A Nice Story

This is from an old story, back in the ’30s, in the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less. A 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?” the little boy asked.

“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins he had. “Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired.

By now, more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing very impatient. “Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry. As she wiped down the table, there placed neatly beside the empty dish were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn’t have the sundae because he had to have enough money to leave her a tip.

The Self Confidence

The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him.

“I can see that something is troubling you,” he said.

After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said,

“I believe I can help you.”

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying,

“Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.”

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

“I can erase my money worries in an instant!”

He realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check.

At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried.

“I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.”

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

Fulfilling A Promise

Ever since the beginning The girl’s family member disagree her relationship with the boy. Saying that because of family background, if she insist of being together with the boy, she’ll suffer for her whole lifetime.

Because of the pressure applied by family members, she frequently quarrel with him. The girl does love the boy, she used to ask him, “How much do you love me?” Because the boy is not good with words, he used to make her angry. With additional comment from her parents, her mood get even worse. The boy, has become her “anger releasing target”. And the boy, just silently allowed her to continuously release her anger on him. Read more after the break...

Later, the boy graduated from University. He plan to further study overseas but before he left. He proposed to the girl… ” I, don’t know how to say nice words but I do know that, I love you. If you agree, I am willing to take care of you, the whole life. About your family members, I will work hard to convince them and agree on us.”

“Marry me, will you?”, the girl agreed.

And her parents, looking at the effort shown by the boy, agreed with them. Finally, before the boy go oversea, they are engaged. The girl stay back in the hometown, step into the working society where as the boy continuing his study oversea. They maintained their relationship through telephone and letters. Although time is difficult to get through with, but both of them never give up.

One day, the girl left home for work as usual on her way to the bus stop, a car lose control and knock her down. As she awake from unconsciousness, she saw her parents and realize how seriously she got hurt and how fortunate of her, not to get killed.

Looking at her parents, with their faced got all wet by their tears, she tried to comfort them. But then, she found out that She can’t even spell out a word, she tried her best to make some voice but all she managed, was to breath without any voice. She’s mute. According to the doctor, the injury affected her brain, and that cause her to be mute for the rest of her life. Listening to her parents persuade, but can’t even reply with a single word, the girl collapsed. Throughout the days, others than crying silently, still it is crying.

Later, the girl discharged from hospital. Returning to her home, everything is still like before. Except that the phone ring, has turned into the worst nightmare of hers. Ring after ring, continuously stimulate her, stimulating her pain But she can’t tell the boy. She don’t want to be a burden to him, and wrote him a letter telling him that she no longer want to wait, the relationship between them ended, and even returned him the engagement ring. Facing the letters and telephone from the boy, all she can do, is to allow tears falling from her eyes.

Her father decided to move, after seeing the pain she is suffering. Hoping that she could forget everything and be happier into a new environment, the girl started to learn, slowly picking up sign language and start over again. Also telling herself to forget the boy.

One day, her best friend tell her that the boy’s back. He’s searching all around for her, she asked her best friend not to tell him about her and asked her to tell him to forget her. After that for more than a year there was no news of boy. One day her best friend tells her, that the boy is getting married soon, and passed the Wedding Card to her. She open the card sadly, but she found her name on the card.

The moment she want to ask her best friend, the boy appear in front of her. With an unfamiliar sign language, he told her ”I spent more than a year’s time, to force myself to learn sign language, in order to tell you, I have not forgot our promise, give me an opportunity, let me be your voice. I love you.”

Looking at the slow sign language by the boy, and the engagement ring she gave back to him, She finally smiled.

Silence Your Mind

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn. He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded.

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch.

Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance. The farmer looked at him and thought, Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough. So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn.

After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.

MORAL:

A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind. Allow a few minutes of silence to your mind every day, and see, how sharply it helps you to set your life the way you expect it to be...!

8 Lies of Mother

“This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor. Often we hadn’t enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her portion of rice”.

While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say “Eat this rice, son! I’m not hungry.” This was Mother’s First Lie. As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just two fish, she would make a fish soup.

While I was eating the soup, my mother would sit beside me and eat what was still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten; my heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately refused it and said, “Eat this fish, son! I don’t really like fish.” This was Mother’s Second Lie.

Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory to bring home some used matchboxes, which she filled with fresh matchsticks. This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One wintry night I awoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candlelight. So I said, “Mother, go to sleep; it’s late: you can continue working tomorrow morning.” Mother smiled and said “Go to sleep, son! I’m not tired.” This was Mother’s Third Lie.

When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me. After dawn, Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the bell rang, I ran to meet her. Mother embraced me and poured me a glass of tea that she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not as strong as my Mother’s love, Seeing Mother covered with perspiration; I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said“Drink, son! I’m not thirsty!” This was Mother’s Fourth Lie.

