An African folktale

THE MAN WHO NEVER LIED

Once upon a time, there lived a wise man named Mamad, known far and wide for never telling a lie. People from even distant lands spoke of him. When the king heard of Mamad, he summoned him to the palace. 

The king asked, "Mamad, is it true that you've never lied?"

"Yes, it's true, " Mamad replied. 

"And you never will lie?" the king asked. 

"I'm certain of that," Mamad answered. 

Several days later, the king called Mamad again. A large crowd gathered as the king prepared to go hunting. Holding his horse by its mane, with his left foot in the stirrup, the king gave Mamad an order. 

"Go to my summer palace, tell the queen I'll join her for lunch, and ask her to prepare a grand feast. We will have lunch together."

Mamad bowed and went to the queen. Meanwhile, the king chuckled, thinking, "We won't go hunting now, and Mamad will lie to the queen. Tomorrow, we'll have a laugh."

But Mamad went to the palace and said, "Perhaps you should prepare a grand feast for lunch tomorrow, or maybe you shouldn't. Perhaps the king will come by the noon, or perhaps he won't."

"Will he come or not?" asked the queen. 

"I don't know." said Mamad, "I know if he puts his right foot in the stirrup or his left foot on the ground."

Everyone waited for the king, who came the next day and told the queen, "The wise Mamad, who never lies, lied to you yesterday."

The queen explained what Mamad had said. Hearing this, the queen realised that a truly wise man never lies.

A teacher knows the true student

 ASHTAVAKRA 

Ashtavakra a great sage. He was given this name because his body was bent in eight places, which is what his name literally means. When he was still a baby in his mother’s belly, his father would read aloud sacred verses to him, every night. 

Even before his birth, Ashtavakra was so intelligent that he once corrected his father when he mispronounced a verse. His father was short-tempered and tired. He cursed the unborn baby to be born deformed. The curse took hold, and Ashtavakra was born with eight crooks in his body.

People laughed at his appearance in derision as a child wherever he went. Undeterred, he became a learned sage. At a very young age, he had learnt to look not at people’s appearance or status but at their inner qualities. He composed the Ashtavakra Gita. This is in the form of a dialogue between Ashtavakra and King Janaka, the king of Mithila and the father of Devi Sita. 

Though a very knowledgeable sage, Ashtavakra was reluctant to take disciples, so he had very few. When King Janaka heard the sage, he was very impressed by his knowledge and wisdom. Janaka humbly requested Ashtavakra to accept him as a disciple. Ashtavakra immediately agreed. This caused some heartburn among his other disciples.

They said, "Our guru too plays favourites. Otherwise, why did he accept the king as a disciple without any of the trials that he had us face?" 

The talk reached Ashtavakra’s ears too. One day, King Janaka was late in attending Ashtavakra’s discourse. All the other disciples were already gathered and waiting. 

The moment the king dismounted his horse, Ashtavakra said, ‘Today, I had a terrible vision. The capital of Mithila will be destroyed by earthquake and fire. All the people in the city will die. Those of you who have loved ones or valuables in the city must hurry there now to save whatever you can."

There was unrest among the monks, and all of them quickly left for the capital. Only King Janaka and Ashtavakra were left sitting. Ashtavakra said, "O King! Would you not save anything?"

King Janaka said, "O Guru! You are my only treasure." 

Ashtavakra nodded and said, "If that is the case, mount your horse now, and go and gather my students back to me. Tell them that I have been mistaken, and the capital is in no danger." 

When the other disciples came back, they grumbled about being sent on foolish errands here and there. Slowly, however, they understood that Ashtavakra had not accepted Janaka as a disciple because he was a king but because he had recognised that Janaka was a true student.

Story

CHANGING OUR VISION 

There was once a very wealthy man who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted many physicians and was being treated by several of them. But the ache persisted with more vigour than before. 

Finally, a monk who was supposed to be an expert in treating such patients was called for by the suffering man. The monk understood his problem, and said that for some time he should concentrate only on green colour, and not to let his eyes fall on any other colours. It was a strange prescription, but the wealthy man was desperate and decided to try it out. 

