Moral Stories

[Ramesh Ramnani]

जय सांई राम।।।

न देने वाला मन

एक भिखारी सुबह-सुबह भीख मांगने निकला। चलते समय उसने अपनी झोली में जौ के मुट्ठी भर दाने डाल लिए। टोटके या अंधविश्वास के कारण भिक्षाटन के लिए निकलते समय भिखारी अपनी झोली खाली नहीं रखते। थैली देख कर दूसरों को लगता है कि इसे पहले से किसी ने दे रखा है। पूर्णिमा का दिन था, भिखारी सोच रहा था कि आज ईश्वर की कृपा होगी तो मेरी यह झोली शाम से पहले ही भर जाएगी।

अचानक सामने से राजपथ पर उसी देश के राजा की सवारी आती दिखाई दी। भिखारी खुश हो गया। उसने सोचा, राजा के दर्शन और उनसे मिलने वाले दान से सारे दरिद्र दूर हो जाएंगे, जीवन संवर जाएगा। जैसे-जैसे राजा की सवारी निकट आती गई, भिखारी की कल्पना और उत्तेजना भी बढ़ती गई। जैसे ही राजा का रथ भिखारी के निकट आया, राजा ने अपना रथ रुकवाया, उतर कर उसके निकट पहुंचे। भिखारी की तो मानो सांसें ही रुकने लगीं। लेकिन राजा ने उसे कुछ देने के बदले उलटे अपनी बहुमूल्य चादर उसके सामने फैला दी और भीख की याचना करने लगे। भिखारी को समझ नहीं आ रहा था कि क्या करे। अभी वह सोच ही रहा था कि राजा ने पुन: याचना की। भिखारी ने अपनी झोली में हाथ डाला, मगर हमेशा दूसरों से लेने वाला मन देने को राजी नहीं हो रहा था। जैसे-तैसे कर उसने दो दाने जौ के निकाले और उन्हें राजा की चादर पर डाल दिया। उस दिन भिखारी को रोज से अधिक भीख मिली, मगर वे दो दाने देने का मलाल उसे सारे दिन रहा। शाम को जब उसने झोली पलटी तो उसके आश्चर्य की सीमा न रही। जो जौ वह ले गया था, उसके दो दाने सोने के हो गए थे। उसे समझ में आया कि यह दान की ही महिमा के कारण हुआ है। वह पछताया कि काश! उस समय राजा को और अधिक जौ दी होती, लेकिन नहीं दे सका, क्योंकि देने की आदत जो नहीं थी।

 अपना सांई प्यारा सांई सबसे न्यारा अपना सांई

ॐ सांई राम।।।

[fatima]

 

Once upon a time there lived a special kind of bird which had two necks and shared a common stomach.


One day, one of the heads found a jar of nectar and on seeing this other head also wanted to taste the nectar but the first neck refused to let it have it. Enraged, the other neck soon found a jar of poison and it consumed it. The poison reached the common stomach and both the necks perished.

.MORAL: Sharing of a good thing with others is always good

[fatima]

Once upon a time there lived a jackal that strayed into a city in search of food. He was hungry and was being chased by a group of dogs. He accidentally entered the house of a dyer and fell into a vat of indigo (blue), and was stained blue from head to toe. When he escaped from the house back into the forest, all animals were surprised at his appearance and could not place its identity. Taking advantage of the situation, the jackal decided to play the situation to his advantage. He proclaimed that he was Fierce Owl, sent by the king of Gods, Indra, to earth to guard the forest.

The gullible animals believed the jackal. The jackal then appointed the Lion as his Prime minister, tiger as his guardian of the bed chamber and the elephant was made the door keeper. He then drove all the jackals out of sight from the forest for fear of being recognized. The animals would hunt food and bring it to the self proclaimed king and the king would distribute the food to all equally just as a king would do. So he was leading a life of luxury.


