urgency has he got at thisage?”

Theman overheard the whispered remark,turnedtothelady,bowedandsaid…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidhesaytothereceptionist?

ANSWERS

1. “Iamnotinmyseventies.Iamnow

eighty-seven. That is why the

urgency.”

2. Time is more precious to theelderly. As they grow old, theycomecloserandclosertotheendoftheir lives.Becauseof this, there isanurgencyin themtodowhat theyintendtoaccomplish.

ChooseHappiness

A man used to be perpetually depressed.Nothingcouldcheerhim.Once,a friend toldhim about an invigorating herb, which grewontopofaplacecalledMountBliss.Notsureofits location,hestudiedamapandwentonhiswaylookingforit.Whileclimbing,hemeta mountaineer who discouraged him fromclimbing any further. The depressed manargued,why should he not climb amountainfor a very powerful herb which guaranteesfreshness, health and strength? To this, themountaineerreplied…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthemountaineer'sreply?

ANSWERS

1. “MountBliss is not here.Youmay

search for it in your heart,” themountaineersaid.

2. People who search for happinessoutside of themselves are bound tobedisappointed.Happinessisastateof mind which can be realizedthrough cultivating a serene mind,

by leading a virtuous life. A lifefilledwithsinandanimositycannotbring enduring happiness. You candeliberatelychoose to leada lifeofhappiness.Itiswithinyourcontrol.

ForgiveOthersForTheirMistakes

Amotherandsonwerewashingdisheswhilethe father and daughter were watching TV.Suddenly, there was a crash of breakingdishes,thencompletesilence.

The girl looked at her father and said, “ItwasMum.”

“Howdoyouknow?”thefatherasked.Thegirlreplied…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthegirl'sreply?

ANSWERS

1. “Mum did not say anything,” said

thegirl.

2. Some people are adept at findingfault with others but never realizethat they too commit mistakes attimes.Toerrishuman.Sinceweallarepronetoerr,learntoforgivethemistakesofothers.

DevelopStrengthFromWeakness

CaptainScott ofEnglanddied in a blindingblizzardwhile on hisway to the South Pole.When his body was finally recovered, anunfinished letter was found in his pocket,addressedtoJamesBarrie,aneminentEnglishwriter. The final word in that letter spelledCOURAGE.Barriekept the letter inacasketwith great care, as a memento of the bravesoldier.Afterafewyears,thewritermetwithatragicaccidentandlosthisgreateststrength,theuseofhisrighthandwithoutwhichallofhiswork and creativity came to a halt.After

daysandmonthsofdepression,onedayhesatlookingat thecasket.Magically,he regainedall his lost hope and determination andsomethinginspiredhimtonotgiveup.

QUESTIONS

1. How did he manage to regain hislosthope?

ANSWERS

1. The letter which spelled ‘Courage’

gave him the inspiration and madehimstartwritingagain.

2. Even a word like ‘courage’ can

spark off a person’s life. Positivewords provide the necessaryimpetus for a person to developstrengthfromweakness.

BearHumiliatonForThePoor

Therewasonceaverypopularsaint,ClementHofbaeurm, who was famous for hislargeheartednessandkindnesstothepoor.Heworked hard for the underprivileged and dideverything that he could tomake their life abit happier. He would often go out on long,tedious tours collecting donations for thepoor. Once, he was out on a similar tour,begging for the neglected, poor people. Aman, after being asked for alms, spat on hisface.Thesaintpolitelysaid...

QUESTIONS

1. What did the saint say to the manwhospatonhisface?

ANSWERS

1. Thesaint’sreplywas,“Thatwasfor

me.Now,doyouhaveanything forthepoor?”

2. Theworldsurvivesbecauseofsuchsaintlysouls.Theyspendtheirlivesintheserviceofothers.

DevelopTheVirtueOfHumility

Oneevening,CatherineIIofRussiarangforher servant. He did not come and she rangagain, but there was no sign of him. Shequietlyleftherroomandwenttotheservant’squarters and saw that the servant was busywith a game of cards. He was racking hisbrain trying to play a difficult hand. Takingthecardsfromhishand,thequeenaskedhimto run for the errand she had called him forand then she did something which lefteveryoneabsolutelyspellbound.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidthequeendo?

ANSWERS

1. The queen played the game

successfullyforhim.

2. The queen displayed heightenedformofhumility.Thefirst testofareally greatman is his humility. Ifyouwishtobegreat,beginbybeinglittle.Ifyouliketoconstructavastandloftyfabric,thinkfirstaboutthe

foundation of humility. The higheryour structure is to be, the deepermustbeitsfoundation.

RemainSereneAgainstMeaninglessAttacks

Amanwentstrollingdownthestreetwithadog at his side. Suddenly, three people cameoutof theirhomesandblockedhispath.Thefirstyelledthatthedoghadchasedhiscattoatree. The second screamed that the dogdisturbed him the whole night with hisconstant barking. The third commented thatthedogwasn’tfedproperly.Themancalmlyrepliedtotheirattackandleftthethreepeopleabsolutelystunned.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidthemansay?

ANSWERS

1. The man quietly replied, “Do you

have a need to be so unkind? Thisdoghas sensedmy friendliness andthat’showhehasfollowedme.He’snotmydog.”

2. The attacks of foolish people aremeaningless to the truly innocentandenlightenedpersons.

TheWonderOfAChild

St. Francis Xavier was perpetually at workandwasaworkaholic.This,however, startedaffecting his health. One evening, he wasexhausted from teaching and preachinghundreds of people. He wanted to take restand toldoneof his companions that hemustsleeporelse,hewouldsurelydie.Hetoldhiscompanionnot towakehimup,regardlessofwhoever came to meet him. A little whilelater,hecamebackandcorrectedhissentencewhichlefthiscompanionsurprised.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidhesaytohiscompanion?

ANSWERS

1. Hetoldhiscompaniontowakehim

up from his sleep only if a childcametoseehim.

2. This story reveals the fact that hisloveforchildrenwasgreat.Childrenmaybesmallbutwecanlearnalotfrom them. The following poem isaneye-openerinthisrespect.

“WouldyelearntheroadtoLaughterTownO

yewhohavelosttheway?

Wouldyehaveayoungheartthoughyourhairbegray?

Golearnfromalittlechildeachday.

Goservehiswantsandplayhisplayandcatchtheliltofhislaughtergay.

Andfollowinghisdancingfeetastheystray

ForheknowstheroadtoLaughterTown

Oyewhohavelosttheway!”

—KatherineDBlakeSource:WhiteMortarBoard[Yearbook]

EnjoyTheNewWorldOfExperience

A renowned botanist, given to muchexperimenting, created a new kind of fruitthrough skilful crossbreeding. To see howpeoplewould like it,heoffered it to threeofhisneighbours.Thefirstsaidthatitdidnotatall look like an apple. The second remarkedthat oranges were good enough for him andthe third commented that it was not likepeaches.

QUESTIONS

1. How did the botanist take theirresponses?

ANSWERS

1. From thenon, thebotanist resolved

to offer his new fruit only to thosewhocouldthinkbeyondtheirpast.

2. Thebotanistbelievedthattotasteatotally different kind of life, it’simportant to detach yourself fromthe familiar and the habitual. Thenonlycanyoureallyenjoytheworldofnewexperience.

HowToMakeLoveEnduring?

Oncetherewasanewlymarriedcouple,verymuch in lovewith one another.Theywantedtheir love to only increase and never toreduce. So, they approached the Master andasked, “What shall we do to make our loveendure?”TheMasterreplied...

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwastheMaster’sreply?

ANSWERS

1. The Master replied, “Love other

thingstogether.”

2. Family feud arises when what islikedbyhusband is detestedby thewife and what the wife enjoys ishated by the husband. If they areable to start liking and even lovingwhat the other likes, there is noscope for any quarrels andmisunderstandings among them.The couple should learn to loveother things (which they don’t like

instinctively or naturally), together.Itisidealifthelikesanddislikesofacouplearethesame.

BeHappyAndCheerful

There is a story of an Irishman who wasknownalloverforhishumourandwitbuthedied suddenly and went up for divinejudgment. He was feeling extremely uneasy.He didn’t think he had done much good onearth!Therewasaqueueaheadofhim,sohesettledtolistenandlook.AfterconsultingHisbig book, God said to the first man in thequeue,“I seehere that Iwashungryandyougave me food to eat, good man! Go toheaven.”ThesecondmanHesenttoheavenaswell,ashehadgivenHimwaterwhenHehadbeen thirsty. The thirdmanwas also sent toheaven as this man had gone to visit Him

whenHe had been sick.And so itwent on...The Irishman now sat examining hisconscienceandfelthehadagreatdealtofear.He had never given anyone food orwater orvisited any sick person. But when his turncame...

QUESTIONS

1. What was the judgment given tohim?

ANSWERS

1. The Irishman was also sent to

heaven, because God said thatwheneverHewasdepressedandfeltdiscouraged,thisman’stimelyjokesand funny stories had made Himlaughandbehappy.

2. Jokesmake people laugh. Laughterbringshappinessandgoodhealth.Inthis way, people who advocate andpractice wit and humour servehumanity.

DutyFirstAndStudyNext

A famous French preacher named Bossuetwasappointedas theBishopby theKing.Hewas a very learned person andwould devotemost of his time to studies. Due to his avidinterest to study more, many people whowantedtoconsulthimhadtogohomewithoutmeetinghim.

One day, the King wanted to know theopinion of the people and asked them howthey liked the newly-appointed Bishop. TheKing expected a very positive response fromthem, as the Bishop was very learned and

intelligent.But the reply of the peoplemadehimpondertheissue.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthereplyofthepeople?

ANSWERS

1. The people replied, “We like him

prettywell.Buttotellyouthetruth,we would have preferred a Bishopwhohad finished his education, forwheneverwecalledonhim,weweretoldthathewasathisstudies.”