After Father’s death, Mother had to play the role of a single parent. She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs alone. Our family’s life was more complicated. We suffered from starvation. Seeing our family’s condition worsening, my kind Uncle who lived near my house came to help us solve our problems big and small. Our other neighbors saw that we were poverty stricken so they often advised my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to remarry saying “I don’t need love.” This was Mother’s Fifth Lie.

After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my old Mother to retire but she carried on going to the market every morning just to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she was steadfast and even sent the money back to me. She said, “I have enough money.” That was Mother’s Sixth Lie.

I continued my part-time studies for my Master’s Degree. Funded by the American Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies. With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life in America but Mother didn’t want to bother her son; she said to me “I’m not used to high living.” That was Mother’s Seventh Lie.

In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit Mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile but I was heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble but Mother said, “Don’t cry, son! I’m not in pain.”

That was Mother’s Eighth Lie. Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died.

YES, MY MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL!

“M” is for the Million things she gave me,

“O” means Only that she’s growing old,

“T” is for the Tears she shed to save me,

“H” is for her Heart of gold,

“E” is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them,

“R” means Right, and right she’ll always be.

Put them together, they spell out “MOTHER”; a word that means the world to me.

Love Your Parents

After 12 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to invite another woman to dinner and a movie.

She told me: “I love you, but I know that the other woman loves you and would like to spend time with you.”

The Other Woman , which my wife asked to pay attention to, was my mother. She was a widow for over 19 years. But since my job and three children demanded all my strength from me, I could only visit her occasionally.

That evening I called her to invite her to dinner and a movie.

- What happened ? Are you okay? – she asked me at once. My mother’s first reaction was usually like this whenever she the phone rang late at night she reckoned it was bad news.

- I thought it would be nice to spend some time with you: – I answered. She thought for a moment, then said: ‘I really want this.”

On Friday after work I went for it and i was a little nervous. As my car pulled up outside her house, I saw her standing at the door and noticed that she seemed a little too excited.

She stood in the doorway of the house, threw her coat over her shoulders. Her hair was curled in ringlets, and she was in the dress she had bought to celebrate the recent anniversary of my wedding.

- I told my friends that my son will take me to the restaurant today evening, and they were deeply impressed.

– she said , sitting in the car.

We went to a restaurant. Though it was not luxurious, but it was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm and walked as if she was my first lady.

When we sat down at a table, I had to read her the menu. My mother’s eyes are now able to distinguish only large fonts. As i finished reading half of it, I looked up and saw that my mother was sitting, staring at me, and a nostalgic smile lay on her lips.

- In the past, when you were little, I read the whole menu for you – she said.

- So, it is time to pay a favor – I replied.

During dinner, we had a very good conversation. It was nothing special. We simply shared the latest events in our lives. But we got so busy that we were late for the film.

When I left her home, she said: ‘Once again, I’ll go with you to the restaurant. Only this time, I invite you. ” I agreed.

- How was your evening? – My wife asked when I got home.

- Very good. Much better than I imagined – I replied.

A few days later my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I had no chance to do something for her. A few days later I received an envelope with a payment receipt from the restaurant where we had dinner with my mother.

The receipt had an attached note: “I paid the bill for our second dinner in advance. However, I’m not sure I could have dinner with you. But nevertheless, I paid for two people. For you and your wife. I have no words to explain to you what that dinner to which you invited me, meant to me: My son, I love you.

Take care of your parents! They are the only ones who truly rejoice in your successes and experience for your failures. Be with them more often than possible, because the day when they will not be by your side might come completely unexpected …

Shri Shri Ravishankar

Shri Shri Ravishankars Brief Interview with Rediff.com (Only some part is produced herewith)

A nation's most powerful weapon is the will of the common man.
It is this will, says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, buttressed by action, that will draw an agenda for a better India.


If you were asked to draw up an agenda for a New India, what would your agenda be?

Justice for farmers.
An easy working atmosphere for industrialists.
Creating a more tolerant and cooperative society among all religious leaders.
Clean politics; people with character and humility should be in politics.
If there were three ills in India that you would prioritise and tackle, what would they be?

What are the three things you would ask people to fight against and change?
The first is corruption.
The second is communalism.
The third is to get over your lethargy and be inspired for a brighter future.
 
Have Indians in urban areas become more selfish?

That's correct, in some ways.
I think alcohol is also a big problem. It is one of the biggest culprits for many of the malaises in both rural and urban areas.
It is a matter of concern that drugs and alcohol are available so freely.

What about the way in which we view women in Indian society today... the violence against women, the acts of rape -- does that come down from our scriptures?

Absolutely not!
Women have been given such a great position in our scriptures. In fact, more than the father, more than men, women have a bigger stature.
But the unfortunate incident... (the Delhi gang-rape) I would say it is not a very unique thing that has never happened before.
In our society, many, many, many such crimes against women are happening in rural and urban areas.
It's just that they are not reported as it happened with the recent incident.
We have a long way to go in instilling moral and spiritual values in society and ethics in business.