There were two temples in Japan that were traditionally antagonistic to each other. For centuries they had been fighting, arguing against each other’s theology. Both the temples had two old priests, and two young boys to serve their small needs. Both the old monks had told the boys, ”You should not talk with the other boy. We are not on talking terms; we are traditional enemies.” But boys are boys. They wanted to play with each other. In that lonely forest, far away from the nearest village, they were the only two persons who could have some communication with each other. One day, one boy dared to disobey the old monk. He stood by the road. He knew that every day the other boy would also come out of the temple to go to the market to fetch vegetables and other things. The boy came. The first boy asked him – very friendly – ”Where are you going?” But the other boy said, ”Wherever the winds take me.”
The answer was not a friendly one; the answer was not to start a conversation. The boy just said this and moved away. The first boy felt very bad and he thought that his master was right: ”These people are very ugly. I was asking a simple question and he is talking metaphysics.” He went to the temple and said to the master, ”Please forgive me, I disobeyed you and I have been punished already.”
The master listened and he said, ”Don’t be worried. Tomorrow you stand at the same place and when the boy answers you by saying ‘Wherever the winds take me’ ask him: ‘If the winds are not blowing, then?’ You have to stop him, you have to defeat him. It is a question of our prestige.” Early in the morning the boy was ready – he had repeated many times what he had to say – and then he asked, as the boy was approaching near, ”Where are you going?” And the boy said, ”Wherever my legs take me.”
Now this was too much! He had crammed his answer the whole night, and now the answer is absolutely irrelevant! With great anger he went to the master and he said, ”Those people are really cunning. They are not people to be relied upon, they change their answers.” The master said, ”I had told you before, but now you have started an unnecessary trouble. Tomorrow you stand there again, and when he says, ‘Wherever my legs take me’ you ask him, ‘If you had no legs, then?’”
Ready with the answer, again the same situation; the boy asked, ”Where are you going?” and the other boy said, ”To fetch some vegetables from the market.”
The game of Akbar and Birbal
There is a beautiful story. Whether it is factual or not does not matter; its beauty is in its meaning. One of the greatest emperors India has known was the Mogul emperor, Akbar.
One day he was in his court talking with his courtiers. He had collected the best people in the country – the best painter, the best musician, the best philosopher, the best poet. He had a small, special committee of nine members who were known as the nine jewels of Akbar’s court.
The most important of them was a man called Birbal. Immensely intelligent and a man of great sense of humor, he did something which was improper to do in front of the emperor. Every emperor has his own rules – his word is the law – and Birbal behaved against something about which Akbar was very stubborn. Akbar immediately slapped Birbal. He respected Birbal, he loved Birbal, he was his most intimate friend, but as far as the rules of the court were concerned... he could not forgive. But what Birbal did is the real story. He did not wait for a single moment; he immediately slapped the man who was standing on his other side. The other man was shocked, and even Akbar was shocked. He used to think that this man is very wise: Is he mad, or what? I have slapped him... This is strange, absolutely absurd and illogical.
And the other man was standing there shocked and Birbal said, ”Don’t stand there like a fool, just pass it on!” So that man slapped somebody else who was standing by the side – and now the game became clear: you have to pass it on. In the night, when Akbar went to sleep with his wife, his wife slapped him. He said, ”What is the matter?” She said, ”It has been going on around the city, and finally it has reached to its original source. Somebody else has slapped me, and when I asked, ‘What is the matter?’, I was told that this is the game Akbar has started. I thought it is better to finish it, to complete the circle.”
And the next day, first thing, Birbal asked, ”Have you received my slap back or not?” Akbar said, ”I had never thought that this would happen!” Birbal said, ”I was absolutely certain, because where will it go finally? It will go around the city. You cannot escape; it is bound to come to you.”
One day he was in his court talking with his courtiers. He had collected the best people in the country – the best painter, the best musician, the best philosopher, the best poet. He had a small, special committee of nine members who were known as the nine jewels of Akbar’s court.
The most important of them was a man called Birbal. Immensely intelligent and a man of great sense of humor, he did something which was improper to do in front of the emperor. Every emperor has his own rules – his word is the law – and Birbal behaved against something about which Akbar was very stubborn. Akbar immediately slapped Birbal. He respected Birbal, he loved Birbal, he was his most intimate friend, but as far as the rules of the court were concerned... he could not forgive. But what Birbal did is the real story. He did not wait for a single moment; he immediately slapped the man who was standing on his other side. The other man was shocked, and even Akbar was shocked. He used to think that this man is very wise: Is he mad, or what? I have slapped him... This is strange, absolutely absurd and illogical.