2. It is good to study to acquire

knowledge, but not at the cost ofothers’ inconvenience. The Bishophadthelaudablequalityofstudying,but as a Bishop he should havedevoted equally sufficient time forconsultationtohispeople.

BeShrewdAndIntelligent

Therewasayoungladywhohadgottenintoa trapof legalhasslesandasa result,had toregularly visit the court. One day, she wascalled onto the witness stand and was askedheragebytheprosecutor.“Idon’tknow,”shereplied.Theprosecutorsaid,“Nowlookhere,Miss. This is the court of law and you havesworntotellthetruth.”“Yes,butyoutoldmeearlierthatImustonlytellwhatIknowtobethetruthandnothearsay,”retortedtheyounglady.“Ididindeed!”thunderedtheprosecutor.“Well,”repliedtheyounglady,“Icannottellyoumy age becausemymother toldme theyear Iwas born and that’s hearsay evidence,

isn’tit?”

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthereactionofthejudge?

ANSWERS

1. “The witness is excused from

answering the questions,” ruled thejudgesuppressingagiggle.

2. Somepeoplebynature are inclinedto conceal their age. Nevertheless,the strategy adopted by the woman

inthisstoryisquiteappreciable.

ExamineAndCorrectYourFaultyLife

People came from far and near to hear thesermons of a priest who was noted for hisability tomake people change their lives. Inone of his sermons, he said to the people,“Whatwouldyoudoifyourautomobilebrokedown?Examineitandcorrectit.Whatwouldyou do if your television set became faulty?Examineitandcorrectit.Whatwouldpeopledo when their lives become faulty?” Thepriesthimselfgavetheanswer.

QUESTIONS

1. What are the answers given by thepriest?

ANSWERS

1. (a) When your automobile breaks

down, you will examine and repairit.(b) When your television set doesnot work, you will bring themechanicandsetitright.(c)When your life becomes faulty,you will never examine and take

correctivemeasurestoimproveyourlife.

2. The implication of the story is thatpeoplearequitepracticalwiththeircars and televisions. Unfortunately,they are not practical when theirlivesgetdamagedinonewayortheother.Telling them to examine andcorrect their lives may soundsimple. Instead of examining theirlives, people search for somemysterious formulas to solve alltheirproblems.Thereismorehealthin eating one apple than in readinganentirebookaboutapples.

EnjoyYourself

Once,Alexander the Great was approachedby a philosopher and asked, “If you conquerRome,whatwillyoudonext,Sir?”

Alexanderreplied,“Sicily isnextdoorandwillbeeasytotake.”

“AndwhatafterSicilyistaken?”

“Then,IwillmoveovertoAfricaandsackCarthage.”

“And after Carthage?” asked thephilosopher.

“ItwillbetheturnofGreece.”

“Andwhat,mayIaskyou,willthefruitofalltheseconquestsbe?”

“Then,” Alexander said, “I will sit downandenjoymyself.”

Towhichthephilosopheraskedaquestion.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the philosopher’squestion?

ANSWERS

1. “Canyounot enjoy yourself now?”

askedthephilosopher.

2. Thepoorthinktheywillbehappyifthey become rich. The rich thinktheywillbehappywhentheygetridoftheirulcers.Oneshouldtaketimeto smell the roses. Happiness is inthe present moment. One shouldlearntoenjoythepresent.

DeriveHappinessByLimitingYourDesires

InNewJersey,abanktellerhelpedanelderlywomanwithhisfinancialadvice,whichmadehergaina fewmillions.Outofgratitude, thewomanofferedhimagiftof$300,000,whichhepolitelyrefused.

QUESTIONS

1. What made him refuse such a

fabulousgift?

ANSWERS

1. He said that he was paid for his

services by the bank. He also saidthat he did not like that muchmoney.

2. Itisraretofindsuchpersonsinthemodernworld.Limitationofdesiresisthebeginningoftruehappiness.Itfrees us from superficial worldlybliss and we begin to enjoywhatever we have. Contentmentblossomsintheheartsofthosewholimittheirwantsanddesires.

WhoIsAGenius?

Awriteroncearrivedatamonasterytowritea biography of the Master. “People say youareagenius.Areyou?” thewriteraskedhimduringaninterview.“Youmightsayso,”saidtheMasternonetoomodestly.

“Andwhatmakesapersonagenius?”askedthewriter.

“The ability to recognize,” answered theMaster.

“Recognize what?” asked the writer onceagain.

“Theability to recognizeabutterfly in thecaterpillar, an eagle in an egg, the saint in aselfishhumanbeingand...achildinyou.”

QUESTION

1. WhatdidthewriterunderstandfromwhattheMasterexplained?

ANSWERS

1. The Master meant to say that a

geniusissomeonewhocanspottheunderutilized or hidden potential

thatneeds tobe tapped inaperson.Theextraordinaryinanordinarycanonlybeseenbyagenius.

TurnYourEnemyIntoAFriend

The upper house of Congress was abattlegroundofheatedargumentsforSenatorsBenjaminandSeward.Once,asusual,SenatorBenjaminwasengagedinapersonalattackonSeward. It lasted for a considerable time.Then, Benjamin resumed his seat, angry andbitter, to await a counter-attack.Butwhatheheard just left himamazed and a littlewhilelater, Seward was seen joking with hiscolleagues, puffing contently on the cigargivenbyBenjamin.

QUESTIONS

1. What did Seward say as a counter-attack?

ANSWERS

1. Senator Seward sauntered up to his

opponentandinhismostdisarmingmanner said, “Benjamin, giveme acigar. When your speech has beenprinted,sendmetwocopies.”

2. Forgiveness can even turn thebitterestenemiesintofriends.

BeDedicated

A very shrewd and successful businessmanwasonhisdeathbed.Theendwasverynear.As expected, his family had gathered aroundhim.Thedyingmanaskedifhiseldersonwaspresent there. Somebody said yes. Then hewent on to inquire about his next son andagaingotapositiveresponse.Later,hecalledouttofindoutwhetherallotherchildrenwerethere.Forwhichtoo,hegotapositiveanswer.All the family members were present at hisbedside.Suddenly,hebecameveryangryandalmostshouted.

QUESTIONS

1. What do you think the businessmanshoutedfor?

ANSWERS

1. Thebusinessmanyelledateveryone

present there, “If all of you are uphere,who the hell is taking care oftheshopdownbelow?”

2. Theman was really a businessmantill his death. Such total dedicationto his business alone made him a

successful businessman and hecouldamassfabulouswealth.

TreatEveryoneAsAMessiah

There was once a very renowned guru whosatmeditating inhisHimalayancave.Peoplefrom far and near would come visiting himwithdifferentproblems.Once,heopenedhiseyes todiscoveranunexpectedvisitorsittingbefore him, the chairman of a well-knowncompany.

“What is it that you seek?” asked thesurprisedguru.

The chairman recounted a tale of woe.Atonetime,hisfactorywasmakinghugeprofitsand the employees were very cooperative.Unfortunately, of late, labour problemsemerged and the financial position of thefactorydeteriorated,incurringheavylosses.

Now this is what the chairman wanted toknow— “Is it because of some mistake ofours that thefactoryhasbeenreducedto thisstate?”

“Yes,” said the guru, “a mistake ofignorance.”

“Andwhatmistakemightthatbe?”

“Oneoftheemployeesinyourfactoryisanavatar of God in disguise, and you are

ignorant of this.” Having said that, the guruclosedhiseyesandreturnedtohismeditation.

The chairman’s heart beat fast at thethought that God Himself had returned toearthandwas right there inhis factory.Howwas it that he had failed to recognize Him?Andwhocould itbe?Itcouldbeanybody.Itmight be the manager, assistant manager oroneofthestaff.Allofthemhadmanydefects.But then, the guru had said He was indisguise. Could those defects be one of Hisdisguises?Cometothinkofit,everyoneinthefactory had defects.And one of them had tobetheMessiah!

Back in the factory, he assembled all hisemployees and told them the discussion thathehadhadwith theguruand informed themthatoneofthemshouldbeGod.Theylookedat each other in disbelief. God? Here?

Incredible!ButHewassupposedtobehereindisguise.Somaybe...Whatifitwereso?

One thingwascertain. IfGodwas there indisguise, it was unlikely that they wouldrecognizeHim.So they took to treatingeachother with respect and consideration. “Younever know,” they said to themselves whentheydealtwithoneanother,“maybeHeistheone.”

After this, there was no bickering amongtheemployees.Theatmosphereinthefactoryhad completely changed. Everyone startedworkingwithsincerityanddedication, lovingand respecting each other. Productionimprovedandprofitsincreased.

QUESTION

ANSWER

1. Human relationships play a vital

roleinourlives.Anessentialaspectof relationships is to treat otherswith respect. When respect isbestowed on a person, therelationship gets strengthened.Better relationships bring joy andhappiness and in the process,productivityincreases.

Don'tHugYourSufferings

A teacher of esotericismmade it a point toteach by justwriting on the blackboard.Oneday, he entered the classroom and wrote sixsentencesontheblackboard:

Stoplovingyoursuffering.

Stopenjoyingyourpersecution.

Stopadoringyouranxiety.

Stopcherishingyourresentment.

Stopglorifyingyourfailure.

If youwant spiritual rebirth, give up yourloveforsuchfoolishness.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidtheteacherreallymean?

ANSWERS

1. The teacher simply meant that onemay think that people want to endtheir suffering and persecution, butthefactis thattheyfightliketigerstokeepthem.

2. People enjoy their suffering,because suffering provides anexcuse for egotism. The sufferer isabletoremainthecentreofboth,hisown attention and the attention ofothers.