The millionaire got together a group of painters, purchased barrels of green paint and directed that every object his eye was likely to fall on, be painted green; precisely as the monk had directed. When the monk came to visit him after few days, the millionaire's servants ran with buckets of green paint and poured them on him since he was in red attire, lest their master see any other colour, and his eye ache come back. 

Hearing this, the monk laughed and said, "If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles worth just a few dollars, you could have saved these walls, trees, pots, all other articles, and also you could have saved a large share of his fortune. You just cannot paint the whole world green."

Let us first change our vision and perception; and the world will appear accordingly. It is foolish to shape the world; we need to shape ourselves first. 

From Greek Mythology

 THE TALE OF ATALANTA AND HIPPOMENES

 

In ancient Greece, there was a swift and fearless young woman named Atalanta. She was raised in the wild by a bear and became an outstanding hunter, known for her amazing speed. Her fame spread widely, and many people came to challenge her in a footrace.

Confident in her skills, Atalanta made a daring declaration: “I will marry anyone who can outrun me in a race. But those who lose will face a penalty.” Her rules were strict, but many were eager to try, drawn by her beauty and the excitement of the challenge.

One day, a young man named Hippomenes watched Atalanta while she raced. He was amazed by her speed and grace. “How can anyone be so fast?” he wondered aloud.

Hearing this, Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, appeared before him. “You admire Atalanta, don’t you?” she asked. Hippomenes nodded, and Aphrodite handed him three golden apples. 

“Use these in the race. They are no ordinary apples; they are gifts from the Gods.”

Hippomenes accepted the challenge. As the race began, Atalanta took off with incredible speed. But Hippomenes had a plan. He threw one of the golden apples off the track.

Atalanta, drawn to the golden glow of the apple, veered off course to pick it up, giving Hippomenes a chance to get ahead. But she quickly caught up. Again, Hippomenes threw a second apple, and again, Atalanta was briefly distracted.

As they neared the finish line, Hippomenes threw the final apple. Atalanta hesitated, caught between the race and the beautiful apple. This brief pause allowed Hippomenes to cross the finish line first.

Breathless, Atalanta walked up to him. “You have won the race and my heart,” she said, smiling. “But how did you beat me?”

Hippomenes showed her the last piece of the golden apple. “It was Aphrodite’s divine gift that helped me. But it wasn’t just about winning. I admire your strength and spirit.”

The two, brought together by the race and respect for each other, eventually married and began new adventures together.

Moral of the Story: The story of Atalanta and the footrace teaches us that sometimes wit and cleverness can overcome sheer strength.

A short moral story

 THE FOOLISH OLD FROG

Once upon a time, there was an old frog which was called the Foolish Old Frog. His most prominent character trait was his extremely low intelligence. He had difficulty with just about everything. He always acted in a silly manner that made everyone laugh at him. They considered him a moron and a worthless creature.

Despite his low intelligence, the frog was very kind-hearted, as he often went out of his way to help others, even if he was sometimes oblivious to their problems. He was generous and compassionate.

One day, the king decided to hold a quiz competition among the top five smartest animals. He called all the animals in the kingdom and asked them to select five contestants known for their intelligence.

The Wise Dolphin was the first contestant selected for the competition. The second was the Smart Chimpanzee. The third was the Intelligent Wolf. The fourth was the Brilliant Squirrel.

Now, some animals wanted to mock and ridicule the old frog, so they chose him as the fifth contestant. They all laughed at him heartlessly and began to mumur,

"He is such a fool! He is an old fool! He will never be able to answer the question correctly! He will be humiliated! Hahaha!"

When the five contestants were ready, the king came up and promised that whichever animal won the quiz would be given a huge sum of money as a prize. An amount that could change their life forever.

At that moment, he asked the question,

"Which mammal is known to have the most powerful bite in the world?"

All the contestants became terribly confused. For several minutes, none was able to get the correct answer. They tried and tried, but all to no avail. Just then, the old frog screamed,

"Hippopotamus!"

The king smiled broadly and exclaimed,

"Wow... correct! You won the quiz!"

The animals were surprised and could not believe it. They suddenly felt ashamed of looking down on the old frog. They felt so guilty that they asked for his forgiveness.

Later on, an animal approached the old frog and asked,

"Tell me, how did you know the correct answer to the quiz question?"

He answered,

"I didn't know the answer. It was just luck. I noticed the hippopotamus was eating my cake, so I screamed his name for him to stop."

