Moral Stories

[arti sehgal]

Moment of Truth
 
There was a young student-archer who reached such proficiency in his art that he could shoot an arrow into a tree and then cleave that arrow into two with the next shot. He began to boast that he was a greater archer than his guru.
One day his guru, a venerable old man in his 70's, asked the youth to accompany him on a trip across the hills. The journey was uneventful until they came to a deep chasm.
A single log spanned the chasm. The guru walked down to the centre of the log, unshouldered his bow and taking an arrow shot it into a tree on the other side. His next shot cleaved the first arrow into two.
"Now it's your turn," he said, walking back to where his student was standing.
The youth stepped gingerly on the log and very slowly and carefully made his way to the middle. But his heart was in his mouth. He knew that if he lost his footing, he would plunge to his death. His hands trembled as he strung an arrow into his bow. Preoccupied with the danger he was in, he found it hard to focus on the target. Consequently when he let go of the arrow, it missed the tree altogether. Whimpering, he turned around.
"Help me!" he shouted to his guru. "I'll fall!"
The old man walked up to him, took his hand and stepping backwards led him to safety. Neither of them said a word on the return journey but the boy had much to think about. He had realised that to be a master of his art it was not enough to know how to control the bow, he had to learn how to control his mind too.

 

[arti sehgal]

MORAL VALUES

Idle mind is always devil.

Time is very precious.

sleep is for relaxation but not for enjoyment.

Good character, depth of knowledge, and positive intelligence are the real assets of man.

Performing duties, fulfilling responsibilities, keeping up his words, and not hurting others are the characteristics of a gentleman.

Love and care are the two eyes of God.

Helping others is the real savings in life; help is savings and enjoyment is spending in one's life account.

Respect and love lift you up; egoism and absolute selfishness push you down.

Hard struggled achievement is success, and not trying for it is failure.

Failure is the first step towards success.

Fear for failure and acceptance of helplessness are the villains for coming-up.

In the war of temptation between heart and mind, always:   heart should win when concerned with others; and mind should win when  concerned with self.

Keeping more than one's needs is the debit, and helping others in need is the credit in life's account.

Exploiting helplessness is an unpardonable crime.

person always useful to others with perfect conscious is the pet of  God; and selfish fellow, especially at other's cost, is the pet of satan.

Will-Power is the only power by which one can achieve anything in this world.

While judging other's action, intention is more important than action.

Without health and wealth no enjoyment in life.

Egoism is a liability and selfishlessness is an asset in one life's balance sheet.

Positive intelligence, approach and attitude, and contentment only bring peace-of-mind.

[arti sehgal]

“A POND FULL
OF MILK.”
Once there was a king who told some of his workers to dig a pond. Once the pond was
dug, the king made an announcement to his people saying that one person from each
household has to bring a glass of milk during the night and pour it into the pond. So,
the pond should be full of milk by the morning. After receiving the order, everyone
went home.
One man prepared to take the milk during the night. He thought that since everyone
will bring milk, he could just hide a glass of water and pour inside the pond. Because it
will be dark at night, no one will notice. So he quickly went and poured the water in the
pond and came back. In the morning, the king came to visit the pond and to his
surprise the pond was only filled with water! What has happened is that everyone was
thinking like the other man that “I don't have to put the milk, someone else will do it.”
Dear friends, when it comes to help the Religion of Allah, do not think that others will
take care of it. Rather, it starts from you, if you don’t do it, no one else will do it. So,
change yourself to the way of Allah to serve Him and that will make the difference.

[arti sehgal]

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it
everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the
tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no
longer played around the tree every day.
One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.
“Come and play with me”, the tree asked the boy.
“I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more”
the boy replied.
“I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, but I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples
and sell them. So, you will have money.”
The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and
left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples.
The tree was sad.
One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and
the tree was excited.
“Come and play with me” the tree said.
“I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter.
Can you help me?”
“Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the
man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the
man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.
“Come and play with me!” the tree said.
“I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” said the man.
“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”
So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you
anymore. No more apples for you”, the tree said. “No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite” the
man replied.