And the other man was standing there shocked and Birbal said, ”Don’t stand there like a fool, just pass it on!” So that man slapped somebody else who was standing by the side – and now the game became clear: you have to pass it on. In the night, when Akbar went to sleep with his wife, his wife slapped him. He said, ”What is the matter?” She said, ”It has been going on around the city, and finally it has reached to its original source. Somebody else has slapped me, and when I asked, ‘What is the matter?’, I was told that this is the game Akbar has started. I thought it is better to finish it, to complete the circle.”
And the next day, first thing, Birbal asked, ”Have you received my slap back or not?” Akbar said, ”I had never thought that this would happen!” Birbal said, ”I was absolutely certain, because where will it go finally? It will go around the city. You cannot escape; it is bound to come to you.”
How smart are our evil-doers ?
I am talking about entire range of bad people, from smallest to the most giant possible on any part of earth. These people may have few advantages - power, status, money, situations, compulsion of others, sharper intelligence, better physique etc etc. What I want to say is that "are these kinds of advantages enough to escape the evils committed". Let's see it the way you may have not expected.
The nearest star to our earth is alpha - centuari which is 4.365 light years away from us. That means it will take 4.365 years to reach light to this star.
Many of us know about light year. The distance travelled by light in one year. But there is a need to feel this distance. Light travels at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second. Our earth has circumference of 40,075 kilometers . That means light will revolve around the whole earth 7 times in just one second. Just imagine. So 1 light year comes out to be 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers.
Alpha-centuari is 4.365 light years away from us ~ forty-one trillion, two hundred ninety-six billion, eighty-eight million, five hundred twelve thousand, eight hundred fifteen kilometers (41,296,088,512,815.192 kms). And please do not forget that this star is the nearest star to us. Let's talk about the most distant object in the unverse known to us.
The most distant object known to us in universe is GRB 090423. This object is 13 billion light years (13,000,000,000 ly) away from us ~ 1.229894961435504e+23 kilometers i.e. approximately 122,989,496,143,550,400,000,000 kilometers. Try spelling it.
Again note that this is just the most distant known object. Our science is just a few hundred years old. And these facts are the results of that much work.
Suppose that an insect's height is 0.5 cm. And human's height be 180 cm. Then we are 360 times bigger than that insect. What's the existence of that insect with respect to us.
In the same way universal existence is trillions of trillions times bigger than a human. What is the value of a human. Very very close to nothing. In fact, I do not hesitate at all calling it exactly nothing.
Still, assuming of negligible advantages bad people go on committing evils very confidently. Do they have slightest idea of their nothingness with respect to the infinite universe. Infinite universe means infinite possibilities. And human lives just 70 years on a planet of just 6371 kilometers radius. What after that ? Infinite possibilities of outcomes of our deeds. Just 70 years, just think what these guys are dealing with. Utterly foolish mechanism of their mind. There is every possibility of things like reincarnation. Infinite types of infinite degrees of punishments are eagerly waiting for these bad guys.
How smart and confident are our evil-doers ? Come into senses please. Check out if you are doing something wrong. Please.
The nearest star to our earth is alpha - centuari which is 4.365 light years away from us. That means it will take 4.365 years to reach light to this star.
Many of us know about light year. The distance travelled by light in one year. But there is a need to feel this distance. Light travels at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second. Our earth has circumference of 40,075 kilometers . That means light will revolve around the whole earth 7 times in just one second. Just imagine. So 1 light year comes out to be 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers.
Alpha-centuari is 4.365 light years away from us ~ forty-one trillion, two hundred ninety-six billion, eighty-eight million, five hundred twelve thousand, eight hundred fifteen kilometers (41,296,088,512,815.192 kms). And please do not forget that this star is the nearest star to us. Let's talk about the most distant object in the unverse known to us.
The most distant object known to us in universe is GRB 090423. This object is 13 billion light years (13,000,000,000 ly) away from us ~ 1.229894961435504e+23 kilometers i.e. approximately 122,989,496,143,550,400,000,000 kilometers. Try spelling it.