One day a herd of jackals were passing by howling to their glory. Unable to control his natural instinct, Fierce Owl showed his natural voice and howled at the top of his voice. Hearing this howl, the animals realized that they had been fooled by a jackal and killed the jackal instantly.

 

MORAL: Excess of Greed is harmful.

[fatima]

  A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

  "We must do something about Grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
 
There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.
 
When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometime he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
 
The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
 
The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
Care and love your Parents as you would expect your children to love and care for you.

Remember, as you sow, so shall you reap, and regardless of your relationship with your Parents, you will miss them when they are gone.

[fatima]

In the kingdom of Naoda lived a poor shepherd named Balloo. He used to be paid in food and clothes only every day for grazing the cows of the village Kistopur where he lived.

One day a thief stole the temple bell and hid away on the nearby hilltop. He hung the bell in a cave where he did his stolen booty. One day a tiger saw him the in the forest nearby and devoured him.

 A group of monkeys lived on the trees near the cave. As we all know, the monkey is a very mischievous animal. Seeing the bell hanging in the cave, they started using it as a swing. In the process, the bell pealed loud and strong. After one would get fed up, another monkey would jump on the bell and swing on it. In this way the bell would ring the whole day.

A few villagers became curious and went up to find out this mysterious happening. As they reached the forest, they found the skeleton of the thief who had been killed by the tiger.

They all agreed that it was the job of a man eating giant and ran away. The word spread over the village and news reached the ling. They called it Rogue-Bell Ringer.

The Villagers were afraid and started fleeing from the village. The shepherd had no cattle to graze and started starving. He decided that it would be better to die than be hungry all the time but before dying he would fight the rogue.

He picked up of his staff and huge bad and started climbing the hillside. As he reached the cave on the hilltop, he shivered with fear but as he peeped inside, he burst out laughing on seeing the monkeys and their pranks. He had solved the riddle of the ringing bell.

He put all the treasure hidden in the cave inside the bag and then shooing away the animals, he pulled down the bell. Then carrying both, he reached the king's palace.

The king was very worried to hear of the villagers fleeing from the village and when he heard the truth from the shepherd, he was delighted. He praised him for his bravery and gave him a lot of wealth for his honesty.


LESSON: "Bravery is the quality of facing adversity even when you are mortally afraid."[/b]

[fatima]

THE MOUSE WHICH TURNED INTO A LION:

In a dense forest lived a great sage named Bhrigu Rishi. He lived a secluded life in a small shelter where he spent his days in prayer. A small mouse also lived near the shelter and over the years became a very pious and an ardent disciple of the sage.

Whenever Bhrigu sat deep in meditation or sang hymns in praise of God, the mouse would also sit near him and meditate. His only problem was that being a mouse, he was always in fear of his life from cats, dogs and vultures and this fear was biggest obstacle.

Bhrigu Rishi had been observing the mouse over the years and knew about his fear. Having pity on him, he decided to end this problem, once for all, by transforming the mouse in to a lion. He could then move boldly and meditate with peace.

The sage was a hermit with extraordinary powers, acquired over the years through his prayers and meditation. He could achieve or be blessed with whatever he desired by praying to God.

He started his meditation and when he reached the level of supernatural he prayed, " Oh God! The mouse is one of your ardent devotees, but his prayers are disturbed because he lives in fear all the time. I pray that you change him into a lion so that he can overcome this fear".

The almighty granted him this wish and the mouse became a lion. The surprising result of this was that his outlook was also transformed to the attributes of the jungle king. He would roam over the forest freely and all the other animals would bow and greet him fearfully. He has hailed as their leader.

Only the sage know of his original state of mouse and this reality made him treat him still like a mouse. This was resented by the 'mouse turned lion' because it would affect his dignity. Once the other animals know of it they would then ridicule and disrespect him. He decided to kill the sage, his benefactor, so that the secret was not revealed to others.

