How the Squirrel got its Stripes - Short stories from Ramayanam

Hanuma had returned from Lanka after seeing the distraught Sita Devi and informed the same to Lord Rama. With no further delay, the Lord began his journey to Lanka from
Rameswaram. en route, He encountered the great ocean between mainland India and Lanka.

He prayed the Samudra Raja (King of the ocean) to let Him and His vanara (monkey) army
pass through it. He waited for three days and nights. Finally, seeing His army getting
depressed Lord Rama shot a number of arrows at the ocean, which startled and woke up the King of the ocean. He saluted the Lord and said that a bridge(setu) could be built over it by Nala and Neela, the architects in the army of Lord Rama. This is how the Lord got the name 'Seturama'.

All the chieftains of Lord Rama's army including Hanuma, Jambavan, Nala, Neela, Angada, and Sugreeva began building the bridge post-haste. They smashed huge mountains which
were nearby and took the huge rocks and hurled them into the sea. 

The ocean bank was abuzz with activity of the monkey army, who were busy filling the sea with huge stones. They were piling rocks in order to create the bridge to Lanka.
At this time a squirrel was watching all the activity. It saw Lord Rama, and like all us
who have a glimpse at Him, was highly inspired to support His activities. So it piled little
loads of sand, mud, and pebbles on its tiny back and began filling the gaps between the huge boulders so that the feet of Lord Rama would not be hurt while walking on the bridge.

Lord Rama saw the sincere efforts of the squirrel and picked it up in his hand and
caressed it with his fingers.  The squirrel, which was fully grey in color till then, got four
white stripes on its back because it had been touched by the divine fingers of the Lord. 

This is how we believe the squirrels we see today have both white and gray stripes on their backs.

Moral: we may be very small people in this world, but in our own little way, having good intentions at all times, we must always support the mission of the Lord, without thinking of the eventual result or outcome, and thereby receive his divine blessings.

HR Manager in Heaven

One day while walking down the street a highly successful HR Manager was hit by a bus and she died. Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was greeted by God himself.

"Welcome to Heaven," said God. "

"Well, What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."

"Actually, I think I've made up my mind, I prefer to stay in Heaven", said the woman.

"Sorry, we have rules."

And with that God put the HR Manager in an elevator and it went down-down-down to hell.

The doors opened and she found herself stepping out onto the hell wt beautiful golf course. And a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow executives that she had worked with and they were well dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. they talked about old times.
She met the Devil who was really a nice guy and She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave.

Everybody waved goodbye as she got on the elevator.

The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates and found God waiting for her.

"Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said. So she spent the next 24 hours around on clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and God came and got her.

"So, you've spent a day in hell and in heaven. Now u must choose your eternity,"

The woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell."

So God escorted her to the elevator and again she went down-down-down back to Hell.

When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks.

The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.

"I don't understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable."

The Devil looked at her smiled and said:
 ...
 ...
 ...
 ....
 ....

 "Yesterday we were recruiting you, today you're an Employee". :-)

True Wealth - "Thanks for showing me how poor we are"

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of
showing his son how the poor people live so he could be thankful for his wealth.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh yeah,” said the son. “So what did you
learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”
With this the boy’s father was speechless.

 Then his son added, “Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are.”

A HOLE IN THE FENCE

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him
that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to
control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it
was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence....

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the
father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his
temper. The day passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were
gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well,
my son, but look at the holes in the fence.”

The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.
You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry,
the wound is still there.  

"A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one."

Tansen and Akbar

The name Tansen is synonymous with indian music. He was the State musician of the Moghul emperor, Akbar. One day,after listening to Tansen,Akbar was so thrilled that he asked him"Tansen,Tell me who was your Teacher?""Swami Haridas,my Lord" replied Tansen. Akbar asked again,"Ishe great musician as you are ?" Tansen said very humbly,"Please,never compare me to my master.He is not musician but music itself."
Akbar was intrigued, Then i would like to here him sing." Tansen answered,"But he will never agree to come to the court to sing." "Then we will go to him" said Akbar. Tansen was still diffident,"My teacher sings of is own will and he won't be happy if he is compelled to sing before the emperor." But Akbar was determined,"Then I will come with you, disguised as your servant."

so Tansen and Akbar travelled far to where the sage lived in a hut, his temple of music. The sage received Tansen, his former pupil and his servant Akbar, with love and affection.
He listened to their request but remained silent. Three days passed.Then one day,Just before sunrise, Swami Haridas began to sing. Akbar and Tansen were spellbound. it seems as if the sound had no beginning and no end, as if the trees, the stones, and all living creatures had turned into music and forgotten themselves.