“No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now” the man said.
“I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears.
“I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.
“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest.”
The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.
This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with
our Mum and Dad. When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when we need something
or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they
could just to make you happy.
You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them
for granted; we don’t appreciate all they do for us, until it’s too late. Wallahi, May Allah forgives us
of our shortcomings and may He guide us.

[arti sehgal]

THE ANGEL
Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. One day the child asked God, “They tell me
you are going to send me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and
helpless?” God replied, “Among the many angels I have chosen one for you. She will be waiting for
you and will take care of you.”
Said child, “But tell me here in Heaven I don’t do anything else but sing and smile. That’s what I
need to be happy!” God replied, “Your angel will sing for you every day. And you will feel your
angel’s love and be happy.”
And, said the child, “How am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don’t
know the language that men talk?” “That’s easy”, God said, “Your angel will tell you the most
beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will
teach you how to speak.” The child looked up at God saying, “And what am I going to do when I
want to talk to you?” God smiled at the child saying, “Your angel will teach you how to pray.”
The child said, “I’ve heard on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?” God replied, “Your
angel will defend you, even if it means risking life!” The child looked sad, saying, “But I will always
be sad because I will not see you anymore.” God replied, “Your angel will always talk to you about
me and will teach you the way to come back to
me, even though I will always be next to you.”
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven,
but voices from earth could already be heard.
The child in a hurry, asked softly, “Oh God, if
I am about to leave now please tell me my angel’s
name!” God replied, Your angel’s name is of no
importance… you will simply call her
MOTHER!!!!
jai sairam

[arti sehgal]

                                                  PAID IN FULL

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he
handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his mom dried her hands on an
apron, she read it, and this is what it said:
For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
For going to the store for you: $.50
Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25
Taking out the garbage: $1.00
For getting a good report card: $5.00
For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00
Total owed: $14.75
Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing
through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he had written on, and this is what
she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you while you were growing
inside me: No Charge.
For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, doctored and
prayed for you: No Charge.
For all the trying times, and all the tears that you’ve caused
through the years: No Charge.
For all the nights filled with dread, and for the worries I
knew were ahead: No Charge.
For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose:
No Charge.
When you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.
When the boy finished reading what his mother had
written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked
straight up at his mother and said, “Mom, I sure do love you.”
And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote:
" PAID IN FULL "

[arti sehgal]

WORDS AND ACTIONS SHOULD BE THE SAME
There once was a boy who loved eating sweets. He always asked for sweets from his father. His
father was a poor man. He could not always afford sweets for his son. But the little boy did not
understand this, and demanded sweets all the time.
The boy’s father thought hard about how to stop the child asking for so many sweets. There was a
very holy man living nearby at that time. The boy’s father had an idea. He decided to take the boy
to the great man who might be able to persuade the child to stop asking for sweets all the time.
The boy and his father went along to the great man. The father said to him, “O great saint, could
you ask my son to stop asking for sweets which I cannot afford?” The great man was in difficulty,
because he liked sweets himself. How could he ask the boy to give up asking for sweets? The holy
man told the father to bring his son back after one month.
During that month, the holy man gave up eating sweets, and when the boy and his father returned
after a month, the holy man said to the boy “My dear child, will you stop asking for sweets which
your father cannot afford to give you?”
From then on, the boy stopped asking for sweets.
The boy’s father asked the saint, “Why did you not ask
my son to give up asking for sweets when we came to
you a month ago?” The saint replied, “How could I ask a
boy to give up sweets when I loved sweets myself. In the
last month I gave up eating sweets.” A person’s example
is much more powerful than just his words. When we ask
someone to do something, we must do it ourselves also. We should not ask others to do what we do
not do ourselves.
Always make sure that your actions and your words are same.