MORAL LESSON:

Don't mock or look down on anyone for whatever they are. You may think you've seen it all, but luck and chance are capable of changing a person's life forever!

HUMOROUS SHORT STORY

All for a loincloth

A hermit lived in a little hut on the bank of a river. His only possession was a loincloth.

Every day after his morning dip in the river he would hang his loincloth out to dry.

One afternoon he found that a rat had made a hole in the loincloth.

The next day the rat made another hole in it. The hermit went to the village and brought a cat. The rat fled. 

But now the hermit had to feed the cat and so whenever he went to the village to beg for food he would beg for milk too.

The people gave willingly but the hermit knew they could not really afford to give him milk every day. He decided to get a cow.

A rich man gave him one. Now the hermit did not have to beg for milk but he needed fodder for the cow. So he began to beg for fodder.

One day he thought, "Why not till the land around the hut? Then I won’t have to beg for fodder." So he began to till the land.

The yield was so great he had to hire labourers to help him. Then he thought, "I spend all my time supervising the labour. If I had a wife she could help me in this task." So he married. And had children. In course of time he became a wealthy landowner. 

One day a man asked him why he had given up his simple life to become a landowner and a householder.

He said, "It was the only way I could keep my  loincloth," said the former hermit sadly.

STORY

The elephant that was captured twice 

There was a huge elephant who lived in the Vindhya Hills. He had enormous tusks that looked like the thunderbolts of heaven.

One day, the elephant was caught in an iron trap laid by an elephant catcher. The animal tried to break out of the trap for three days but failed. The elephant catcher watched him from a distance. In great suffering, the elephant opened his mouth wide and uttered a roar like thunder. Then, he exerted the force of his tusks and managed to break out of the trap. 

The hunter who was watching this from far away, climbed a tall palm tree. When the elephant passed under the tree, the hunter jumped down, aiming to land on its head. Unfortunately, he missed and landed on the ground near the elephant's feet. The elephant could have easily trodden over the hunter, but it thought that was not bravery to trample over a fallen enemy. It kindly spared the life of the hunter and made his way back into the forest. 

After the elephant had gone away, the hunter slowly got up from the ground. He was relieved to see himself alive and surprised to note that despite the fall from the palm tree, he was unhurt. He felt sorry that his attempt to capture the elephant had failed. He felt like a treasure seeker who had seen the treasure only to see it slip away from him. He decided to try again. He roamed the jungle and finally found the elephant resting under a shady tree. The hunter dug a circular ditch near that place. He covered it with green branches and leaves. 

One day, the elephant was roaming in the jungle when he came to the ditch. Due to the branches and leaves, he could not see it. As soon as he stepped on them, he fell headlong. The pit was deep, and the elephant was trapped. It remained trapped there till it died. 

The elephant died because it did not kill the cruel hunter the first time. If the elephant had put an end to him, it would not have fallen into the deep pit. However, at that time, the animal was happy just at the thought of getting back its freedom. It did not think about the root cause of the problem, the hunter, and did not do anything about him. 

The lesson for us is that when we make a mistake, we must learn from it and make sure the root cause is removed so that we don’t commit it again, as the proverb says, 'to stumble twice against the same stone is a disgrace'.

THE FOLKTALE FROM MYANMAR

The Magic Powder

 

Once upon a time, in a little village on the banks of the Irrawaddy river, there lived a young woman called Thuza. She was very happily married to handsome young Theingi.

But there was one problem that nagged Thuza – her husband believed he was an alchemist and would spend all his time dreaming about ways to turn dirt into gold.

All day, and for days on end, Theingi spent his time in experiments, searching for a breakthrough. Soon, all their money was over, and young Thuza had to struggle to buy food for the two of them. She became very worried. 

“You should find a job soon,” she pleaded with her husband. “We cannot continue like this!”

But Theingi wouldn’t listen. 

“I’m on the verge of a breakthrough! Why do I have to work when we will be rich beyond our wildest dreams? We will soon be able to turn all the dirt we find into gold!”

Disheartened, Thuza approached her father, wise old Thet, for a solution. Thet was surprised when he heard that his son-in-law was an alchemist. He thought for a while and asked to see Theingi. Thuza returned home happily that day, for she knew her wise father would have a solution.