After some time,When the spell was broken Akbar and Tansen found that they were alone in the hut. Swami Haridas was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he ?" asked Akbar. "He left the place for ever, fearing that we may come again and trouble him,"replied Tansen Sadly.

They returned to the place,silent and indrawn. Several days passed but Akabar could not forget the effect the song had on him.One day he asked Tansen weather he knew the Raga and the song that Sami Haridas had sung. "Yes,I learnt it from him", replayed Tansen. At akbar's request,Tansen sang the raga as only he could. But Akbar's heart was not satisfied."Tansen,you sang beautifully.But still, Why is it not same as when Swami Haridas sang ?" Tansen answered softly and humbly,"My lord,Ising for you ,The emperor among men.But my master sings only for the God,Herein lies the difference".

A simple but with a deep meaning which reveals the true quest of indian music.

Precious Coin and Generosity- Mahatma Gandiji's

Mahatma Gandhi was on an expedition to collect funds from various cities and villages for Charkha Sangh. He went to several palaces and reached Orissa. He had organised a meeting in Orissa.

He requested to offer funds for the Sangh and gave a speech. After the speech, a very old woman with bent back, faltered clothing, white hair, dry and shrunk skin got up. She was trying to reach the stage and requested the volunteers to allow her to reach Gandhi Ji. However, the volunteers stopped her, yet she fought with them and reached Gandhi Ji.

She touched the feet of Gandhi Ji. Then she took out a copper coin kept in her folds of saree and placed the copper coin at his feet. The old lady left the stage.

Gandhi Ji very carefully took the coin and placed it safely. The in-charge of the Sangh asked Gandhi Ji for the copper coins, but he refused to give it.

“I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh,” the in-charge said laughingly “yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin.”

Gandhi Ji said, “This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands” Gandhi Ji said. “If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much.”

Yes, the coin was just the only thing that the poor old woman possessed. She did not even have proper clothes and seemed that she could not afford for good food, still gave everything she had. It was the greatest offer ever made. That is why Mahatma held the coin very preciously.

We may have tons of wealth, but that doesn’t make us generous. Offering helping hand when we have nothing or very little wealth makes it more valuable.

Credit

Why there is there problems ?

A man was travelling through a muddy road when his car got suddenly trapped in the pool of mud. He tried very hard to move but his car failed to come out of it.

Suddenly, he saw a villager coming toward him in his bullock cart.

Once the bullock cart came near, he requested him to pull his car out of mud. A deal of Rs 100 was negotiated between them for the work and the villager pulled the car using his bullocks.

The man felt greatly relieved and paid him the money.

He then asked the villager, “There may be so many cars that would be getting trapped in this mud.”

Villager: “True sir. You are the seventh person since morning whose car got trapped in this mud.”

Man: “Oh my God! Did you have to pull all of them.”

Villager: “Yes Sir.”

Man: “You must be busy full day pulling the cars from the mud having no time to do your own work.”

Villager: “Very True Sir. I have to do all my work in night only.”

Man: “Oh I see! By the way, what work you do in night.”

Villager: “I just ensure that this mud is never dried.”

Moral: There are so many people on the world who ensure that the mud is never dried. (Like India-Pakistan border problems).  

Barber's Rools Royce car.

Ramesh Babu , a common man from Bengaluru who achieved something uncommon from his hard work. People usually consider it as fortune but he earned it through hard work.

Meet Mr. Ramesh who started his career by selling newspapers. His mother used to work as a servant in others house to educate her children.And, today because of his hard work and determination he has earned his status symbol.He owns his own rolls Royce. And what does he do?