[arti sehgal]

YOU'RE FAR MORE PRECIOUS THAN DIAMONDS AND PEARLS
“If memory serves me correctly, I was wearing a little white tank top and a
short black skirt. I had been raised Orthodox Muslim, so I had never before
worn such revealing clothing while in my father’s presence. When we finally
arrived, the chauffer escorted my younger sister, Laila, and me up to my
father's suite.
As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us. We exchanged
many hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day. My father took a
good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said something that I
will never forget.
He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Hana, everything that God
made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find
diamonds? Deep down in the ground covered and protected. Where do you
find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean covered up and protected in a beautiful shell.
Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock.
You’ve got to work hard to get to them.”
He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds
and pearls, and you should be covered too.
jai sairam

[arti sehgal]

                                                WHAT IS A FAMILY?

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated,
to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
DAD: “Yeah sure, what is it?” replied the man.
SON: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.
SON: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. Looking up, he said,
“Daddy, may I please borrow $10?”
BEAUTIFUL GIFT!
The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy
a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed.
Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even
angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was
something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.
The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
“Are you asleep, son?” He asked. “No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and
I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $10 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you daddy!” He yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.
“Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow.
I would like to have dinner with you.”
Share this story with someone you like.... But even better, share $20 worth of time with someone
you love. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.
We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who
really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of
days.
But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to
think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. An unwise investment indeed!
So what is the moral of the story???
Don’t work too hard...and you know what’s the full word of FAMILY?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER,(I)(L)OVE (Y)OU!

[SS91]

Heaven And Hell

 

Once a group of people wanted to know what makes for hell and what makes heaven. Where all suffer, it is called hell and where all enjoy it is called heaven. So the committee of the above persons wanting to know how hell is made, first went to hell where all people were suffering. What they saw in hell surprised them very much because hell looked a very rich place where every enjoyable object was available in plenty. Why should any one suffer here, they wondered.

As it was the lunch time in hell, all denizens of hell were in the dining hall and the committee went to investigate whether there was any food problem. Again what met their eyes surprised them beyond words because the dining table was full with a variety of delicacies in abundance and no one need starve for lack of food. Yet the most puzzling thing of all was the fact that all the hell-dwellers who were gathered there looked famished, hungry and angry. They were quarrelling and shouting at one another blaming one another in abuse language.

The members of the investigation committee closely scrutinized the people who were thus quarrelling and fighting. They found that the persons in hell had no elbow joints in their arms because of which they were unable to bend their hands and feed themselves though food was plenty available. So all of them starved and had no joy.

The committee felt that it was cruel joke to play upon people. Why give them plenty of food if it was not meant to feed themselves?

They wished to see how things were in heaven and went there in time to see the heavenly beings at lunch. The heaven was exactly like hell... looked very rich with all enjoyable things of life. As they approached the dining hall they could hear the loud cries of satisfaction and joy emanating from the hall. The committee members hastened to the hall to witness such an exuberance of joy. The dining table was full with delicacies just as in hell. The people looked happy, well-fed and contented and they were still eating. Now the committee members watched carefully how their arms were. Here too the arms of the denizens were without elbow joints. They too could not bend their forearms to feed themselves. Still they were not unhappy. They understood that the plenty of food in front of them was not given to them to feed themselves but was meant for serving others. So they all collected enough food from the table and fed the others. When each one fed the others, all of them got plenty to eat and nobody famished. All were happy and it became heaven. In the other place they did not know that the hands were given to serve others. When they tried to serve themselves they could not, and it became hell.

 

 
 

[shekarvani]

om sai ram

Excellent story, I will never forget this story. Thank u so much for sharing such a beautiful story.

[SS91]

Everything happens for the good  

In one of India's little kingdoms of long ago there lived a King who (like most of them) was fond of hunting in wild places. His Chief Advisor was a very intelligent man, and also a very optimistic one. He was famous for seeing the rosy side of things. In fact, so strong was his habit of finding good in everything that at times this annoyed his ruler.