Again note that this is just the most distant known object. Our science is just a few hundred years old. And these facts are the results of that much work.
Suppose that an insect's height is 0.5 cm. And human's height be 180 cm. Then we are 360 times bigger than that insect. What's the existence of that insect with respect to us.
In the same way universal existence is trillions of trillions times bigger than a human. What is the value of a human. Very very close to nothing. In fact, I do not hesitate at all calling it exactly nothing.
Still, assuming of negligible advantages bad people go on committing evils very confidently. Do they have slightest idea of their nothingness with respect to the infinite universe. Infinite universe means infinite possibilities. And human lives just 70 years on a planet of just 6371 kilometers radius. What after that ? Infinite possibilities of outcomes of our deeds. Just 70 years, just think what these guys are dealing with. Utterly foolish mechanism of their mind. There is every possibility of things like reincarnation. Infinite types of infinite degrees of punishments are eagerly waiting for these bad guys.
How smart and confident are our evil-doers ? Come into senses please. Check out if you are doing something wrong. Please.
Why stay with negative?
Charles Dickens wrote about a prisoner who stayed for many years in a dungeon.
After serving his sentence, he got his freedom. He was brought out from his cell into the bright daylight of the open world. This man looked all around and after a few moments was so uncomfortable with his newly acquired freedom that he asked to be brought back to his cell into confinement. To him, the dungeon, the chains and the darkness were more secure and comfortable than accepting the change of freedom and the open world.
After serving his sentence, he got his freedom. He was brought out from his cell into the bright daylight of the open world. This man looked all around and after a few moments was so uncomfortable with his newly acquired freedom that he asked to be brought back to his cell into confinement. To him, the dungeon, the chains and the darkness were more secure and comfortable than accepting the change of freedom and the open world.
Let's walk on water
A man came to Ramakrishna and said I can walk on water, what can you do? Ramakrishna said, you really can walk on water? How much time did it take for you to learn this art? He said, it took eighteen years.
Ramakrishna started laughing. He said, idiot of idiots! I give two cents to go across the river. You took eighteen years to walk across water? What’s the use? Go and walk on water, keep on walking. You really can walk on water, can’t you? Just give two cents to sit in a boat and you can go across. For this two cent crossing you wasted eighteen years?
Ramakrishna started laughing. He said, idiot of idiots! I give two cents to go across the river. You took eighteen years to walk across water? What’s the use? Go and walk on water, keep on walking. You really can walk on water, can’t you? Just give two cents to sit in a boat and you can go across. For this two cent crossing you wasted eighteen years?
David and Goliath
A giant was bullying and harassing the children in the village. One day, a 17-year-old shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked, "Why don't you stand up and fight the giant?" The brothers were terrified and they replied, "Don't you see he is too big to hit?" But David said, "No, he is not too big to hit, he is too big to miss."
The rest is history. We all know what happened. David killed the giant with a sling. Same giant, different perception.
Its inside not the appearance
A man was selling balloons at a fair. He had all colors of balloons, red, yellow, blue, and green. Whenever business was slow, he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air and when the children saw it go up, they all wanted to buy one. They would come up to him, buy a balloon, and his sales would go up again. He continued this process all day. One day, he felt someone tugging at his jacket. He turned around and saw a little boy who asked, "If you release a black balloon, would that also fly?"
Moved by the boy's concern, the man replied with empathy, "Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what is inside that makes it go up.
Altitude needs attitude
The Calgary Tower stands at 190.8 meters. The total weight of the tower is 10,884 tons, of which 6,349 tons is below ground (approximately 60%).
This shows that some of the greatest buildings have the strongest foundations. Just like a great building stands on a strong foundation, so does success. And the foundation of success is attitude.
This shows that some of the greatest buildings have the strongest foundations. Just like a great building stands on a strong foundation, so does success. And the foundation of success is attitude.
Forest school
Animals in a forest started a school. The students included a bird, a squirrel, a fish, a dog , a rabbit & a mental eel. A board was formed and it was decided that flying, tree climbing, swimming, and burrowing would be part of the curriculum in order to give a broad-based education. All animals were required to take all subjects.