After being mentally prepared to do the killing, he rushed off to the hermitage.

Bhrigu Rishi had extraordinary powers and the moment he saw the lion rushing at him, he read his mind. This ungratefulness made him very angry and he transfixed lion with his stare.

As the lion stood trembling before the sage, he got reverted back to his original physical state of a mouse.

If the 'mouse turned lion' had not forgotten his earlier days and thought ill of his benefactor, he would not have been reverted back to mouse again.

Lesson: "Never be ungrateful to your benefactor. A person, who becomes rich or powerful and forgets his earlier periods of misery, is destined to stumble in life, again and again.]

[fatima]

   Karnapriya was the Prince of Thandar. He was an intelligent and handsome young man but all his wit failed when a snake bit him.

The Prince became dull and slowly turned dark complexioned and withered. The King and his Ministers were surprised one day to find him missing. After a lot of search they found him in the neighbouring kingdom dressed like an ascetic and living in the temple premises.

Karnapriya was spending his days in the service of God and ate whatever he received in his begging bowl.

The King here had two daughters who were also very pious. They came to the temple every morning and prayed. After prayers the elder princess would say, " Hail the King, who provides all that we need and deserve."

The younger Princess Kalawati would bow before the idol of Vishnu and Say, " I am satisfied with whatever you have given. O God! This is my fate."

The King was very annoyed to hear this. He was the provider and his own daughter did not acknowledge this instead she accepted that whatever luxury she enjoyed was only because of her destiny.  He got her married to Prince Karnapriya and asked her to leave the Palace.

Princess Kalawati accepted this turn of events, also, as her fate and tried to make the best of it. They moved away from the temple and set up house near the forest.

One day as the Prince cut the wood for fire, Kalawati went in to the forest to gather fruits and vegetables. When she came back she found Karnapriya sleeping under the tree. As he exhaled his breath, blue flames came out and this attracted a big snake which spread its hood and inhaled the Prince's breath.

Kalawati hid behind a tree and watched this. Soon another huge snake came out of the hole nearby. It fumed and hissed. "Why do you disturb the Prince, you scoundrel? Leave him alone, he is mine."

The black snake hissed back, "I can cure the Prince by just rubbing my body against him whilst you can only add to the poison. You hide a huge amount of gold ornaments and coins in your hole, why don't you bring them out and help him if you love him so much?"

Princess Kalawati heard this exchange and decided that God had sent her an opportunity to benefit from.

She took up her sword and hacked both of them to death. She then picked the black snake and rubbed Karnapriya's body with it. Lo and Behold! The Prince stood up as handsome as earlier with an aura around him.

Both Karnapriya and Kalawati then dug up the Snake's treasure and what a treasure it was! Gold, Diamonds and emeralds dazzled in the sunlight, enough to suffice an emperor.

They embraced each other with joy and knelt to pray. Soon a voice was heard, "This is the reward for all your piety and you will be blessed shortly with a son who will be the handsomest of all. Go back to your kingdom and fulfill your responsibilities."

They both went back and were welcomed amongst a lot of fanfare. All citizens hailed and sang their praises and they lived happily ever after.


Moral :'No one can challenge fate but you can change your destiny through perseverity and hard work.'

[fatima]

A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was not amused.
"Am I a girl that you give me dolls?" he asked.

"This is a gift for a future king," said the man. "If you look carefully, you'll see a hole in the ear of each doll."

"So?"

The sage handed him a piece of string.

"Pass it through each doll," he said.

Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear.

It came out from the other ear.

"This is one type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him, comes out from the other ear. He doesn't retain anything."

The prince put the string into the second doll. It came out from the mouth.

"This is the second type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."

The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process. The string did not reappear from anywhere else.

"This is the third type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out."

"What is the best type of person?" asked the prince.

The man handed him a fourth doll, in answer.

When the prince put the string into the doll, it came out from the other ear.