ALessonForEveryWife

NathanielHawthorne had a great job at thecustoms. He had however, one great passioninlifeandthatwastowrite.Oneday,helosthis job at the customs and went back homedisheartened and depressed. But a surpriseawaited him at home. His wife told him, “Ialways knew that youwere aman of genius,and someday you would write an immortalmasterpiece. Now, you can write your book.Outofthemoneyyougaveme,Ihavesavedasufficient amount to support our family.”With his wife’s support and encouragement,hewentontowrite.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidhewrite?

ANSWERS

1. Hewroteamasterpiecelikehiswife

had predicted — ‘TheScarletLetter’.

2. In times of lows and depressions,encouragement from a wife can dowondersforthehusband.Hawthornewas fortunate to have had such awife.

ServePeopleInDireNeed

Onceuponatime,inthelandofJapan,therewas Tetsugen, a student of Zen, who onceresolved on a mighty undertaking — theprinting of 7,000 copies of sutras which, tillthen were available only in Chinese. Hetravelled the length and breadth of Japan tocollect funds for this project. Some wealthypeople offered him hundred pieces of gold,while a fewgave him small amounts, but heexpressed equal gratitude to each donorregardless of the sum given. After ten longyearsof travel,he finallycollected the fundsnecessaryforthetask.Justthen,theriverUjioverflowed and thousands were left without

food and shelter. Tetsugen spent all hisprojectmoney tohelp thesepeople.Then,hebegantheworkofraisingfundsagain.Again,itwas severalyearsbeforehegot themoneyheneeded.Then an epidemic spread all overthe country. So Tetsugen once again gaveaway all his project money to help thesufferingones.Once again, he set out onhistravel and twenty years later, his dreamfinallycametrue.

The printing block that produced this firsteditionofthesutrasisondisplayattheObakuMonastery in Kyoto. The Japanese tell theirchildren that Tetsugen got out three editionsofthesutrasinall.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatarethefirsttwoeditions?

ANSWERS

1. The first two editions are the

monetary help he offered to peoplerendereddistraughtbythefloodandthe epidemic. They are consideredinvisibleeditionsofthebook,whicharefarsuperiortothethirdone.

2. Serving people in dire need issuperior to bringing out books ofscriptures.

ExclusivelyForLawyers

Once,aSpringfieldfarmergotintodifficultywithaneighbouraboutthelinebetweentheirfarms.Fromasmallinsignificantargument,itbecameamajorissue.HewentuptoLincolnto file a case against his neighbour.Surprisingly, his neighbour too came toLincoln with the same intention of filing acase against him. Lincoln said to both ofthem,“Ifyougoon fighting like this, itwillentailenmitythatwilllastforgenerationsandthatisnotgood.Therefore,itisbettertosettleyour dispute out of court and work out acompromise.”Boththefarmerswereadamantand did not like the idea of compromise.

Ultimately, Lincoln made them compromiseandsettledtheissueoutofcourt.

QUESTIONS

1. How did Lincoln manage to settlethedispute?

ANSWERS

1. WhenLincoln found that theywere

not in a mood to compromise, hetold them, “Why don’t you two sit

inmyofficewhileIattendtoamanoutside. In the meantime, you cansettle your dispute amicably. Tosecure you from any interruption, Iwill lock the door as well.” Helocked the room and did not returntill afternoon. The two men wereleftaloneintheroom.Theydidnotknow what to do and startedconversing with each other. In theprocess, they realized that acompromise was the best solution.By the time Lincoln returned, thematterwassettled.

2. This shows Lincoln’s large-heartedness. Instead of having aneye on money, he had the heart tohelphisclients.Lawyers ingeneralcouldemulatehisexample.

DestructionIsTheTaskOfChildren

Once upon a time, theBuddhawaswalkingpast a junglewhichwas said tobeunder therule of an evil bandit called Angulimal.Unfortunately, theBuddhawascaughtbeforehecouldmake it throughandwas threatenedwithdeathbythebandit.

“Then be good enough to grant me twowishes before killing me,” said the Buddha.“First,cutoffthebranchofthattree,”hesaid,pointing towards a nearby tree.One slash of

the sword and it was done! “What next?”askedthebandit.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the second wish of theBuddha?

ANSWERS

1. “Putitbackagain,”saidtheBuddha.

The bandit laughed. “You must becrazy to think thatanyonecoulddothat.”“On the contrary, you are crazy to

think you are mighty because youcanwoundanddestroy.

2. Growth takes place in silence.Destruction is always followed byloud noise. Construction of abuilding is a process of silence.Destruction of a building isfollowed by a thunderous sound.Growth takes time, like the growthof a tree. Destruction occurs in notimelikethatofcuttingdownatree.

MakeConstantEffortsToBecomeProficient

Once, Mark Twain met a budding author.Thetwostruckafriendshipandbecameclosefriends. One day, the young author told himthathewaslosingconfidenceinhisabilitytowrite. “Did you ever get that feeling?” heasked.

“Yes,”saidTwain.“Once,afterIhadbeenwriting for nearly fifteen years, it suddenlystruckme that I didnotpossess the slightesttalentforwriting.”

“Whatdidyoudothen?Didyougiveup?”

Twain gave him an answer that made theyoungauthorunderstandallabouthisstruggleandconstantefforts.

QUESTIONS

1. What did Twain tell the youngauthor?

ANSWERS

1. Twain toldhim, “Howcould I give

up writing? By then, I was alreadyfamous.”

2. Twain had been writing for nearlyfifteen years. If one can pursue aprofession for fifteen years with asingle-mindedgoal, it isnatural forsuch a person to become an expertin that field. Naturally, he canbecomepopular too. If one pursuesa goal aggressively for a longperiod, there is every possibility ofsuchapersonbecomingfamous.

HelpTheHelpless

One afternoon, a Far Eastern Christianascetic was climbing a mountain road inTibet. With him, travelled a Tibetan monk.The two wayfarers were well aware that astormwas rising and that theymust reach acertainmonasterybeforedark,or theywouldperishinthepiercingmountaincold.Astheyhastenedforwardintheicywind,theypassedaprecipicefromwhichroseagroaningvoice.At the bottom, lay a fallen man, badly hurtandunabletomove.TheTibetansaid,“Inmybelief,hereweseekarma.Thisistheworkoffate,theeffectofacause.Thisman’sdoomisto die here, while I must press upon on my

ownerrand.”But theChristiananswered,“Inmybelief,Imustgotomybrother’said.”So,the Tibetan hurried on his way, while theasceticclambereddowntheslope,packedthemanonhis back and struggled upward againtothedarkeningroad.Hisbodywasdrippingwith perspiration when at last he nearly fellover an obstacle on the ground and stoodoverwhelmed with pity and amazement.Huddled at his feet lay his Tibetancompanion, frozen to death. But the ascetichadescapedthesamedoom.

QUESTIONS

1. Howdidtheasceticescapethesamedoom?

2. What is the implication of this

story?

ANSWERS

1. Theasceticwasabletoescapedeath

because his hard exercise incarrying the injured brother on hisback had kept his body warm andhadinturnsavedhislife.

2. Oneshouldalwayshelpthehelplessunder all circumstances.Consciouslyorunconsciously,everyoneof us does render some serviceortheother.Ifwecultivatethehabitof doing this service deliberately,our desire for service will steadilygrow stronger and will result notonly inourownhappiness,butalsothatoftheworldatlarge.

DevelopGodlyQualities

A renownedpoet,TorquatoTasso,oncehada persistent doubt and wanted to ask thewisestperson tosolve it forhim.SohewenttoseeKingCharlesIX,andaskedhim,“Whois the happiest person alive?” The kingpromptly replied, “God”. Tasso then askedhim,“Who is thehappiestpersonalive,afterGod?”Thekingreplied…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwastheking’sreply?

ANSWERS

1. The king replied that the happiest

person alive after God is the onewhobecomesthemostlikeGod.

2. The attributes of God are — love,purity,sincerity,honesty,sympathy,etc. If one were to develop thesequalities, one becomes likeGod.Aperson can be happy only when hedisplays positive qualities inhimself. All negative feelings likehatred, resentment, animosity, etc.would make a person unhappy and

depressed.

AUniqueWayToPunishYourChildren

Afamilywithonegrown-upsonaged21wasliving in a farmhouse, cultivating hundredacresof land.They lived20kilometresawayfrom the city with no neighbours to interactwiththefamily.

One day, the father asked his son to drivehim to the city as he had some businessmeetings throughout the day.The carwas tobegivenataparticulargarageforsomeminorrepairs and servicing. The boy got excited

with the opportunity to drive his dad to thecity.Sincehewasgoingtothecity,hismomgave him a list of household items to bepurchased. The boy dropped his father at aparticularplace.Atthattime,thefatheraskedhissontobeatthesameplaceat4.30pmsothatbothcouldreturnhometogether.

Theboy left thecarat thegarageandalsofinished shopping as quickly as possible.Then,hewentstraightforamoviewhichwasrunningsuccessfullyforseveralweeks.Ashewas totally immersed inwatching themovie,he forgot to notice the time.When he cameoutof the theatre, itwasalready5pm.Thenhewent to the garage, pickedup the car andreachedtheplacewherehisfatherwaswaitingfor him. By then it was 5.30 pm. His fatherasked him why he was late. The boy was alittle scared to inform him that he had goneforamovie.Sohe toldhis father thathegot

delayedatthegarage,asthecarwasnotreadyfor delivery. The boy did not know that hisfather had already called the garage over thephone and ascertained that the carwas readyfor delivery by 4 itself. The father got upsetthathis sonhad toldhima lie.Hewanted topunishhissonfortellingalie.

QUESTIONS

1. Howdidthefatherpunishhisson?

ANSWERS

1. The father told his son that there

was somethingwrongwith thewayhe had brought him up. In order toteach him a lesson, he decided towalk back to his farmhouse in thenight,withnolightontheroad.Thesonfeltashamed.Ashis fatherwaswalking,hedidnotleavehimaloneand drove the car behind himslowly.Theyreachedthefarmhouseaftersixhours.

