You see an old woman stumbling. She falls on the footpath. Do you run to help her or pretend not to have seen her? If you run to help her, you are doing the right thing. Your heart tells you what is right. You need not wait for your elders to tell you what to do. It is a story about doing the right thing.
Hans lived in a village in Holland. One day he walked along the road that led to the next village. This road ran by the sea. There was a high wall between the sea and the land. This special wall called the dyke. The dyke protected the village from flooding when the sea rose.
In the evening, as he was walking back home, dark clouds began gathering in the sky. Soon it began to rain. When he reached the dyke, it was raining heavily. Suddenly Hans saw sea water gushing on to the road through a crack in the dyke. He knew that this was dangerous. If the crack got wider, water would flood the village and the fields.
Hans was wet and cold. He wanted to go home. As there was no one else around, he knew ha had to do something to save the village. He tried to cover the crack with his palm. The force of the water pushed his hand again and again. He then stuffed some leaves and twigs from a tree into the crack and held them firmly with his hands. Now the water could not rush in.
After some time Hans grew tired. His arms ached. But he did not give up. He held on till the villagers came looking for him. Hans was hero to the villages because he had saved the village.
Understand
Very often, doing the right thing is difficult. It might seem easier not to do it, especially when we have not been told to do it. But we have a duty to over selves and to others. Often, to do the right thing, we might have to make a difficult choice.
You might be going to buy an ice ream when a poor woman asks you for money to buy medicines for her child. You know that the medicine is more important than the ice cream. So you give the money to the woman. You have made the right choice!
You can do the right thing if you understand what is fair. When you do the right thing you make others happy. In their happiness you will find joy.
FAMILY PLANNING
For the past two decades, a serious thought about family planning has assumed the greatest importance of our country. In the past, India made a tremendous progress in industrial development. A strong base has already been laid for the progress of the country. On the other hand the speed with which our population is multiplying will one day bring a great turmoil for the country.
A few days back, Sharad Pawar announced, the price of sugar might rise by 6 rupees a kilo. Not only sugar, but the prices of all essential commodities has gone up dramatically. The government has not been able to regulate the prices as a result, the common man has suffered. The ongoing recession is one reason, however, our huge population is also a big problem. Unless the growth of population is checked, there will be a great impediment to the progress of the country. And without progress there caannot be prosperity.
In this context, family planning measures are most important. Family planning is understood to mean planning the size and the growth of the family to ensure a reasonable standard of living. As such, the standard of living in our country is poor as compared to the developed world. This is mainly because they have maintained a small family size.
Family planning lays emphasis on birth control on one hand and education and other amenities on the other. Our government is spending crores of rupees on the family planning programme. Various methods of birth control are being propagated through newspapers, radio, television, films and internet.
The social workers and doctors are paying visits to villages where the awareness of the problem is required to the greatest extent. The people must understand that unless the population is kept under check, India cannot march towards progress.
Unless people think for themselves and the size of their families and adopt adequate measures to check the growth of population, no amount of propaganda or education will be of any avail. Its the people who need to join hands to make a difference in the way we live today. A small family is always a happy family.
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NEIGHBOURS
Neighbours are one category of people who can either be a blessing or a curse. Since one cannot choose one’s neighbours, one can only regard it as a matter of luck to have neighbours who confirm to one’s standards of ‘good neighbourliness’.
Talking about myself, I would say that our neighbours are a mixed blessing for us. They can be very irritating at times, and at other times they can be very pleasant.
There are several ways in which they make themselves unpleasant. For instance, the family on the right side of our house owns two cars, and they seem to take great pleasure in parking their vehicles right in front of our gate. If we want to take out our car or even my bike, we have to invariably call them to shift their car. Soon after we have driven out, they would promptly park their car once again at the same spot. As a result, when our car has to be reparked, we have to blow the horn really loud till they come out once more to shift their vehicle. Our polite expressions of disapproval have either fallen on deaf ears or are jokingly set aside.
Another trait of theirs which we find most annoying is the unending curiosity about everything that is happening at our house. They seem to be more interested in what is going on in our house than in theirs! If there is a visiter, they would like to know who has come to meet and why, and at the same time convey their own impression of him by looking at his appearance. They know exactly the number of times our various relatives visit our place. My parents dare not to have a loud disagreement on any issue, because my dear neighbours are sure to hear it and pass it on to the neighbours down the lane in addition to their own comments. One can very well imagine what a monor argument would be blown into by the time it reached the end of the row of houses!
Another nuisance that we have to put up with is their furious dog who barks day in and day out and thinks a particular patch near our gate just the perfect place for its excreta. Confronting them with this is a useless exercise because, they always keep denying that it is the doing of their dog.