The next day, Theingi arrived at his father-in-law’s house, fully prepared for a scolding. He was taken by surprise when Thet took him aside and whispered, “When I was young like you, I was an alchemist too!”

The two of them spent the whole afternoon discussing Theingi’s work. Finally, the old man stood up and said, “Why Theingi, you’ve done everything exactly like I did when I was your age! You are definitely on the verge of a breakthrough! Congratulations! But you seem to be lacking one very important ingredient in your experiments. You will need this when you finally turn dirt to gold. Only recently did I discover this. But I am too old for this task. It requires enormous effort…”

“Then let me do it for you, Father!” cried Theingi. He was really excited. All his efforts would pay off at last. “Tell me what the ingredient is!”

“Good, you are excited!” said Thet. 

He leaned closer and whispered, “Son, the secret ingredient is a silver powder that is found only on banana leaves. You will have to plant the bananas yourself and cast certain spells on them. Then, as the plants grow, the powder on the leaves will gain magical powers.”

“How much of this powder will we need, Father?” asked Theingi excitedly.

“A kilo,” replied Thet.

“A kilo!” cried Theingi. “That would require hundreds of banana plants!”

“I’m afraid so, Son,” said the old man. “That is why I can’t complete the task myself…”

“Don’t lose heart, Father!” said Theingi. “I shall!”

Later that evening, the old man taught his son-in-law the magic spells and loaned him the money to start the work.

The very next day, Theingi bought a small field near his home and cleared it. Just as he had been instructed, he dug the ground himself and planted the saplings after carefully chanting the magic spells. Every day he went to the field and examined the saplings. He kept the weeds and pests away diligently. When the plants grew and bore fruit, he carefully collected the silver powder from the leaves and kept it safely in a box.

There was hardly any powder on each leaf, so Theingi had to buy more land and grow more bananas. But he was determined to do what was needed. It took him several years, but at the end of it all, he had managed to collect enough of the magic powder. He rushed to his father-in-law, excited as never before. He would soon be able to make gold from mere dirt!

“Father, finally… here is the kilo of magic powder!” he cried. The old man was filled with joy. “Wonderful!’’ he said. “Wonderful! You’ve done well, Theingi. I’m proud of you. Now I will show you how to turn dirt into gold. But first, let’s get Thuza. We need her help.” Theingi was a little puzzled, but without losing any time, he ran to his wife and was soon back with her.

“Thuza,” asked the old man, “what did you do with the bananas when your husband was collecting the powder?”

“Why, I sold them, Father,” replied Thuza. “That’s how we earned a living.”

“Then you must have been able to save some money too. Theingi grew more than enough bananas…” the old man continued.

“Yes, I did,” replied Thuza.

“Can we see it?” asked Thet.

“Of course, I have kept it safely at home,” beamed Thuza.

The three of them went to Theingi’s house where Thuza produced several bags from the loft where she had kept them safely. Thet opened one of the bags, peered inside, and smiled. He then emptied one of the bags on the table. Gold coins tinkled as they fell in a huge, shiny heap. Then he went to the field and came back with a handful of dirt, which he placed next to the heap of gold. 

“You see, Theingi,” he said, turning to his son-in-law, “you have changed dirt into gold!”

Never after that day did Theingi collect any more magic powder from the leaves. But he continued to grow bananas. His “alchemist” father-in-law had taught him the best way to turn dirt into gold, after all. He didn’t need the magic powder any more.

STORY TIME

The wise farmer and the magic pot

Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a poor but wise farmer. One day, while working in the field, he found a strange pot buried in the ground. To his surprise, the pot had magical powers. Whatever he placed inside it would double! The farmer used the pot wisely, placing seeds, grains and even money inside and soon he became prosperous. 

However, the farmer never let greed take over. He continued to help his neighbours and shared his newfound wealth with the village. Hearing about the pot, a greedy man from the village tried to steal it, but when he placed his hand inside, his greed caused the pot to trap him. The wise farmer, seeing this, warned everyone that greed leads to downfall. 

Moral: Use your blessings wisely and never let greed take over, for it can lead to your ruin. 

A NATIVE AMERICAN FOLK TALE

 Why do owls stare?