One day when the King and his Advisor were on a hunting trip through a dense jungle which went on for miles, the King decided to have a fresh coconut for his breakfast, and, finding a coconut tree near at hand, with his sword cut down a coconut. But as luck would have it, his sword slipped in his hand and came crashing down on one of his toes, cutting it off! Limping over to his Advisor with loud shouts of pain, he was terribly shocked to hear the latter say, "Ah, that's wonderful!"

"What?!" yelled the King; "I cut off my toe and you say it is wonderful?"

"This is a real blessing," replied the Advisor. By now the King was furious, thinking the man was making fun of him.

"Take it from me," said his Advisor, "behind this apparent bad accident there is some good which we cannot now see." That was it! The King had noticed a dry well nearby, and being a strong man, he picked up his companion and just threw him into that well. Then he set out to limp back to his fortified town and castle.

This meant, however, walking through dense jungle, frequented by the wild tribes of those days, some of whom were headhunters. On his way the King met a band of those headhunters, who decided that, being royalty, he would make an excellent sacrifice for this month's festival. As you may imagine, the King did not feel at all honored by this decision. The warriors carried him to the tribal priest. It was the duty of this priest to approve all of the offerings that were to be presented. The priest was most particular to see that the item to be offered to the gods was perfect in all respects. While anointing the King's body the priest noticed that he was lacking one toe.

"I am sorry," he told the King, "but we cannot use you after all for this holy sacrifice. The gods will not accept anyone who is not whole-bodied. You will have to go." Naturally the King was delighted and began hobbling away toward his palace. Aha! he thought, so his Advisor had been right -- there was indeed a hidden blessing behind that accident. As fast as his wounded leg would allow, he turned around and went back to the well where he had left his counselor. There he was, standing down in the well and whistling happily to himself.

Now the king managed to reach down far enough to grasp the hand of the Advisor and with great effort to pull him up. Then he apologized for having doubted him and having thought him a fool.

"Oh how sorry I am that I threw you in there," said the King as he dusted off his courtier. "I was taken prisoner by some wild native headhunters who were about to make me a sacrifice victim. Then they saw that my toe was missing, and let me go. And you foretold all this, in a way. Can you ever forgive me?"

"You need not apologize at all; it was a blessing that you threw me down the well and left me there."

"Now, how are you going to make something positive out of that?" queried the King. "Well," said the other, "if I had been with you they would surely have taken me for their sacrifice."

[SS91]

God behind the gods

The gods and the demons had been having a war. Somehow the gods won, at least for the time being. But they did not realize that the power of Brahman, the Supreme Being, had made their victory possible. The gods took the credit themselves. When Brahman saw them congratulating each other, he decided to act, and to teach them a good lesson.

So he appeared before them in a form something like a ghost. The gods said to each other in great wonder, "What is this awesome spirit?"

Then they asked Agni, the god of fire, if he would try to find out who it was, and he agreed. He ran toward the spirit and that spirit said, "Stop! Who are you?"

"I am Agni, the god of fire," he proudly replied.

"I see. And what power do you have?" asked Brahman.

"Why, I can burn anything on the earth," said Agni.

So Brahman, in that spirit form, put a straw on the ground in front of him, saying, "is that so? Burn this, then!" Agni went toward it, his fiery breath crackling and arms ablaze, but in no way could he burn that straw, for some strange reason, no matter how hard he tried. Going back to the other gods, he told them shamefully that he had not been able to find out who that being was. Now they had to ask someone else to try.

This time they chose Vayu, the god of the wind. "You please try to find out who this spirit is," they said. Vayu agreed and ran boldly toward the spirit, who told him, "Stop! Tell me who you are."

"I am Vayu, god of air and wind," he answered.

"Oh! What power do you have?" asked Brahman.

"Why, I make hurricanes and cyclones. I can lift up anything on this earth," said Vayu.

"Is that so?" said the spirit, placing a straw in front of him. "Then lift up this!" Vayu rushed at it with a terrific noise but no matter how he huffed and puffed, the straw remained on the ground. He too returned to the gods, ashamed, and let them know that the spirit baffled him.