He is a Barber.Yes , you are right . He is a Barber. You might think looking at his standard he must charge bomb for the hair Cut. But , no he charge only Rs. 150/- for a hair cut. If you do not believe , whenever go to Bengaluru have a hair cut from him.

He does not only own Rolls Royce but he has a fleet of 378 cars including more than 120 luxury cars. Actually other than Salon business, he owns a car rental business.

He rents out to people the cars and of which brand. You name it BMW, AUDI, MERCEDES, ROLLS ROYCE. You name it, he have it.And do not misunderstand the fact that he owns this from inheritance. This is the result of his hard work.

He started working at the age of 14 selling newspapers and selling milk. After the death of his father, the salon business was run by his uncle. at the age of 18, he completely took over the salon business. He worked really hard used to get customers late till midnight and again start working from 6 am in the morning.

Actually he was not satisfied from his only salon business. He wanted to do something and become successful. And in order to become successful, even the thinking and passion should be high. So, in 1993 he bought a Maruti Omni on loan for his personal use. But again there is a twist. He do not have enough money to repay for the loan.His mother used to work at Ms. Nandini’s place.And Ms. Nandini one suggestion changed his life. And a common man went on to route of success which he would only have dreamt of. She suggested him to rent his car and then he started doing this car rental business. In early days, there were no drivers. He used to drive himself. Slowly he was picking the ropes of his business. He wanted to do something different from others. So he came up with the idea of buying a Rolls Royce. He rents it for 50,000 Rs. per day. You might be thinking why the owner of so many luxury cars still run the salon business? Actually , he believes that this is his main business. And he can’t stop this business. Today, he runs a successful car rental business. This is the result of his vision and lot of hard work. And you will find such passionate people only in India.

Mr. Ramesh is still passionate about Cars and want to add one more car to his fleet and it is Stretch Limousine which is worth Rs. 8 crore. And indeed he is an inspiration to the young generation. He says always one thing that determination and hard work are that comb and scissors of life with which you can style your success.

Moral:  determination and hard work are that comb and scissors of life with which you can style your success.                                  

                                                                                                                                                          source

The Fox & the Stork-The Æsop for Children 10

The Fox one day thought of a plan to amuse himself at the expense of the Stork, at whose odd appearance he was always laughing.

"You must come and dine with me today," he said to the Stork, smiling to himself at the trick he was going to play. The Stork gladly accepted the invitation and arrived in good time and with a very good appetite.

For dinner the Fox served soup. But it was set out in a very shallow dish, and all the Stork could do was to wet the very tip of his bill. Not a drop of soup could he get. But the Fox lapped it up easily, and, to increase the disappointment of the Stork, made a great show of enjoyment.

The hungry Stork was much displeased at the trick, but he was a calm, even-tempered fellow and saw no good in flying into a rage. Instead, not long afterward, he invited the Fox to dine with him in turn. The Fox arrived promptly at the time that had been set, and the Stork served a fish dinner that had a very appetizing smell. But it was served in a tall jar with a very narrow neck. The Stork could easily get at the food with his long bill, but all the Fox could do was to lick the outside of the jar, and sniff at the delicious odor. And when the Fox lost his temper, the Stork said calmly:

Moral: Do not play tricks on your neighbors unless you can stand the same treatment yourself.

The Heron-The Æsop for Children 09

A Heron was walking sedately along the bank of a stream, his eyes on the clear water, and his long neck and pointed bill ready to snap up a likely morsel for his breakfast. The clear water swarmed with fish, but Master Heron was hard to please that morning.

"No small fry for me," he said. "Such scanty fare is not fit for a Heron."

Now a fine young Perch swam near.

"No indeed," said the Heron. "I wouldn't even trouble to open my beak for anything like that!"

As the sun rose, the fish left the shallow water near the shore and swam below into the cool depths toward the middle. The Heron saw no more fish, and very glad was he at last to breakfast on a tiny Snail.

Moral: Do not be too hard to suit or you may have to be content with the worst or with nothing at all.