An owl and a pigeon were friends. One day, the owl began boastfully, “I think there are more owls than pigeons.” 

The pigeon laughed, “You must be joking! We pigeons can easily outnumber you.”

The owl frowned haughtily and said, “I challenge you to a count!” 

“Done!” cooed the pigeon. 

“But, first, let’s decide where the count will be held. After all, we’ll need plenty of perching space.”

The owl thought for a while and said, “How about the Big Woods? It has lots of trees.”

“Fine,” agreed the pigeon. “Go and inform all the owls and I’ll gather my flock. You have a week’s time. On the seventh day, an hour after sunrise, all owls and pigeons have to be there. Latecomers will not be counted.”

“Agreed,” hooted the owl and flew off to spread the news of the challenge.

A week passed and on the seventh day, the owls arrived at sunrise. They swooped down on Big Woods and occupied several trees.

“Toowit, toowit! Looks like the pigeons forgot to wake up,” they hooted joyfully.

Suddenly, the sky darkened as huge clouds rumbled over the woods from all four directions. The owls stared in shock as they realised that the clouds were actually pigeons. Thousands of pigeons swooped down, blocking the sunlight. They perched on the trees, pushing the owls together. Branches snapped, unable to take the weight of so many pigeons at once. The owls forgot to blink and started moving their heads from side to side in surprise. Their eyes grew wider and wider as the pigeons just kept coming in hordes.

Nervous about being squashed by the pigeons, the owls finally flew up into the sky. 

Since then, owls travel only at night when pigeons are fast asleep. And they stare at everything around them, watching out for pigeons. 

FROM THE PAGES OF SACRED TEXTS

Friendship in Indian mythology

Today is that day of the year when bonds between two friends are celebrated with pomp and show. A friend in need is a friend indeed is a proverb that says a true friend is someone who supports you through difficult times, guards you from harm, and acts as your compass when you’re feeling down to show the proper path. There are plenty of examples in the modern world of people going above and beyond to support their friends. However, what about Indian mythology and sacred texts?

 

Krishna and Arjuna were cousins. The latter’s mother was Kunti, Krishna’s aunt. However, their bond went beyond just kinship. Their friendship had been intimate. One’s gestures made the other person easier to understand. The Mahabharata claims that Krishna and Arjun are the human and divine forms that, when united, are capable of defeating evil. The highlight of their friendship story is when Krishna reads Arjun the Bhagavad Geeta. Even though Arjun was a strong warrior, he was moved to tears when he saw his family at the battlefield. He objected to the triumph being achieved at the expense of millions of lives. Arjun wanted to leave the battlefield. Krishna, however, encouraged him and also shared the divine knowledge. 

Lord Rama received assistance from the monkey king in his search for Devi Sita. Following Sita’s abduction by the demon king Ravana, Rama was forced to search the woods for his spouse. Then, in the course of this search, he came across Sugreev. Given that Sugreev was half human and half monkey, it is unlikely that anyone could have guessed that Rama would make friends with a monkey. And because of their peculiar affinity, he first kept Sugreeva safe from Bali, and the latter later demonstrated his loyalty by standing shoulder to shoulder with Rama to bring his wife back.

Karna, although born a Kshyatria, was raised by a charioteer and his wife, so he was considered a Shudra’s child. The Pandavas humiliated this warrior as he attempted to participate with Arjun. Despite being presented as bad for the most part, Duryodhan here stood for justice. He eventually loses in his attempt to have Karna compete, but as a token of his goodwill, he grants Karna the throne in the Anga province of his empire. Karna always treated Duryodhan as a true friend, despite the possibility that he intended to use Karna to accomplish his evil scheme against the Pandavas. He helped Duryodhan in whatever he did, even going so far as to continuously protect the life of his one and only friend. No wonder, when Kunti asked him to switch sides, Karna argued that he could never leave Duryodhan because he only had one true friend.