"Do it again," said the sage. The prince repeated the process. This time the string came out from the mouth. When he put the string in a third time, it did not come out at all.

"This is the best type of person," said the sage. "To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out."

[subhasrini]

The story of the bird with the two necks

Once upon a time there lived a special kind of bird which had two necks and shared a common stomach.
.
One day, one of the heads found a jar of nectar and on seeing this other head also wanted to taste the nectar but the first neck refused to let it have it. Enraged, the other neck soon found a jar of poison and it consumed it. The poison reached the common stomach and both the necks perished.
.
MORAL:   Sharing of a good thing with others is always good.

[subhasrini]

The Loss of Friends

Once upon a time, Amarasakti ruled the city-state of Mahilaropyam in the south of India. He had three witless sons who became a matter of endless worry for him. Realizing that his sons had no interest in learning, the king summoned his ministers and said:

“You know I am not happy with my sons. According to men of learning an unborn son and a stillborn son are better than a son who is a dimwit. What good is a barren cow? A son who is stupid will bring dishonour to his father. How can I make them fit to be my successors? I turn to you for advice.”

One of the ministers suggested the name of Vishnu Sharman, a great scholar enjoying the respect of hundreds of his disciples. “He is the most competent person to tutor your children. Entrust them to his care and very soon you will see the change.”

The king summoned Vishnu Sharman and pleaded with him “Oh, venerable scholar, take pity on me and please train my sons into great scholars and I will make you the lord of hundred villages.”

Vishnu Sharman said “Oh, king, listen to my pledge. Hundred villages do not tempt me to vend learning. Count six months from today. If I do not make your children great scholars, you can ask me to change my name.”

The king immediately called his sons and handed them to the care of the learned man. Sharman took them to his monastery where he started teaching them the five strategies (Panchatantra). Keeping his word, he finished the task the king entrusted him in six months. Since then, Panchatantra became popular all over the world as children's guide in solving problems of life.

Now begins the Loss of Friends (first of the five strategies) series. These are stories that figure in a dialogue between two jackals named Karataka and Damanaka.

Long, long ago, a merchant named Vardhaman lived in a town in the south of India. As he was resting on his bed one day it struck him that money was the axis of the world and that the more he had of it the more he would be powerful. Even enemies seek the friendship of a rich man, he told himself. The old become young if they have riches and the young become old if they do not have wealth. Business is one of the six ways that help man amass wealth. This was his logic.

Mobilizing all his wares, Vardhaman set out on an auspicious day for Madhura in search of markets for his goods. He began his travel in a gaily-decorated cart drawn by two bullocks. On the way, tired of the long haul, one of the bullocks named Sanjeevaka collapsed in the middle of a jungle near river Jamuna. But the merchant continued his journey asking some of his servants to take care of the animal. But the servants abandoned the bullock soon after their master had left. Joining him later, they told him that the bullock was dead.

In fact, Sanjeevaka was not dead. Feeding on the abundant fresh and tender grass in the forest, he regained strength and began to merrily explore the jungle, dancing and singing in joy. In the same forest lived Pingalaka, the lion.Sanjeevaka, content with his new life in the jungle would waltz and sing uproariously with joy. One day, Pingalaka and other animals were drinking water in the Jamuna when the lion heard the frightening bellow of the bullock. In panic, the lion withdrew into the forest and sat deeply lost in thought and surrounded by other animals.

Sensing the predicament of their king, two jackals, Karataka and Damanaka, sons of two dismissed ministers, were clueless as to what had happened to their king.

“What could have happened to the lord of the forest,” asked Damanaka.

“Why should we poke our nose into affairs that are not our concern? Haven't you heard the story of the monkey which pulled out the wedge from the log,” asked Damanaka.

“Sounds interesting. Why don't you tell me what happened to the monkey,” pleaded Damanaka.

“Now, listen,” said Damanaka and began narrating the story of the monkey.

Jaisairam