165 - Prayer for contentment

Once Lord Vishnu was very much pleased with the tapasya of a devotee and said, "I shall grant you three requests."

The elated devotee did not hesitate, "Here is my first request," he said, "I want my wife to die so I can marry a better woman." His wish was immediately granted.

But when his friends and relatives gathered for the funeral and began to recall the virtues of his wife, the devotee saw that he had been hasty. So he asked the Lord to bring her back to life.

That left him with just one petition. He was determined not to make a mistake this time, for there would be no chance to change it.He consulted widely. Some advised him to ask for immortality.

But what good was immortality, said others, if he did not have good health? And health, if he had no money? And money if he had no friends?

Years passed and he had still not made his choice - life or health or wealth or power or love. Finally, he said to the Lord, "Tell me what to ask for?"

The Lord laughed when he saw the man's predicament, and said, "Ask to be content no matter what you get."

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

164 - Principal's letter

On the first day of the new school year, all the teachers in one private school received the following note from their principal.:


Dear Teacher,

I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness.
Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses.Women and babies shot and burned by college and high school graduates. So, I am suspicious of education.

My request is help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated eichmanns.

Reading, writing, arithmetic (3R's) are important only if they serve to make our children more humane. 

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

163 - King Bhojaraja and the Granny

One evening King Bhoja was out for a stroll along with his royal poel Magha.

Enjoying nature's beauty they came far from the city and lost their way. They chanced upon an old woman (a granny) collecting dry twigs for fuel.

Both prostrated and asked, "Mother we want to reach Dharanagar. Where does this pathway go?"

The granny smiled and said, "This path does not go anywhere; it remains where it is. Who are you?"

King Bhoja answered, "We are wayfarers." Granny said, "There are only two wayfarers, the sun and the moon. Out of these who are you?"

Poet Magha responded,"We are guests mother." Granny said, "Life has only two guests - youth and money. Out of these, who are you?"

King Bhoja said, "Mother, we are monks." Granny said, "Truly speaking, peace and happiness are the only two monks. Out of these who are you?"

Both the king and the poet were wonderstruck, at the quickness of wit of the lady. At last king Bhoja conceded, "Mother, we are people not having wisdom."

To this the granny replied, "O King, I have already recognized you to be Bhojaraja by your gentleness of talk. All right, if you go this way you will reach Dharanagar."

Both saluted her once again and took the right way to the capital.

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

162 - Gudo and the emperor

The emperor Goyozei was studying Zen under Gudo. He inquired, "In Zen this very mind is Buddha. Is this correct?"

Gudo answered, "If I say yes, you will think that you understand without understanding. If I say no, I would be contradicting a fact which many understand quite well."

On another day the emperor asked Gudo,"Where does the enlightened man go when he dies?"

Gudo answered, "I know not."
"Why don't you know?", asked the emperor.
"Because I have not died yet," replied Gudo.

The emperor hesitated to inquire further about those things his mind could not grasp. So Gudo beat the floor with his hand as if to awaken him, and the emperor was enlightened!

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

161 - Fill the palace with something

There was a wise king. His empire was big and he took good care of it. He had three sons. He wanted to find his successor. He did not believe in the old system of appointing the eldest son as the king. He wanted the wisest and the ablest to be the king. He then decided to test them.

He sent for them separately. He told each one of them to fill the old palace with something and gave them one gold coin each. The first one thought the father had gone senile. How could he fill the old palace with something with such a little amount. Therefore, he went to the bar, drank wine and squandered the money.

The second son thought over it. He concluded that the cheapest thing in the city was garbage. Hence, he filled the palace with the garbage.

The third son pondered over the matter for two days. He really wanted to do something special. Then he got an idea. He bought candles and incense sticks. He filled the palace with light and fragrance.

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

160 - Foregoing the debt

During the reign of Sikandar Lodhi, there lived a very famous saint, whose name was Zain-ud-Din. During his youth the saint was rich and generous. As time passed he became poor and penniless. But his generosity remained as ever.

One day, the saint searched through his papers and picking out a number of papers, tore them into pieces. Then he ordered his servant to wash off the writing of those torn pieces.

While the servant was washing the torn pieces of papers, one of his companions came and asked the saint about the washing of those torn pieces.

The saint replied, "During my days of prosperity a number of gentry of the city borrowed money from me, I had no intention to get back this loan from them. They sent me these documents as a bearing on their loans and as a commitment to pay the loans back. Now I am poor and penniless and fear lest I may ask for the return of these loans or my successor may claim these after my death.  So I have destroyed these documents to eliminate such possibilities."

The pious saint destroyed the documents to bar every possibility of recovery of these loans to keep up the decision he had taken during the days of his prosperity. His poverty could not change his generous nature.


source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html

159 - Heart of a mouse

According to an ancient indian fable a mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. A sadhu took pity on it and turned it into a cat.

But then it became afraid of the dog. So the sadhu turned it into a dog. Then it began to tremble of the panther. So the sadhu turned it into a panther.


Whereupon it was full of fear of the hunter. At this point the sadhu gave up.

He turned it into a mouse again saying, "Nothing I do for you is going to be of any help because you have the heart of a mouse."


source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html