Then it is their love of music which can drive a sane man crazy. They believe, music can only be enjoyed when it is played at full volume and that too all through the day.
Them there are the mischievous little children who live down the lane, whose greatest joy of life is to ring the calling bell and run away. Sometimes we do not respond to the bell thinking that it is a prank, and later find a guest waiting outside.
These are some of the inconveniences that we have to put up with however, our neighbours are not totally a curse. There have been times when they have prooved to be a real blessing. There was the time when I had met with an accident on the road and reached home well past midnight. We called them on the phone and they fetched a doctor, and they were again there early in the morning to look me up and bring the medicines the doctor had prescribed in the middle of the night.
Another way in which I find them a great help is when there is no one at home. Then either I go over to their house, or they come down to our house to give me company. At times I have taken food and even slept at their house when there was no one at my place, this of course when I was small.
Yet again, the lady next door bakes really good cakes and cookies, and she often sends over generous helpings of these for us. Of course, we also reciprocate in the same manner when my mother prepares something special.
Yet another advantage is that we often exchange books, CDs and DVDs with our neighbours. Since we love reading and also visit different public libraries, we have a good time reading and exchanging ideas on various topics.
There have been times of sorrow, for instance when my grand father passed away. All of them gathered to help in important little ways till our relatives arrived. They helped to inform various friends and relatives, posted the cards and helped in the preparation of funeral and other rituals. No doubt, neighbours in need are great friends indeed.
There have been good times as well when the neighbours have given us good company. Not only company, they have also been of great help. They have been with us on our birthdays, marriages and other ceremonies. They have given us company when we celebrated Durga Puja, Dipawali and Holi. They have cheered for us during our successes and achievements.
Thus, our neighbours can be the most comforting of people, and also the most annoying. Our neighbours can be most helpful at times and at other times the most troublesome. They can be a pleasure and also a pain. On the whole, however, I would say they do make our life more interesting and worth living.
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It is nice to dress well but not all of us have costly dresses. There is no need to feel ashamed of your clothes as long as they are neat and clean. What is important is that you are a sincere, truthful and kind person. No matter how simple your dress, you will find many friends.
Dressing for a feast
This is a story about Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. He was very wise and had read many books. He set up many schools for boys and girls in India. Everyone loved and respected him. Vidyasagar was a simple man and he lived a very simple life. One day a rich man invited him to a feast. He went to the feast dressed in a simple dhoti, kurta and shawl. The watchman at the gate thought he was a poor man. `Go away,’ he said.
`This is a feast only for rich people’. Vidyasagar went home and changed his clothes. He wore trousers and a shirt. He put on a tie. Then he wore socks and shoes. This time the watchman saluted him and let him in.
Vidyasagar joined the gusts at dinner. But he did not eat. Instead he offered the food to his dress. Everyone was puzzled. The host asked, `what are you doing, Vidyasagarji?
The great man answered, `When I came here in simple clothes, I was not allowed inside. But when I came in these clothes, I was let in. I thought it was the dress that you had invited. So I am feeding the dress!
The host said, `I am sorry! We respected you for what you are, not for what your wear!’
Understand
It is important to be grandly dressed. The important thing is to be neat, clean, and simple and think good thoughts.
There are many reasons to be simple in dress and lifestyle. If you spend all you time trying to look grand, you will have less time for important things like studying, reading books, helping others or learning something new. Also, is it right for you to buy many costly dresses when a poor child might not have more than one? Instead of using your money to buy many things only for yourself, you could use it help others. You must use your time, energy and money wisely. The best way to do this is to live simply and help others who have less than you.
In a lecture ,SRimati Mangayarkarasi alluded to some events in his life that established his realised state in unmistakable terms.As a boy when he grew up under the surveillance of his elder brother , his latent wisdom became known in an accidental manner when he substituted for his brother at a lecture because his brother had unexpectedly taken ill.Belying all expectations , the young boy spoke with great profundity and held the entire audience spell bound.
He was able to express in simple terms the truth and philosophy of life that scriptures strive to explain.Hence , despite the mystic strain in his works ,the spiritual stirrings make a atrong impact to rouse realisation.Every living being is the result of the yoking of the scientist(self) with the insentient(body)and this truth is well explained in the analogyof a bullock-cart. Even as one who drives the cart chooses the length and time of the run , every life span is well determined to precision .The saint strongly advised people to speak of the glory of the lord Which is the only everlasting feature.He understood his role as an instrument of Lord Muruga to spread His message and hence always remained humble.
He propagated sanmarga,the path that tried to do away with the difference of caste that had spread much ill-will and misery among the people.
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