2. Instead of punishing the boy insome way, the father decided topunish himself. This act ofnonviolencetouchedtheboy’sheartandheresolvednevertolieagaininhis lifetime. It is a unique way ofteaching a lesson which can beemulatedbyotherparents.

ConfessYourSinsAndBePurified

ACatholicpriestwasoncequestionedaboutthe significance of making confessions. Thepriest told a story to explain its importance.He went on to say, “People who regularlyscoffatconfessionmakemethinkofthestoryof Jonathan Swift’s servant. After spendingthenightat an inn,Swift asked forhisbootsin the morning and saw them brought incovered in dust. “Why didn’t you cleanthem?”heaskedhisservant.“I thought therewasnopoint,” said the servant. “After a fewmiles on the road, they’ll be covered in dust

again,nomatterwhatIdo.”“Quiteright,nowgoandget thehorses ready,weare leaving.”Soon afterwards, the horses came out of thestable and Swift was ready for the journey.“But,wecan’tleavewithoutbreakfast!”criedtheservant.“There’snopoint,”repliedSwift,“after a few miles on the road you’ll behungryonceagain!”

QUESTIONS

1. What did the priest try to conveythroughthisstory?

ANSWERS

1. People generally think that it is a

futileattempt toconfessoursins toa priest as wemay fall prey to sinagain. This story conveys themessage that frequent confessionwouldpurifythesoul.

2. Confessionnotonly takes away thedust of sin but also gives us aspecial strength to avoid it, andmakes firmer our friendship withGod.

LiveBeforeDeath

There was a public meeting organized in avillage. All questions at the public meetingthatdaywereaboutlifebeyondthegrave.

The Master sitting in one corner of themeeting only laughed when everyone elseargued,buthedidnotgiveasingleanswer.Toall his disciples who demanded to know thereasonforhisevasiveness,hesaid,“Haveyouobservedthatitispreciselythosewhodonotknow what to do with this life who wantanotherlifethatwilllastforever?”

“But is there life after death or is therenot?”persistedadisciple.

The master asked a counter-question thatstunnedeveryonearound.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the counter-question bytheMaster?

ANSWERS

1. TheMastermerelyquestionedback,

“The question here is, is there lifebeforedeath?”

2. No one has seen life after death.Therefore, there is no point inarguing whether there is life afterdeathornot.What iscertain is thatwehavetoliveourlifebeforedeath.Live productively and creatively.Live your life with the intent toserve other human beings in oneformoranother.

EveryoneIsAPotentialGenius

Once upon a time, a man found anabandonedeagle’seggandwiththefearthatitmight break, placed it under a brooding hen.Theeaglethatchedwiththechickensandgrewamong other chickens. The eaglet-chickenclucked and cocked, scratched the earth forworms,andflappeditswingstoflyafewfeetintheairlikeotherchicken.Yearspassedandit spent its whole life being a chicken. Oneday,itspottedamagnificentbirdglideaboveits head in graceful majesty with scarcely amovement of its golden wings. “That’s the

kingof thebirds, theeagle,” said themotherhen.“Hebelongstothesky,andwebelongtotheearth.”

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwastheresponseoftheeaglet-chicken?

ANSWERS

1. The eaglet-chicken said, “How I

wish that I could fly!”But it nevermade an attempt to fly in the air,thoughitwascapableofdoingit.

2. Everyone has the potential to

achieve something great andoutstanding. But our beliefs aboutourselves fix the limitation of ourachievements. Every individualestimates himself and that basicestimate goes far towardsdetermining what he can become.Youcandonomore thanwhatyoubelieveyoucan.

AcceptYourIgnoranceWithHumility

ThecelebratedDuval, librarianofFrancis I,was considered a very learned person. Oneday, an egoistic person, jealous of thelibrarian asked him many impertinentquestions to which Duval replied, “I don’tknow.”Annoyedby this, theman snapped athimand said, “WhySir, youought to know!TheEmperorpaysyouforyourknowledge.”

TothisquestionDuvalanswered…

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwasDuval’sanswers?

ANSWERS

1. Duvalanswered,“TheEmperorpays

meforwhatIknow.If he were to pay me for what Idon’t know, even the treasures ofthe entire empire would not besufficient.”

2. Therealizationthatthereissomuchto learnwould onlymake a person

learnmoreandmore.

RememberThingsThroughAssociation

One chronically forgetful instructor at acollege was known as an absent-mindedprofessor.Oneday,oneofhisstudentsfoundhiscarkeyonthelidofacakeboxinsidethedepartmental refrigerator. The student tookthe keys and dangled them in front of theinstructor. On seeing this, the instructorinsistedthatthekeysbeputbackrightwherethestudenthadfoundthem.

“But, how will you remember them?”

questionedthestudent.

Theinstructorreplied…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwastheinstructor’sreply?

ANSWERS

1. “It’s not the keys I’m worried

about,” he replied. “It’s my wife’sbirthday cake. Unless the car keysareonit,I’llforgettotakeit.”

2. Threefactorscontributetoeffective

memory. They are — interest,emotions and association. Theinstructor applied the principle ofassociation. While going home, hehadtogobycar,forwhichhewoulddefinitely search for the keys. Heknew that he had kept them in therefrigerator.While taking the keys,he would easily remember to takethecakeforhiswife.Inthisway,wemay be able to remember manythings by creating our ownassociations.

BeautifyYourLifeWithInnerGlow

Lincoln was not very goodlooking. Butpeopleadmiredhim,notforhislooksbutforthekindofpersonhewas.Once, amanwhohadpaintedLincoln’sportraitwasintroducedto him. This painter was a big fan ofLincoln’s.Hebrought theportrait to show tohim.

Allthosewhowerepresentatthemoment,admired the portrait as remarkably beautiful.When Lincoln saw the portrait, he was

absolutely speechless, for the portrait wastruly beautiful. He went up to the painter,shookhishandsandsaid…

QUESTIONS

1. WhatdidLincolnsaytothepainter?

ANSWERS

1. Lincoln said to the painter, “I

presume, Sir, while painting thisportrait, you took your idea of mefrommyprinciplesandnotfrommyperson.”

2. Beautify your life with inner glow

rather thanoutershow.Truebeautycomes from the principles andcharacterof aperson, andnot frommereappearance.

ChooseTheRightCareer

Once,twobeggarssatwiththeirbackstoanold mango tree. Before them was a ripplingstream.Thedaywasdelightfulandyet,oneofthemlookeddisconsolate.“Youknow,Raju,”musedone,“thisbusinessofbeggingisquitetorturous. Think it over, nights on parkbenches or on the cold pavement; travellingon the goods train and always dodging thepolice;beingkickedfromonetowntoanotherand wondering where your next meal iscoming from; wandering unwantedeverywhere,sneeredatbyyourfellowmen…”

His voice trailed off as he sighed heavily“Well,”said thesecondbeggar,“If that’s theway you feel, why don’t you go and findyourselfsomejob?”

The first one sat up with a jerk and saidsternly…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidthefirstbeggarsaytohiscompanion?

ANSWERS

1. “What!Andadmittotheworldthat

I am a failure?” the first beggarsaid.

2. For the same reason, many whohave chosen a wrong career do notliketochangeit,feelingthatotherswouldbrandthemasfailures.

HowToReduceStressAndTension

A stockbroker who had lost a huge fortunewas disconsolate and in a very bad state.Hetried his best to be his usual self again, butnothing helped.After a lot of persuasion byothers in the family, he came in search ofpeace to a monastery. But he was toodistraughttoevenmeditate.Inthemonastery,he did not get what he wanted — peace ofmind. Therefore, he left the monastery withtotal dissatisfaction. After he had gone, theMasterhadonly a single sentencebywayofwrycomment.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwastheMaster’scomment?

ANSWERS

1. The Master commented, “Those

who sleep on the floor, never falldownfromtheirbeds.”

2. ‘Sleep on the floor’ refers todevelopment of the virtue ofhumility.Thereisnofeelingofhurtwhere there is humility. Loss of

money hurts the ego. Thestockbroker lost his money. Thatmight not have been a big loss forhim, but in the eyes of the society,his position was lowered. Thegreatertheego,thehigherwouldbethe fall of the person. Develophumility and therewillneverbeanoccasionforstress, tension,worriesandlossofsleep.

IntelligentWayToEscapeWrath

Warspreadslikewildfireandsodoeshatredand bitterness. Those were the days whenthings were really sensitive between theFrenchandtheBritish,somewherearoundtheyear 1727. Feelings ran high among theBritish when Voltaire visited England. Oneday,acrowdofangryEnglishmensurroundedhimwhenhewaswalkingdownastreet.Theycaught hold of him and shouted, “Kill him.HangtheFrenchman!”Whenthemobseemedtogetoutofcontrol,Voltairesaidsomethingtothemwhichnotonlypacifiedthembutled

himsafelybacktohisresidence.

QUESTIONS

1. What did Voltaire say to the angrycrowd?

ANSWERS

1. Voltaire said, “Englishmen! You

want to kill me because I am aFrenchman! Am I not punishedenough in not being anEnglishman?”

2. Quick wit can lead you out of themost difficult and seeminglyimpossible situations. Voltaireflattered the Englishmen with hisimplicit statement that beingEnglish was superior to beingFrench.

NeverMakePrayerARitual

Thisisthestoryoftwolittlegirlswhowererecently taught the meaning and power ofprayeratschool.Oneday,bothwereindangerof getting late for school, something theyabsolutelydreaded.Onesaid,“Let’sstopandpraytoGodtogetusthereontime,sothatwearenotpunished.”Theotherimmediatelysaid‘no’.

QUESTIONS

1. Whydidtheotheronesay‘no'?

ANSWERS

1. Theothersaid‘no’,becauseshefelt

that stopping and praying wouldfurther delay their reaching school.She thought running and praying atthesametimewasabetteridea.