The pure and lovely friendship between Lord Krishna and Draupadi broke the notion that a male and female cannot be friends. There is no comparison to the way Draupadi would refer to Lord Krishna as ‘Sakha’ or how dependent she was on him. In order to tend to Lord Krishna’s cut finger, Draupadi sliced a piece of her clothing, demonstrating her concern for Krishna. Later, during the game of dice, the Pandavas lost their kingdom to the Kauravas, their cousins. As a result of their defeat, Draupadi was dragged into the assembly hall, and Dushasan, one of the Kaurava brothers, attempted to disrobe her in front of the entire court. However, Draupadi called out to Lord Krishna for help. Krishna, who was her dear friend and devotee, heard her prayers and came to her aid. It is believed that as Dushasan tried to disrobe Draupadi, her saree garment seemed to have no end, and Krishna miraculously protected her modesty by ensuring that the saree never ran out.

Krishna and Sudama were childhood buddies. Sudama once ate the butter on his own because he was the tall friend who was responsible for stealing it from the pot and would end up getting a less share. Another story says that they became good friends when they were studying in gurukul. One day Sudama ate all the food (beaten rice) alone given by his Guru's wife leaving Krishna hungry when they had gone to the forest to get firewood. He eventually got poorer. So much so that at one point of time he had little to eat. On being repeatedly asked by his wife, Sudama finally arrived at Krishna’s kingdom, Dwarka to get some assistance. However, the palace guards forbade him from entering, but Krishna saw him as a childhood friend and invited him inside. After seeing his condition, Krishna assisted his buddy in constructing a mansion for himself. With his approval, Sudama amassed wealth and led a contented life. In the face of any relationship, their friendship teaches us the value of unconditional love.

STORY

The Judgement of Maharaja

Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab set out on a journey. He was accompanied by his bodyguards, courtiers, and a retinue of soldiers.

Suddenly a stone came through the air and hit his head. He began to bleed. Injuring an emperor was one of the most heinous crimes and invited punishment up to the death penalty. 

Now the question arose—who might have flung the stone? The commander of the army looked around for the culprit. All others too were pressed into action. Very soon they discovered an old lady standing under a tree. 

They brought her to Maharaja and said, "Your highness, this is the culprit who might have thrown that stone at your head. There is no one else present in the vicinity." 

The old woman was trembling with terror. The situation was tense. 

Maharaja asked her, "Did you throw the stone?"

She replied in a meek and fumbling voice, "Yes, Your Highness, I did throw." 

"Why did you do so?" Maharaja asked. 

She pleaded, "I am extremely poor. I have nothing to eat at home, and for the past two days I have been forced to starve. My boy is hungry too. I wanted to get something, at least for the boy. I saw a tree laden with some fruits. I threw some stones to get a few fruits. To my dismay, I suddenly realised that the stone had taken the wrong direction and hurt you in the head. This is the truth. Now, your highness may be pleased to decide the quantum of my punishment."

The Maharaja immediately asked his cashier to give her sufficient food, along with a thousand rupees, and release her with due respect. 

All the people present there were flabbergasted by this judgement. They were wondering—is it a punishment or a reward? In fact, she deserved no less than the death penalty. They couldn’t understand how someone who had injured the Maharaja could merit such a reward. Was this not an irony of fate?! But they had no choice but to keep quiet. 

Maharaja understood their predicament and said, "You all know that if a stone is thrown at a tree it gives sweet fruits in return. If a lifeless tree behaves so, how can I punish her with bitter fruits? It cannot be so. Therefore, bestow her with proper rewards and release her with due respect."

From this, one can easily infer how a wise judge or jury should pronounce a judgement according to time, clime, situation, and the person involved.

AFRICAN STORY

"This is good"

An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" to which the king replied, "No, this is not good!" and ordered him to be sent to jail. 

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should never have entered. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to it. As they were about to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way. 

As he returned home, the king was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. 

"You are right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. 

"And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad of me to do this."

"No," his friend replied, "This is good! If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you."

ON THE OCCASION OF GURU POURNIMA

 Story of Upamanyu

    The great sage Dhaumya had many disciples,  Upamanyu was one of them. 

   One day, the sage decided to test Upmanyu's devotion and asked him, "You look very healthy, what do you eat?" 

   In those days, sages and their disciples used to beg for food and alms. Upmanyu calmly replied, "I eat the food that I get by begging. " 

   On hearing this, The sage instructed Upmanyu not to consume any food that he received as alms without asking for his permission first. Upmanyu was very obedient and from the next day itself, he offered everything that he received to the sage. The sage took away all the food and gave nothing to Upmanyu.

