Basker was a farmer. He lived in a small village. He had two sons, Mohan and Shyam. Mohan was very selfish and lazy. He spent his time sitting under a neem tree and ordering Shyam around. Shyam, on the other hand, was a hard-working simple boy. He did all the hard work of the house. He helped his father in the fields. As the years went by the two brothers got married. Everybody lived in the same house. Mohan still ordered Shyam, and Shyam still did all the work in the house.

Basker was an old man now. He hardly moved out of the house. One day he slipped in this room and fell down. He knew that was going to die soon. He called his two sons to distribute his property among them. Mohan, greedy as he was, started accusing is father that he had given all the time fertile land to Shyam, while only the barren land had come in this share. His younger brother quietly announced that all the fertile land be given to Mohan and he would be happy only with the land that had not produced a single grain for the past many years.

Shyam asked his parents to stay with him. His wife took care of them, while he worked very hard in the fields. He tilled the land and used a large amount of manure to make it fertile. He worked on the fields from morning till night. He discussed different ways of making the land fit for growing crops. He took the advice elders. Ultimately, after six months of preparing the ground for the crops, Shyam sowed the seeds. Everybody waited to see the outcome of his efforts. The crop was very good. Better than anyone’s expectations. After a year of working sincerely on the fields Shyam got a large sum of money by selling the crop in the market.

Mohan, on the other hand, did not take any interest in the fields. He employed laborers who did al the work for him. His wife was a lazy as he was. She did not take proper care of the house. They spent their time gossiping under the tree. What was the result of their laziness? The fields did not produce enough crops and the house was neglected.

Gradually Shyam, who had taken only barren land from his father, became a rich farmer and Mohan with fertile fields became a pauper. He had to sell of his fields in order to get some money for the house. How did this happen? Shyam worked hard with sincerity while Mohan depended on the other people to complete all his work. God has sent us in this world to do all our work sincerely. If we are sincere in our efforts, we will surely achieve success.

*Hard work and sincerity, hand in hand work like a magic wand.