2. For most, prayer has become aritual.Theobjectiveof prayer is tobecome more and more virtuous.Pray to God to be more pure,humble and honest. That kind ofprayerwillbeanswered.Toprayforrain is ridiculous and even more

ridiculous is to pray for money orfor a transfer from one place toanother.

BringTheKingdomOfGodIntoYourHeart

During the war between Russia andGermany, the Russian Government orderedthat all youth should join the army forcompulsoryconscriptionforthewareffort.

One youth refused to join the army. Heinformed the officers that he was totallyagainst any war. The officers brought himbefore a judge. When questioned, the youthrepliedthathewasaconscientiousobjectortothe war and believed in the philosophy of

Tolstoy and the preaching of the NewTestament.Thejudgeexplainedtohimaboutbeing realistic and that the kingdom of Godhad not yet come. To which the young mansaid…

QUESTIONS

1. What did the youngman say to thejudge?

ANSWERS

1. Theyoungmanreplied,“Theselaws

areofthekingdomofGod.Ithasn’t

comeasyetforyou,butithascometome.”

2. The youth’s conviction should beappreciated. He strongly believedthat God would never recommendwaras themeans tobringpeaceonearth.WaronlyleadstodestructionandGodwouldneverwantthat.

DevelopTheQualityOfASaint

Saint Vincent de Paul’s name is associatedwith his kindly deeds. He would very oftentravel far and wide doing things for people.Once,hewasononeofhisvisitstothegalleyslaves at Marseilles, France. There he sawamongst all the prisoners present, one whowasgloomierthantherest.“Tellme,mygoodman,whatmakesyousosad?”askedthesaint.“My wife and children are far away, and Ilongtoseethem,butIknowthatI’llhavetowait for a long time to finally be able to dothat.”On hearing this, SaintVincentmade a

sacrificewhichresultedintheslavereunitingwithhisfamily.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidthesaintdo?

ANSWERS

1. He disguised himself in the slave’s

clothesandtookhisplace,whiletheslavehastenedtowardshisfamily.

2. The act of St. Vincent de Pauldisplaysthesaintlyqualitiesinhim.

CultivatePatriotism

The kingdom of Athens was putting up astrong defence against the Dorian invaders.Buttheinvaderswerequiteconfidentbecausethey had received the words, — “EitherAthens must perish or her king!” from theOracle. TheAthenians were desperate. Theycould not bear the thought of their belovedking,Codrusbeingkilledby theenemy.Onenight,anAthenianpeasantenteredtheDoriancamp and deliberately picked a fight withsome of the soldiers.A fight ensued and theDorian soldiers killed the Athenian peasant.The news spread through the army and therewas panic in the general public. Before

morning, the Dorians found themselvesfleeing,fortheyrememberedthewordsoftheOracle.

QUESTIONS

1. WhydidtheDoriansflee?

ANSWERS

1. The Dorians, to their horror found

out that the Athenian peasant whohaddied,wasnoneother thanKingCodrus, who had disguised himselfasapeasantandofferedhis lifefor

thesafetyofhissubjects.

2. Thekingwaspreparedtodieforhiscountry. His sacrifice is quitelaudable. From that time on, noAthenian thought himself goodenough to wear the crown of KingCodrus.

BelieveInGod

Remaud,aFrenchsenator,hadrentedahotelroomforamonthandpaid for it inadvance.Thehotelkeeperaskedhimifhewantedacashreceipt.

“Oh, don’t bother,” said the senator. “It isenoughthatGodhasseenit.”

“Why monsieur, you believe in God?”askedthehotelkeeper.“Ofcourse.Andyoudotoo,don’tyou?”

“NoSir,Idon’t.”

QUESTIONS

1. What did the senator say to thehotelkeeper?

ANSWERS

1. The senator said, “On second

thought, I feel that I should have areceiptfromyou.”

2. Fear of God brings discipline in aperson.Strongbeliefinthepresence

ofGodwouldmake a personmoresincere, honest and truthful. In theabsence of this belief, one may betemptedtodoalltypesofantisocialactivities. This is the main reasonfor all religions to propound thetheoryoftheexistenceofoneGod.

NoOneIsTooStupidToLearn

Therewasonceaboywhowasdismissedandsent back from school because his teachersclaimed that he was too stupid to learnanything. He came back and told this to hisdisheartened mother. She told him to ignoretheir comments. She came forward to teachhim. This boy didn’t go to any school oruniversityandwasself-taught.Yearslater,thesame boy grew up to create history in thescientificworld.

QUESTIONS

1. Canyouguessthisboy’sname?

ANSWERS

1. The boy’s name is Thomas Alva

Edison.

2. It is pathetic that some teachersmake unholy remarks aboutstudents, which may discouragethem and lead them to discontinueschoolitself.Edison’smothercameforward and encouraged him. But

for the encouragement of hismother,theworldwouldhavelostasupergeniusinthescientificworld.This is a lesson to all teachers andparents.

RetainTheRomanceOfLife

There was once a very young-heartedcolonel,ThomasHartBenton,whowaswell-known for his jovial and humorous nature.Peoplewould oftenmistake him to bemuchyounger thanhereallywas,andhewasoftenquestionedabouthisage.Eachtime,hewouldhavethesamereply.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwasthereplyofThomasHartBenton?

ANSWERS

1. Hewouldalwayssay,“Accordingto

the calendar, my age is seventy-four;whenanythingistobedone,Iamonlythirty-fiveyearsold.”

2. Chronological age starts as soon aswe are born. Biological ageindicates the condition of our bodyas regards health and disease.Mentalagereferstoourcapacitytodiscriminate, create and imagine,and how we use our mental

faculties. We can have differentages. In this connection, the wordsofNormanVincentPealeareworthquoting:“The person who is young awakeswithastrangefeelingwhichhewasnotabletoexplainbutwhichisasiftosay,This is thegreatday; this isthe day on which wonderful thingscan happen. The individual who isold,regardlessofageariseswiththespirit unresponsive, not expectinganygreat thing tohappen.Thisdaywill be no worse. Some peopleretain the spirit of expectation atthree-score and ten. Some lose itearly in life. Themeasure of one’sage is actually howwell he retainstheromanceoflife.”Source:StayAliveAllYourLife, byNormanVincentPeale

CalamitiesCanBringGrowthAndEnlightenment

Inthemidstofavast,lonelydesert,therewasanolddying tree. Itswitheringbrancheshadbeen home to a beautiful bird. The tree hadbeenitshomeformanyyears.Butoneday,asluckwouldhave it, awhirlwinduprooted thetree, forcing the poor bird to fly a tiringhundred miles in search of another shelter.Thedepressedbird,searchingforshelter,keptwonderingwhatillithaddonetodeservesucha calamity.After several days of continuousflyingandalmostgivingupwith tiredness, itfinally came to a forest of fruit-laden trees.

And thus, it built another home in the newparadise.

QUESTION

1. Whatisthemoralofthisstory?

ANSWER

1. If the withered tree had survived,

nothingwouldhaveinducedthebirdto give up its security and fly.Calamities and difficulties are onlytemporary setbacks. They bringalonggrowthandenlightenmentandevenbetteropportunities.

ExploreAllThePossibilities

A father and son, out for an evening walk,spotted a huge stone blocking their path.Atonce,thelittleboytriedtoliftthestone,butitwasfartooheavyforhim.Hisfatherstandingclosebyaskedhim,“Haveyouusedallyourstrength?” The boy promptly replied, “Yes.”Thefatherthencommented…

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthefather'scomment?

ANSWERS

1. “No,my son, you are not using all

your strength. You have not askedmetohelpyouout.”

2. Strength lies in exploring allpossibilities to accomplish a task.Thisincludesrequestingsomeonetohelp you. No one can build aninstitution without getting the helpof others. Only with others’cooperation, great things can beaccomplished.

WorshipThroughDance

There was once a dervish (member of aMuslim religious order), who worshippedAllah through his hard and rigorous dancesessions. He would regularly travel manymilesandperformhiswhirlingdanceinfrontof each mosque, before moving to anotherone.That’showhelived.Peoplewhowatchedhim would very often give him food, waterand also shelter to spend the night. He wasonce asked why he worshipped God throughdance.“Because,toworshipGodmeanstokilltheSelf,anddancinghas thepassionand thelifethatkillstheSelf.WhentheSelfdies,allthe problems die with it. Where the Self is

not,loveis,Godis,”hesaid.

QUESTION

ANSWER

1. ToworshipGod, one needs love in

theheartandlovecomesonlyfromselflessnessandsacrifice.

CourageWinsTheHeart

TheEmperorofRussia,Peter theGreatwasblessedwithasonaftermanyyearsofprayersandwaiting. Unfortunately, good luck didn’tlast long and death took away his little one.The death of the newborn son affected PetertheGreatsomuchthatheclosedhimselfupinaroomtostarvehimself todeath.Hegaveittobeunderstoodthatwhoeverdaredtodisturbhim in his retirement would be sentenced todeath. The senate assembled to discuss thisurgent issue and Dologorouki, one of hisministers, volunteered to save theCzar fromcertaindeath.HecourageouslywentuptotheCzar’s room and knocked on the door.

“Whoever you be, fly off or I will open thedoor and knock out your brains!” threatenedtheCzar’sterriblevoicefromwithin.“OpenIsay,” countered Dologorouki in a resolutetone.

After that, he said something to the Czarwhichmadehimcomeoutandembracehim.He yielded to the counsel of his faithfulcourtierandresumedtheruleofhiscountry.

QUESTIONS

1. What did Dologorouki say to theCzar?

ANSWERS

1. Hesaid,“Itisthedutyofthesenate

tocomeandaskyouwhomyouwishtohavenamed the emperor in yourabsence,sinceyouhaveresigned.”