   After a few days, the sage noticed that Upmanyu still looked very healthy. The sage then asked him, "I take away all the food that you get, so what do you eat?" Upmanyu explained that he offered the sage everything, and that he ate what he got the second time he went begging. The sage scolded Upmanyu and ordered, "You shouldn't beg twice, because then there will be nothing left for other students. You should not be greedy." Upmanyu obediently followed what his teacher said.

   After some days, the sage noticed that Upmanyu still looked hale and hearty and asked him, "You still look healthy, what do you eat these days?" Upmanyu replied saying, "When I take the cows out to graze, I drink some of the milk that they give." The sage immediately forbade Upmanyu from having milk from the cows. As usual, Upmanyu followed his teacher's instructions.

   However Upmanyu's health still did not suffer. The sage approached him again after a few days and asked him what he ate. Upamanyu promptly replied that he ate the foam that the calves produced after having milk from the cows. The sage told Upmanyu that this would affect the health of the calves and he should not do so. Upmanyu followed his Guru's advice.

   The next day, when Upmanyu took the cows for grazing as usual, he felt very hungry. When he couldn't control his hunger anymore, he ate the leaves of a plant called Aak. The leaves of this plant were very poisonous and Upmanyu became blind. He kept wandering in the forest and then fell into a well. 

   When Upamanyu did not return in the evening, the sage was worried and went with disciples to look for Upmanyu. Finally they found him, the sage heard how Upmanyu had been blinded, he asked him to pray to the Ashwin Kumars, the physicians of the Gods, and request them to restore his eyesight. Soon, the Ashwini Kumars appeared and gave Upmanyu a medicine but he said that he would not eat anything without his Guru's permission. The Ashwini Kumars tried their best to convince Upmanyu to have the medicine but Upmanyu said that he would rather stay blind forever than disobey the orders of the sage.

   The Gods were impressed by Upmanyu's love, respect, and devotion for his teacher and blessed him. They restored his eyesight.

   Upmanyu was pulled out of the well. Rishi Dhaumya was also very pleased with Upamanyu and told him that he had passed the test. The sage blessed Upmanyu and gave him a boon that he wouldn't need to learn religious texts but would know them automatically.

STORY TIME

Why the stork is white

     At the beginning of time, when the world had just been created, all the birds were white in colour. Unfortunately, some birds were always victimising the others and since both were white, the perpetrators of the crimes could never be identified and punished. So, the weak birds continued to have their eggs robbed, their meals snatched and their nests taken over by their aggressive fellow birds.

     One day, the victim birds decided to protest to the Creator. They went to Him in a delegation and complained of the terrible life they led. The Creator was aghast, since he had just then been patting himself on the back for creating such a wonderful world.

“Let me think about it,” the Creator replied, running his fingers through his grey beard.

     After some time, he shouted, “Eureka! I’ve got the solution. I’ll give each species a different set of colours.”

     And this is what he did. As every bird preened itself, showing off its gorgeous hues, there was suddenly a great commotion. There was a late arrival. It was the stork.

“Why are you late?” thundered the Creator, his eyes flashing lightning.

“I–I–I overslept,” mumbled the stork, blushing pink.

“Ha!” exclaimed the Creator. “You don’t lie very well. What were you really upto?”

The stork broke down. “I am sorry. But I was stealing shrimps in the lake,” said the stork, breathless with tears.

“Stealing shrimps?” boomed the Creator. “You know that stealing is forbidden in my world!”

The stork was silent. The other birds fell silent, too.

“Your punishment,” announced the Creator, “is that your feathers shall forever remain white. Then you will be visible at all times, and cannot indulge in your thieving habits!”

And that is why the stork has such dazzling white feathers. But has it stopped stealing? Just ask the shrimps!

MORAL STORY

Half knowledge is dangerous!

     An Aeroplane cleaner was cleaning the Pilot's cockpit, when he saw a book titled, "HOW TO FLY AN AEROPLANE FOR BEGINNERS (Volume 1)

     He opened the first page which said: "To start the engine, press the red button...". He did so, and the airplane engine started...

     He was happy and opened the next page...:

     "To get the airplane moving, press the blue button... "He did so, and the plane started moving at an amazing speed...