The bird was excellent at flying and was getting A's but when it came to burrowing, it kept breaking its beak and wings and started failing. Pretty soon, it started making C's in flying and of course in tree climbing and swimming it was getting F's. The squirrel was great at tree climbing and was getting A's, but was failing in swimming. The fish was the best swimmer but couldn't get out of the water and got F's in everything else. The dog didn't join the school, stopped paying taxes and kept fighting with the administration to include barking as part of the curriculum. The rabbit got A's in burrowing but tree climbing was a real problem. It kept falling and landing on its head, suffered brain damage, and soon couldn't even burrow properly and got C's in that too. The mentally retarded eel, who did everything half as well became the valedictorian of the class.
The board was happy as everybody was getting a broad education. What a broad-based education really means is that the student is prepared for life, without losing their areas of specialization or competence.
The bird was excellent at flying and was getting A's but when it came to burrowing, it kept breaking its beak and wings and started failing. Pretty soon, it started making C's in flying and of course in tree climbing and swimming it was getting F's. The squirrel was great at tree climbing and was getting A's, but was failing in swimming. The fish was the best swimmer but couldn't get out of the water and got F's in everything else. The dog didn't join the school, stopped paying taxes and kept fighting with the administration to include barking as part of the curriculum. The rabbit got A's in burrowing but tree climbing was a real problem. It kept falling and landing on its head, suffered brain damage, and soon couldn't even burrow properly and got C's in that too. The mentally retarded eel, who did everything half as well became the valedictorian of the class.
The board was happy as everybody was getting a broad education. What a broad-based education really means is that the student is prepared for life, without losing their areas of specialization or competence.
Look for gold not dirt
A young Scots boy, Andrew Carnegie came to America and started doing odd jobs. He ended up as one of the largest steel manufacturers in the US. He had 43 millionaires working for him. Several decades ago, a million dollars used to be a lot of money; even today it is a lot of money. Someone asked Mr. Carnegie how he dealt with people?
Andrew Carnegie replied, "Dealing with people is like digging gold : When you go digging for an ounce of gold, you have to move tons of dirt to get an ounce of gold. But when you go digging, you don't go looking for the dirt, you go looking for the gold.
Andrew Carnegie replied, "Dealing with people is like digging gold : When you go digging for an ounce of gold, you have to move tons of dirt to get an ounce of gold. But when you go digging, you don't go looking for the dirt, you go looking for the gold.
Selective listening
A medical doctor was invited as a guest speaker to address a group of alcoholics. He wanted to make a demonstration that would be powerful enough to make people realize that alcohol was injurious to their health. He had two containers, one with pure distilled water and one with pure alcohol. He put an earthworm into the distilled water and it swam beautifully and came up to the top. He put another earthworm into the alcohol and it disintegrated in front of everyone's eyes. He wanted to prove that this was what alcohol did to the insides of our body. He asked the group what the moral of the story was and one person from behind said, "If you drink alcohol you won't have worms in your stomach." Was that the message? Of course not.
That was selective listening--we hear what we want to hear and not what is being said. Many of our blessings are hidden treasures--count your blessings and not your troubles.
That was selective listening--we hear what we want to hear and not what is being said. Many of our blessings are hidden treasures--count your blessings and not your troubles.
Woodcutter
Jo John, a woodcutter, worked for a company for five years but never got a raise. The company hired Bill and within a year he got a raise. This caused resentment in John and he went to his boss to talk about it. The boss said, "You are still cutting the same number of trees you were cutting five years ago. We are a result-oriented company and would be happy to give you a raise if your productivity goes up." John went back, started hitting harder and putting in longer hours but he still wasn't able to cut more trees.
He went back to his boss and told him his dilemma. The boss told John to go talk to Bill. "Maybe there is something Bill knows that you and l don't." John asked Bill how he managed to cut more trees. Bill answered, "After every tree l cut, l take a break for two minutes and sharpen my axe. When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" This question hit home like a bullet and John got his answer
He went back to his boss and told him his dilemma. The boss told John to go talk to Bill. "Maybe there is something Bill knows that you and l don't." John asked Bill how he managed to cut more trees. Bill answered, "After every tree l cut, l take a break for two minutes and sharpen my axe. When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" This question hit home like a bullet and John got his answer
Steamboat on hudson river
Robert Fulton invented the steamboat. On the banks of the Hudson River he was displaying his new invention.
The pessimists and the skeptics were gathered around to observe. They commented that it would never start. Lo and behold, it did. As it made its way down the river, the pessimists who said it would never go, started shouting that it would never stop.
What an attitude!
What an attitude!
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