2. Dologorouki’s courage won theheartof theEmperor.Letmequotehere,thewordsofDr.AlexisCarrel:“Nature has no pity for those whoare lazy or feeble minded. Shefavours those who are sober, alert,intelligentandenthusiastic;mostofall, those who have the courage totake risks andwhopossess thewilltosucceed.Shesmilesonthosewhoare ready to live hard anddangerously. Whoever refuses totakeriskspaysthepenaltyoflossof

lifeinoneformoranother.”Source:Man, The Unknown by Dr.AlexisCarrel

SpiritualityInProductiveActivity

TheMaster, while being gracious to all hisdisciples,couldnotconcealhispreferenceforthosewho lived in theworld— themarried,themerchants and the farmers—over thosewho lived in the monastery. When he wasfinally confronted about this, he saidsomethingwhichexplainedeverything.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatdidtheMastersay?

ANSWERS

1. The Master said, “Spirituality

practiced in the state of activity isincomparably superior to thatpracticed in the state ofwithdrawal.”

2. Apersonwho,forhisownliberationo rmukthi sits in meditation forhours together, is not as productiveto society, as the farmer whocultivates and produces grains forthepeople toconsume.This iswhythepriestsandnunsof theCatholic

community, embracing spiritualityand renunciation, plunge intoactivity by way of establishingeducational institutions, hospitalsandalso rendering social service tothepooranddowntrodden.

EveryBitOfKnowledgeIsUseful

There was an intelligent young man whostudied physiognomy, spending six years ofhardworkonresearch.Onhiswaybackhome,after having completed his studies, hemet amanwhoofferedhimhisplacetostayforthenight. The scholar’s first intuitive feeling onmeeting the hospitablemanwas that hewaswicked.But then, he changedhismindwhenthe stranger showered all love and affectiononhim.Ultimately, thismangavehimabillwhichwasahundredtimesmorethanwhatitshould have been. To pay it off, the scholar

had to give up everything he had.But in theend,hejoyfullycriedandthankedGod.

QUESTIONS

1. WhydidhethankGod?

ANSWERS

1. The man thanked God because it

was proved that his six years ofstudieshadnotbeenawasteoftimeand he had assessed the mancorrectly.

2. Knowledge is power. The more welearn, the better would be ourcapacity to tackleproblems thatweconfrontinlife.

PayUndividedAttentionToWhateverYouDo

There was once a farmer in Spain who hadthree sons and one daughter. One day, thefarmerbecameveryillandapassingtravelertoldhisfamilythathecouldonlybesavedbythe ‘waterof life’. “Wheredoyouget that?”saidAlonzo,theeldestson.“Fromawellonamountaintop which is three days hard ridingaway from here,” said the stranger.And so,Alonzo set off. After three days riding, hecame to the mountain and met an old man.Alonzo asked him about the ‘water of life’.“Well,youwillgetitfromawellupthere,but

letme give you some advice.As you climb,youwill findmany of the stones shout, jeerand mock you. Don’t look at them or touchthem.”Thatsoundseasy,thoughtAlonzoandwenton.Hebeganclimbingthemountainandimmediately the stones began to jeer at him,mock him and call him names. He paid noattention until one stone in particular, calledAlonzo, a boaster and a bragger. On hearingthis,Alonzowasfurious,perhapsbecausethisinsult was rather near the truth.Angrily, heturned towards the stone and immediatelyturnedintoastonehimself.Twoweekslater,thesecondsonCarlosetouttogetthe‘waterof life’ and to findhisbrother.He found themountain and the old man and receivedexactly the same warning. Soon, he wasclimbing up the mountain and ignored thecries of the stones, until suddenly, he felt heheard his brother’s voice and he too wasturnedintostone.

Aweeklater,thethirdson,Alfredowasonthe mountain. Having heard the old man’swarning, he was singing and whistling todrown the sounds of the stone’s voices.Suddenly, he heard the song of a charminglady and his attention was diverted to thesweetvoiceandheturnedtoseethelady.Theinevitablehappenedandhealsoturnedintoastone.

The farmerwas by now veryweak and inthe last desperate effort to save his life,Maria,hisdaughter setoff to find the ‘waterof life’. When she heard the old man’swarning, she decided that her father’s lifedepended on her getting the water, so nomatterwhat the stones shouted, she kept hereyes fixed on thewell up ahead. Eventually,she reached it and filled her goatskin full ofthepreciousliquid.Asshedid,adropfellonastonenearbywhichimmediatelyturnedinto

aman.Atonce,Mariafeltshemusthelpheretoo,soshewentonsprinklingadropeachonallthestonesthereandsoontherewasalargegathering of men and women including herthreebrothers.

Finally, she reached the bottom with justenoughwater for her father.With thewholecrowd cheering and thanking her,Maria andher brothers arrived home and restored theirfatherbacktogoodhealth.

QUESTION

ANSWER

1. With total devotion and

concentration, anything can beachieved.

SetAnExample

Once there was a missionary who wantedmore and more people to become hisfollowers. To accomplish this, he decided toimpressthepeopleofavillagebytakingthemout for a plane ride. The plane glided overtheir villages, hills, forests and rivers.Occasionally, they would look out of theirwindows, but on the whole, they wereunimpressed. Back on the ground, his flocktrooped out of the plane without a word ofcomment.Anxious to get some response, themissionaryexclaimed,“Wasn’t itwonderful?Think of what human beings have achieved!There we were up in the sky, above all the

worldlythings,lookingdownatallofit.”

Thegrouplistenedimpassively.Finallytheleaderspoke.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidtheleadersay?

ANSWERS

1. Theleadersaid,“Theinsectsalsodo

what we just did and are happierthanus.”

2. Fakeimpressionsfadeout.Todraw

peopletospirituallife,missionariesshould lead an exemplary life thatwill open the eyes of others tofollowthem.

AvoidCarryingTales

A girl was known all over town for hermuch-detestedhabitofcarryingtales.Thankstoher,therewereconstantmisunderstandingsand complications between people. Hermother tried hard to stop this habit but invain. After a lot of thinking, one day, shecalledherandgaveherapillowandaskedhertoremoveallitsfeathers.Agustofwindthenscattered and blew off the feathers.Now themother asked her to put the feathers back inthepillow.Thegirlwasnotabletodoit.Shethen understood what her mother wanted toteachher.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the lesson learnt by thegirl?

ANSWERS

1. Thegirllearntthatthetalesthatshe

spreadwere like the feathers.Oncescattered, it was impossible tocollectthembacktogether.

2. The mother’s way of teaching alesson to her daughter isappreciable. Most parents take

recourse to scolding their childrenfor whatever mischief they do inlife. If parents are a little morecreative, the parent-childrelationshipcanbebuiltonasoundfooting.

GodIsWatching

A boy and a girl who were in deep lovedecided to commit a sin together beforegetting married. They found an empty hutwhich they thought would be an ideal placefor their intendedsin.Theywent into thehutandfoundanidolofGod.Veryconveniently,toescapethefeelingofguilt, theyplacedtheidoloutsideandwentinsidethehutagain.Buttherewas something stopping them and theyfinallydecidednottocommitthesin.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatkeptthemfromcommittingthesin?

ANSWERS

1. They realized that by just placing

God’s idol outside, they could notremoveGodHimself.

2. God is present everywhere andwatching our good as well as baddeeds.

BeBoldAndHonest

A newly-appointed policeman was on duty.Once,hestoppedaspeedingmotorcyclistandinquiredabouthis identity.Thismotorcyclisthappened to be a Circle Inspector but thepolicemancontinuedtowriteaticketforhim.The Inspector said, “Look here young man,somedayyoumaybetransferredtomypolicestation where you will have to work underme.”

Thepolicemanreplied...

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthepoliceman’sreply?

ANSWERS

1. The policeman replied, “Well Sir,

when I do get there, you willrememberthatyouhaveagoodandhonestmanworkingforyou.”

2. Honesty is the best policy foreveryone to follow. This will payrichdividendsinthelongrun.

WhereDoesSufferingComeFrom?

Once, the disciples of a Master were allinvolved in a heated discussion on the causeof human suffering. Some said it came fromselfishness,otherssaiditarosefromdelusionand yet others, from the inability todistinguish the real from the unreal. TheMasterwasatlastconsultedonthisissue.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwastheMaster'sreply?

ANSWERS

1. The Master said, “All suffering

comes from a person’s inability tositstillandbealone.”

2. Very few people develop the habitof sitting still and being alone.Sitting still and trying to be alonerefers to the meditative process. Ifone were to develop the habit ofmeditating, all suffering wouldvanish. LordBuddha prescribes thefollowingfivemeditationstobefreefromallsuffering:

Thefirstmeditationis themeditation of LOVE, inwhich you must sit stilland so adjust your heartthatyoulongforthewell-being and welfare of allbeings, including thehappiness of yourenemies.The second meditation isofPITY, inwhich you sitstillandthinkofallbeingsin distress, vividlyrepresenting in yourimagination their sorrowsand anxieties so as toarouse a deep compassionfortheminyoursoul.Thethirdmeditationisthemeditation of JOY in

which you sit still andthink of the prosperity ofothers and rejoice at theirrejoicing.The fourth meditation isthe meditation ofIMPURITY, inwhich yousit still and consider theevil consequences ofcorruption, the effects ofsin and diseases. Howtrivial often are thepleasures of the momentand how fatal theirconsequences!ThefifthmeditationisthemeditationonSERENITY,in which you sit still andrise above love and hate,tyranny and oppression,

wealth and want, andregardyourown fatewithimpartial calmness andperfecttranquility.

Source:The James Allen NewThoughtCollection

TheCourageOfAPresident

WhenWoodrowWilsonwasthePresidentofthe United States, he was facing somedifficultieswithOldMexico.Inoneskirmishbefore the American marines captured VeraCruz, someAmericans lost their lives. Theirbodies were brought to New York andarrangementsweremade for agrand funeral.Despitealltherumoursofplotstoassassinatehim, the President insisted on taking part inthe funeralprocession.His friends tried theirbest to stop him from going to New York.“The country cannot afford to lose its

President,”saidoneofhisfriends.