     He wanted to fly, so he opened the third page which said: To let the airplane fly, please press the green button... "He did so and the plane started to fly...

     He was excited...!!

     After twenty minutes of flying, he was satisfied, and wanted to land, so he decided to go to the fourth page... and page four says; "To be able to know how to land a plane, please purchase Volume 2 at the nearest bookshop!"

*Moral Lesson*

Never attempt anything without complete information. Half Education is not only dangerous but destructive!

A STORY FROM PANCHATANTRA

The Sly Cat

 

An eagle, a cat and a sow (female pig) all lived in the same tree. The eagle had made its nest on the topmost branches, the cat and her kittens lived in a hollow halfway down the tree, and the sow lived at the foot of the tree.

One day the cat said to the eagle, "Be careful! I've heard the sow is planning to raid your nest while you are away and carry away your chicks to feed to her piglets." 

The eagle turned pale and from the next day on stopped going out to hunt. Then the sly cat said to the sow, "Have you noticed? The eagle has stopped going out. I've heard she's planning to feed your helpless piglets to her chicks while you're away. Be warned!"

The sow too stopped going out to feed. In a few days the young ones of both the eagle and the sow died of hunger. The sorrowing parents went away and the cat and her family had a feast.

Moral: Beware of mischief-makers.

ZEN TALE

Walking on water 

Once, three young monks sat on the bank of a river in meditation. The youngest of the monks said, "I'd be able to concentrate better if I could sit on my prayer mat." He got up and walked across the river to fetch his prayer mat from the hermitage. 

The seniormost monk said, "I can't believe it! When did he learn to walk on water?"

Just then, the other monk got up with a start. "Oh, no! I've left my laundry in the bucket! If I don't hang them up to dry, I shan't have dry clothes to change into!" And he too ran across the river to the hermitage. 

"He can walk on water too!" said the astonished seniormost monk. "Well, if those two can, surely I should be able to do it too."

He stepped into the river but his feet went right through the water. He would have drowned if the other two monks hadn't come to his rescue. 

Feeling humiliated, he left the monastery. Subsequently he got married and had children. 

Then one day, he took his family to see the old monastery. 

Father! Father! Look at that monk walking across the river!" shouted his son excitedly. 

"Yes my son, the monks here are able to walk on water."

When the monk reached the bank, the boy ran to him. 

"Please will you teach me to walk on water?" he asked. 

The monk burst out laughing. "All right, but make sure you follow my steps carefully!" he said. 

The little boy caught hold of the monk's hand and grabbed his robe from behind with the other. Then very carefully, he put his leg in the river just as he saw the monk do, and stepping on the pathway of stones just below the surface, he walked across to the other side. 

STORY

Prayer for contentment

 

Once Lord Vishnu was very much pleased with the tapasya (penance) of a devotee and said, "I shall grant you three requests."

The elated devotee did not hesitate, "Here is my first request," he said, "I want my wife to die so I can marry a better woman." His wish was immediately granted. 

But when his friends and relatives gathered for the funeral and began to recall the virtues of his wife, the devotee saw he had been hasty. So he asked the Lord to bring her back to life. 

That left him with just one more petition. He was determined not to make a mistake this time, for there would be no chance to change it. He consulted widely. 

Some advised him to ask for immortality. But what good was immortality, said others, if he did not have good health? And health if he had no money? And money if he had no friends?

Years passed and he had still not made his choice, life or health or wealth or power or love. Finally he said to the Lord, "Tell me what to ask for."

The Lord laughed when he saw the man's predicament, and said, "Ask to be content no matter what you get."

SHORT MORAL STORY

The foolish weaver

 

A weaver and his wife lived in a village. He went to the forest to get the wood he needed to repair his loom. As he began to chop the tree, a djinn appeared and asked him not to cut his abode. In return, the djinn offered to give anything that the weaver wanted. The weaver left the forest to discuss this with his wife. The greedy and dimwitted wife told the weaver to ask the djinn for an extra head and two extra hands so he could think more and work work more. 

The stupid weaver agreed and went back to the djinn, which immediately granted the wish. 

The weaver happily walked back to the village, where people thought him to be a monster and beat him to death. 

Moral: Lack of understanding, improper judgment and wrong decisions can lead to several missed opportunities and land anyone in trouble.