Finally the gods chose Indra, their highest and best, and asked him to do the job. Indra agreed to it. But when he approached that spirit, it suddenly disappeared! In its place was seen the shining form of the goddess Uma, a lovely woman adorned with gems, who is called the revealer of Truth. "Who is that spirit," Indra asked her, "whom we have been seeing here?"

"That is Brahman, the Supreme Spirit," she answered. "It is all due to the power of Brahman that you have had victory over the demons, and have become great. Don't you know that?"

Then Indra understood.

This story explains why Agni, Vayu and Indra rank higher than the other gods. They came "nearest" to Brahman. And, of these, Indra deserves first place, for it was to him that the Truth was first revealed. That Truth is Brahman, the desire of every heart. Meditate on him, the sages say, for those who know him are rare and very precious to the world.

[SS91]

Happiness

"Dad, everyone is looking for happiness. But what is meant by happiness?" This was one of the questions a wise boy in India, Sveta-ketu, put to his father many centuries ago.

"One of the signs of happiness, son, is that a person who has it becomes active. A person who does not find happiness does not feel like being active. His mind is cramped, his will is weak. What is vast and infinite brings happiness. There is no true joy in what is small or finite. I can tell you that the Infinite alone is happiness; but you must desire to understand this Infinite, my son."

"I want to understand it, Dad," said Sveta-ketu.

"Good," said his father. "Then you must listen carefully to what I say and think deeply about it:

"When a person sees that nothing and no one is separate from him, that he is one with all the people, animals, and objects in the universe, when a person sees and hears and knows nothing else -- that is the Infinite.

"But, if one sees or feels some other thing, obstructing him, separating him, then that is the finite. He has not yet found the Infinite.

"The Infinite never passes away; it lasts forever; but what is finite will pass away."

[SS91]

What the thunder says

You've been in a storm -- you know what thunder sounds like. But, do you know what the thunder is saying?

Ages ago, in India, sages meditated on the thunder and they tell this story.

When creation began, there was only the Creator. One of his names -- the one in this story -- is Prajapati. Tired of being alone, Prajapati gave birth to three kinds of beings: gods, men, and, of course, demons. (Demons always make stories more interesting!)

Well, as young people did in olden times, all these children had been studying with their father, living a disciplined life. The day came when that stage of life was finished and they were about to leave home and go out into their respective worlds -- the gods to their heavens, the men to earth, and the demons to the hells below.

Before leaving, the gods came to their father, Prajapati, saying, "Give us a final word, Sir, before we leave, if you please."

He was a close-mouthed old man, and besides, he wanted to test their learning, so he gave them even less than a word! He gave them only a syllable, the Sanskrit syllable "da".

"Have you understood me?" their father asked.

"Yes, Sir," said the gods, "that must be short for damyata, meaning 'be self-controlled'".

"Yes," said Prajapati.

Then it came the turn of the men to say goodbye. They too asked their father for a final word, but he gave them the same syllable, "da". "Have you understood?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," said the men, "this must be short for datta, meaning 'give in charity'".

"Yes," said the father. And when the demons came, it was the same story. Prajapati said "da" and asked if they understood.

"Yes, Sir," said the demons (showing surprising intelligence), "it must be short for dayadhvam, and you mean 'be kind, be merciful'".

"Yes," said Prajapati. Then they all bowed down before him and went their ways.

 

What do you understand by this story?

The demons, you see, are very cruel by nature. But if they can somehow bring some kindness and mercy into their miserable lives, then there is hope for them to go up to a higher state.

Human beings, on the other hand, are better, but selfish; what they need is to help and serve one another on this earth. Then they too will become fit for rising higher.

Now the gods are busy enjoying themselves in heaven, and there they have such a good time that they forget about Truth and how to search for it. Without self-control, they will never find Truth.

So, Prajapati told each group the same thing, knowing full well that each sort of offspring would understand it in exactly his own way. Great teachers often do this.

So, it is said that, even today, when you hear the thunder's "da, da, da" it is the voice of old Prajapati, the Creator, repeating from time to time his instructions to all kinds of beings.