Onhearingthis,thePresidentgaveafittingreply.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwasthePresident’sreply?

ANSWERS

1. The President said, “The country

can’t afford to have a coward for aPresident.” And he proceeded to

New York and rode in theprocession.

2. One of the sterling qualities thatpoliticians develop is courage.Because of this quality, they canlead a country. To achievesomething great and outstanding,manyqualitiesare tobedeveloped.Thefollowingpoemwouldmotivateonetoachieveone’sgoal—

“IttakesalittlecourageAndalittleself-control

AndsomegrimdeterminationIfyouwanttoreachthegoal.

Ittakesadealofstriving,Andafirmandstern-setchin,

Nomatterwhatthebattle,Ifyouarereallyouttowin.

Thereisnoeasypathtoglory,

There’snorosypathtofame;Life,howeverwemayviewit,

Isnosimpleparlourgame.

Butitsprizescallforfighting,Forenduranceandforgrit.

FortheruggeddispositionAndadon’t-know-when-toquit.

Youmusttakeabloworgiveone,Youmustriskandyoumustlose,

AndexpectthatinthestruggleYouwillsuffermanyabruise.

ButyoumustnotwhineorfalterIfafightyouoncebegin;

BeamanandfacethebattleThatistheonlywaytowin.

—J.MaurusSource:WisdomStoriesbyJ.Maurus

AttributeYourSuccessToGod

Once, when for more than a month, thecrowds had been packing Glasgow’s largestauditorium to hear Billy Graham in his AllScotlandCrusade,anewspaperreporteraskedtheyoungAmericanevangelist,“Howdoyouaccount for your success?” “The onlyexplanationIknowisGod,”hesaid.

“ButwhydidGodchooseyou?” asked thereporter.

BillyGraham’s answer had the reporter insplits.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwasBillyGraham’sanswer?

ANSWERS

1. His answer was, “When I get to

heaven,that’sthefirstquestionIamgoingtoaskGod.”

2. Hisanswerreveals the truth thatheattributedhissuccesstothegraceof

God. He had totally surrendered tothe will of God. One of theprinciples of Yoga is IshwaraPranidhana, which means totalsurrender to God. If a personsurrenders everything to God, hedevelops the virtue of humility.When humility is consciouslypracticed there is no ego and self-centred nature. This will result intotal absence of stress and tensionwhich leads to tremendousefficiency in whatever oneundertakes.Veryfewpeoplerealizethissimpletruth.

BeGoodAndServeSociety

AMoralScienceteacheronceinstructedherstudents to go out and be good. One of thestudents went out after school hours andwalked down the streets, distributing gifts tothe poor and helping whoever needed help.Thenext dayhe told the teacher of his gooddeed. But the teacher was not impressed byhisaction.

QUESTIONS

1. Whywastheteachernotimpressed?

ANSWERS

1. She told him: “I asked you to be

goodandnottodogood.”

2. People may do good withoutnecessarily being good. Forexample, people offer gifts andothermaterialgoodstothepooranddowntrodden mainly for publicityandnotwiththegenuineintentiontohelp them. Goodness stems fromgoodthoughtsandintentions.

SpendYourTimeProductivelyAnd

Creatively

Once, all the animals of the jungleassembledforananimalparty.Theybegantocomplain that humans were always takingaway things from them. The cow said thathumans took away her milk, the hen addedthat her eggs were taken, the pigs said thattheir fleshwas taken and thewhale said thather oil was taken, and so on. The snail washowever the last one to speak, “I havesomethingtheywantmorethananythingelse

intheworldandwoulddefinitelytakeawayiftheycould.”

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwasthesnailtalkingabout?

ANSWERS

1. Thesnailwastalkingaboutthetime

ithas.Humansarebadlyinneedoftime,buttheydon’ttakeitfromthesnail.

2. Time is the most precious of our

possessions. It can neither beborrowedfromothers,norcanitbelenttoanyone.Ifyouwanttomakefull use of your life, you mustappreciate the importance of timeand self-discipline. If you are ableto utilize your time appropriatelyyou can enjoy both, yourwork andleisure. Self-discipline means thewillpower to do those thingswhichyou know should be done, beforedoing the things you want to dobecausetheyaremoreenjoyable.Byattacking tasks rather thanprocrastinating, you will often findtime enough to do both. It isyourtime that you are spending. Youshould master your time until youarewillingtomasteryourself.

TrueCourageIsToLiveForOthers

In theyear1908,Mrs. JBrookes,oneof thetelephone operators of Folsom, NewMexicowaswarnedbyoneoftheresidentsofthehillstofleeforherlifefromthefloodspeedingtoengulf the valley. More than forty familieshave acknowledged their lives saved by thisfrail woman, who displayed magnificentcourage.

QUESTIONS

1. How did this woman save the livesofthepeople?

ANSWERS

1. Mrs. Brookes rejected the

opportunity to save herself andemployed the hour between thewarningreceivedandherowndeathto call up subscribers by telephoneandacquaintthemofthedanger.

2. True courage is tested in times oftrouble by forgetting oneself anddoingthebestpossibleforothers.

BecomeMoreVirtuousThanYourEnemies

OncetherelivedamancalledHari,whowasvery loving and helpful.Hewould go out ofhisway tohelppeople andat times,he evenplaced his needs second, in order to makepeople happy. Everyone benefited from hiskindness but most of the time, people tookhim for granted. With time, Hari becamedepressedabouttheconsciousnessthathewasbeingused,butcouldnothelpbeinggenerous.One day, he heard that the Buddha waspassing through his village and decided toapproachhimwithhis feelings.Heasked the

Buddha,“WhatdoyouthinkImustdo,totakerevenge on people who took me for grantedand used me?” To this, the Buddha gave areply that Hari never forgot throughout hislifeandfolloweditwell.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwasthereplyoftheBuddha?

ANSWERS

1. The Buddha merely said, “Become

morevirtuousthantheyare.”

2. We have no control over thebehaviour of others. They willcontinuetobehavethewaytheyfeelis correct, but we must rise abovethe feelings of bitterness.Also, wecan improve on our own virtuousnature. The more virtuous webecome, the easier it is for us tocontrolournegativeemotions.

CheckOnYourPerformancePeriodically

A boyoncewalked into agrocery shopandtelephonedtoacertaincompanytoaskaboutajobasanofficeboy.Hewastold,“Thejobhasbeen filled aweek ago.” “Is theboyyouhave satisfactory?” he asked. “Verysatisfactory!”was the answer. The boy hungup and wore a big smile. The druggist whoheard the conversation was puzzled. “If thejobisfilled,howcomeyouaresohappy?”heinquired. The boy’s reply stunned thedruggist.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidtheboyreply?

ANSWERS

1. The boy said, “Oh, I was just

checking up. You see, I am theoffice boy they employed a weekago.”

2. First, theboy’s ingenuity shouldbeappreciated.Moreover,itisbettertohave a regular check on one’sperformance for further

improvement.

GetAPositiveResponseFromTheWorld

A little boy playing around on a hilltop,shouted, “Who are you?” and ditto came thereply. Then he said, “You are a mean boy.”Again, ditto was the reply. Bewildered, hewenthomeandnarratedtheexperiencetohismother. His mother advised him to speakkindlytotheecho.Shesaid,“Say‘Iloveyou’totheechoandseetheresponseyouget.”

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidtheboydo?

ANSWERS

1. The next day, the boy went to the

hilltop and shouted, “I love you.”The echo responded saying, “I loveyou.”Theboywashappytoheartheecho.

2. Thestoryoftheechoisthestoryofour life. The world merely mirrorsour reactions. If we are good, weexpect theworld to be good. If wearebad,weimaginethateverythingis bad in this world. Life is like afullcircle.Whateverwegiveto the

worldcomes rightback tous.So ifwewantgood,wemustdogoodandalsobegood.

TimeHealsEverything

Dr. Johnson was a world-famous writer.Boswellwashisdevotedbiographer.Boswellwas once very badly insulted by one of hisassociates. He felt hurt and reported themattertoDr.Johnson.

Dr.Johnsonadvisedhim.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the advice given byJohnson?

ANSWERS

1. Johnsonadvised,“ConsiderSir,how

insignificantthiswillappeartwelvemonthsfromnow.”

2. Withthepassageoftimeeverythingis evened out. Time is the besthealer. What is considered asunbearable pain will vanish incourse of time. Nothing ispermanentonthisplanet.

HowDoYouTolerateAnInsult?

Onceuponatime,therecameavisitortoseeBuddha in his monastery. He insulted himoutrageously. But Buddha seemed quiteunruffledby the insults hurled at himby thevisitor. Buddha’s disciples whowatched thishappen,cameforwardtofixupthevisitor,butremained quiet at Buddha’s signals to keepoutofthematter.Finally,whentheycouldn’ttolerate the nonsense any further, they threwthevisitorout.TheyaskedBuddhawhydidhego on tolerating all the insults, and notretaliateinanyway.

Buddha was quiet for a moment and thensaid something that taught all his disciples alessonforalifetime.

QUESTIONS

1. What did the Buddha tell hisdisciples?

ANSWERS

1. Buddha said, “Imagine what would

happen if someone placed an

offeringbeforeyouandyoudidnotpick it up. Or someone sent you aletter thatyourefusedtoopen.Youwould obviously be unaffected byitscontents.Wouldyounot?Dothiseach time you are abused and youwillnotloseyourserenity.”

2. Noonecan insultyouwithoutyourpermission.You don’t have controlover others’ tongues but you cansurelyconqueryouremotionsbynotbeing upset by the unwarrantedstatementsmadebyothers.

LeadALifeOfAwareness

A Moral Science teacher told her students,“Manpreachespeace,buthedelights inwar.See the automobile out there. Suppose youinstructed it to never run wild and cause awreck.Woulditobey?

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwilltheautomobiledo?

2. What is the implication of this

story?

ANSWERS

1. The automobile will not obey

becauseitismechanical.Itcanonlybehave mechanically. Likewise,majority of the people behavemechanically, which is why manythingshappen in thisworld thatarenot conducive to for mankind toevolve.Onlyaconsciouspersoncanbehaveinawaythatdoesnotcausewrecks.”

2. Many lead a life of unawareness.Often, when a person displaysnegative emotions, he is not awareof his state of mind. The result isthat the impact of such negative

feelings wreaks havoc in society.The best remedy for all the ills ofsocietyistocreateawarenessinthemindsofpeople.

NeverPrayForSelfishEnds

Sidney Walker, the world-famouslightweight champion, was an illiterateshoeshineboybeforeherosetofame.Hehadseen both the worlds and so, was a veryhumbleman.Once,WCHeinz came to visithiminhisdressingroomafterhisbigannualfightandsaid,“Iunderstandyoupraybeforeevery fight. Tell me, what do you prayabout?”

QUESTIONS

1. What did Sidney Walker answerhim?

ANSWERS

1. “That’s right, I pray that nobody

gets hurt. Then I pray that it is agood fight and that the mostdeserving person wins the fight,”saidSidneyWalker.

2. One should never pray for selfishneeds.Onlywhenyouarefreefromtension and stress can you pray forothers. This will also show your

large-heartedness.Whenyouarenotselfishyouwillhaveperennialflowofenergyinyou.

BeTrueToYourself

Anoldwomanhadspentherentirelifebeingdifficult.Onemorning,realizationhitherthatshe had to change. She joined a charitableorganization and said nice things to others.But to her surprise, she felt a vagueresentment towards her activities. She feltforced to be good and this only doubled herguilt, for now she felt guilty over herresentment towards doing good. Thoughconfused,sheintelligentlyreflected,“Thereissomething dreadfully wrong. This isn’tgoodnessatall; it is self-enslavingandstageacting. True goodness must be somethingentirelydifferent.”So,shebeganasearchfor

truegoodness,whichshe finally realizedandunderstood after she met a sage who wasfamous for helping people out with theirproblems.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatdidthesagetellher?

ANSWERS

1. The sage said, “True goodness

blooms in the absence of anunconscious self-image of beinggood.Abolish conditioned thoughts

about personal goodness andbadness and authentic goodnessflourishes.”

2. There is no higher deed than justbeing genuine in whatever you do.Beingtruetooneselfgivesultimatesatisfaction.

LiveNow,HappilyAndMerrily

Once, therewas a clock repairer.Hewouldgo from house to house fixing up damagedclocksandwatches.Oneday,ashewasaboutto fix the pendulum of yet another damagedclock, to his surprise, he heard the clockspeak.“PleaseSir, leavemealone. Itwillbeanactofkindnessonyourpart.Thinkof thenumber of times I have to tick in a minute,thenanhour, thentheday,andinyears,” theclock pleaded. But the clock repaireransweredwisely.Hesaid…

QUESTIONS

1. What did the clock repairer say totheclock?

ANSWERS

1. The clock repairer said, “Don’t

thinkof thefuture.Justdoone tickat a time and youwill enjoy everytickfortherestofyourlife.”Thatisexactly what the clock decided todo,andisstilltickingawaymerrily.

2. The present moment will never be

unbearable if you live in it fully.What is unbearable is to have yourbodyhereat10amandyourmindat6 pm. Life is living now, in thepresent, not regretting the past andnotanticipatingthefuture.

RealizeTheGenuineLoveOfYourParents

MaryGarden,thenotedOperasingerearnedagreatdealofmoneywithherperformances.Her father often demanded huge sums ofmoney from her and she usually thought hewasbeingunreasonable.Afewyearslater,sheretired and stopped giving performances.Money,shethought,wasn’taproblemandsodecidedtoinvestinthestockmarketsoastodoubleitup.Afterafewyears,shelostallhermoney in the stock market crash. She wastotally shaken up at her misfortune. At thismomentofdistress,shereceivedanotefrom

abankstatingthatherfatherhaddepositedallthe money he had received from her in thebank.Sheheavedagreatsighofrelief.

QUESTION

ANSWER

1. She had been thinking that her

father was unreasonable in takingtoo much money from her. But hehad kept all themoney in the bankthinkingthatshemightneeditifshehad any financial problems in

future.This showsgenuinepaternallove. Children often do not realizethe love of their parents once theybecomeindependentorgetmarried.

WhatMakesADeathbedTerrible?

DavidWarwick,afamousactoronthestageaccumulatedagreatfortunethroughhisactingskills. One day, he was showing his newhome, garden and all his luxuries to a veryclose friend. Instead of admiring his successandaffluence,thefriendremarkedsomethingthat made David really think about hisfabulouswealth.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwastheremarkofhisfriend?

ANSWERS

1. His close friend commented, “Ah,

David,thesearetheverythingsthatmakeadeath-bedseemsoterrible.”

2. Abeggarcandiepeacefully,butnotthewealthy.Abeggarhasnoregretstoleavewhenheisgone.Thisisnotthecasewith thewealthy.Theygetfrightened at death, as theyhave toleavebehindsomuchofwealththatthey accumulated with hard workandgreed.

OnlyFoolsAndCowardsCommitSuicide

Barney Jones was a very successfulbusinessman and lived his life constantly inthe limelight, but of late, too much ofcompetition fromhis rivalswaswearinghimout, and his nerveswere on edge. To add tohistroubles,Barney’swifewasdeterminedtobeclassedasthebestdressedladyintownanditwasprovingtobeadrainonBarney’spurseanda loadof strainonhis alreadydepressedcondition.Hecouldnotsleepatnightandhadlost his grip on life. His health too starteddeteriorating. After much thinking and

worrying,hecame to theconclusion that lifewas notworth living and decided to commitsuicide.Heapproachedhisdoctor foradvice.Hewantedtodiewithoutmuchpainandalsodidn’t want anyone to know that he hadcommitted suicide. The doctor gave him aprescription.

QUESTIONS

1. Whatwas theprescriptiongivenbyhisdoctor?

ANSWERS

1. The doctor told him to run five

miles a day as fast as he could.Hehadtodotherunningeverydaytillhedied.Ashewouldberunningtoofast, he would drop dead one day.Noonecouldevenguessthathehadcommittedsuicide.Thedeathwouldalso be a painless one. Barneyfollowed the advice of his doctor.The first day, he ran as fast aspossible for five miles.As he wasdog-tiredat theendof thisventure,hefellasleepassoonashewent tobed. For the first time, he had asoundandpeacefulsleep.Thesameprocess continued for a few moredays. The more he ran, the betterbecame his health due to soundsleep. He gained more energy andenthusiasm and wanted to live afruitful life,abandoninghisthought

ofcommittingsuicide.

2. The best antidote for stress andworryiswork.Whenweplungeintoaction, we forget our worries andalso generate more energy. Whentheenergylevelgoesup,webecomemore optimistic and productive.Only fools and cowards commitsuicide.Thereissomuchtolifeanditshouldbelivedeverymoment.

WhatIsMeditation?

Onceuponatime,aMasterkeptscrappingabrickagainstthefloorwherehisdisciplessatinmeditation.

At first, one of the new disciples wascontenttakingthistobethetestofhispowersof concentration but soon the noise becameunbearable and he burst out, “What on earthare you doing? Can’t you see I am inmeditation?”

“I’mpolishing thisbrick tomakeamirror

outofit,”saidtheMaster.

“You’recrazy!Howcanyoumakeamirroroutofabrick?”TheMasterreplied…

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwasthereplyoftheMaster?

2. Whatistheimplicationofthestory?

ANSWERS

1. TheMastermerelysaid,“Nocrazier

than you! How can you make ameditatoroutoftheself?”

2. It is an impossible task to make abrickintoamirror.Similarly,whena person gets annoyed over thenoise, he cannot hope to have ameditative state. Meditation is notconcentration but forgetting one’sself.Intheabsenceoftheself,therecan’t be irritation and bickering.“The purpose of meditation,paradoxically, is to learn to bewithout purpose. Since nearlyeverythingwedoinlifeisdonewithsome goal in mind, most of ouractions are only means to an end,pointing us continually toward afuture that does not exist. Butmeditation,whennogoaldisturbsit,allows us to discover the richnessand profundity of the presentmoment. We begin to realize themiraculous power of our own lives— not as they will be, or as we

might imagine they once were atsomegoldentimeinthepast,butastheyactuallyare.Meditation isoneof the few things in life that is notaboutDOINGbutaboutBEING.”

—RickFields

HowDoYouPray?

Once there was a Muslim mystic namedFarid. He was known all over town for hiskind-hearted nature and selflessness withwhich he worked for the people. He wasprevaileduponbyhisneighbourstogotothecourtinDelhiandobtainafavourfromAkbarfor the village.After a lot of convincing, heagreed to ask the Emperor for the favour.Faridwalked into the court and foundAkbarat his prayers, and so he waited. When theEmperorfinallyemerged,Faridasked,“Whatsortofaprayerdidyoumake?”

“I prayed that the All Merciful wouldbestowsuccess,wealthand long lifeonme,”wasthereply.

Farid promptly turned his back to theEmperorandwalkedawaywitharemarkthatlefttheEmperorfeelashamed.

QUESTIONS

1. WhatwasFarid’sremark?

ANSWERS

1. Farid remarked, “I came to see anEmperor. What I find here is abeggar,nodifferentfromtherest.”

2. In this context, the prayer ofSocrates is worth remembering,“Givemebeautyin the inwardsouland may the inner and outer be atone. May I consider wisdom to bewealth, and let me have only asmuch gold as a temperateman andonly he can bear and carry. Thisprayer,Ithink,isenoughforme.”

100 inspiring stories to enrich your life - g. francis xavier

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