Forgiveness - The Biggest Virtue

Leo Tolstoy was not only a renowned writer but was also a very good human being. He always kept a good and kind behaviour towards everyone and had a forgiving nature towards people with bad behaviour. Tolstoy never stored bad feelings for anyone in his heart and taught his daughter the same. One of the examples of this is presented here -

One day while Tolstoy was doing the writing work in his room he suddenly heard his daughter crying. He came out of his room and held his daughter in his arms, wiping her tears he asked her that why was she crying? Still sobbing, his daughter told him that when she was playing with the boy in the neighbourhood they both had a fight and the boy hit her. While narrating the incident to her father the little girl got filled with agitation and she asked her dad for a whip to hit that boy. Calming down her daughter's anger, Tolstoy gave her a glass of soft drink and asked her to give it to that boy. The girl did as she was told. The boy got startled with this behaviour of hers and since that day they both became good friends.

Moral: Forgiveness always brings in positive results, instead of anger. Basically, vicious behaviour towards an amoral person fills him with vengeance and leads him towards more viciousness. Whereas, good behaviour will inspire him for reformation. Therefore, keep a big heart and learn to forgive.

Existence of Heaven

There was a king who used to hear mythological sagas from his courtiers everyday. One day a minister recited him the story of Indra and his Heaven. But the king did not believe in the existence of heaven. The minister tried hard to make the king believe that the heaven does exist. To this the king said, 'If the heaven does exist then we all would like to witness Indra Riding His Carriage.' Hearing this the minister came in great hassle due to this insistence of the king. The days began to pass. During this time the king began the construction of a dam on the river in the town. The minister was appointed as the supervisor for this work. When the dam got ready the minister rose a wall next to it and got small-small lakes constructed there. With the beautiful carvings the walls and the peep-holes appeared graceful.

On the full moon night the minister took the king and the other courtiers to the river and after making them sit in the skylights he said, 'Now you all will see Indra with his carriage coming here. Then the minister started saying aloud, 'Oh King see! Indra with his carriage is coming here, Indra with his beautiful Nymphs is coming here. Wow! This is all so beautiful but only pure people will be able to see this and not the sinners.' Nobody could see any thing but still everyone kept quiet. The next day the king asked the minister about the reality and the minister said, 'Dear King! You got a dam constructed over here and it is greatly benefiting the people and has brought them great happiness and in their happiness lies your heaven'. The king understood the gist of the whole incident and learnt that with good deeds we can see the heaven on the earth itself.

Moral: If we can bring even a little happiness on other's faces, if we can fill only a corner of their life with joy, there only we receive our heaven.

The King Himself Reached Amongst The Mavericks

Once a small region in China set a revolt against the king of China. The king was very angry with this act of maverick workers. The commander and the ministers suggested the king to punish those mutineers severely. They said, 'Our army is ready to trample them, we are just waiting for your orders'. King thought for a while and said, 'Ok, I will also come with you'. The king with his army reached the borders of that region. Seeing the king coming the mutineers clam up. The king announced that either you surrender or you all will be punished severely. All the mutineers put down their weapons and stood folding their hands. The king asked them, 'Why did you revolt? What is your problem?'

The leader of the defiant said, 'King! We pay the taxes on time but no attention is paid on our security and facilities.' The king called his officer and asked them about the matter and he came to know that the leader of the mutineers was saying the truth. The king gave them the assurance and said, 'From today onwards full care will be taken of your security and facilities.' But the commander said, 'King! These people are not worth showing sympathy. They revolted against you, if you permit us we will teach them a good lesson.' The king said, 'The army is for the security of the country and it's people, not for trampling them. I have come here to establish peace not for revolution.'

Moral: Justice and the feeling of brotherhood can establish peace in any state or nation.

Ford Suggested The Solution To The Businessman

An American businessman was in great trouble due to the labour strike in his factory. Every now and then due to labourer's strike the working of the factory was affected and he had to bear great losses. The businessman thought to take Mr Ford's guidance for the solution of this problem because he was very much impressed by the success of Mr Ford's motor company. When he reached Ford's factory he found that Ford was not in his office. Someone told him that Ford was working with the labourers so the businessman waited for him.

When Ford came back in the office the businessman said, 'You are the boss of this big factory if you will work with the labourers how will they respect you and how will you maintain the discipline?' Ford smiled and said, 'Neither I consider myself as the boss nor I take them as labourers rather we solve the problems together working in a healthy atmosphere. Due to this closeness and harmony the discipline is always maintained and I know that the labourers have great affection and love for me.' Then Ford asked the businessman the reason for his visit. The businessman said, 'I came here to take your opinion on my factory's problems but your behaviour gave me an appropriate guidance.'

Moral: Modesty, closeness, equality, labour and determination are the compulsory elements for the smooth working of any business. Any businessman who possess these qualities in his character and behaviour, his institution will not only be successful but will also prosper.

A Farmer Saved Overlean's Life

A German named Overlean was always engaged in the works of public welfare. He considered helping needy people his priority and he never even bothered about the sufferings he encountered in this course of work. One day while he was travelling for one such work, dusty winds started blowing, after a while it began raining heavily and soon it took the shape of a cyclone. Overlean shouted for help but in the loud sound of the cyclone no one heard him, finally he fainted and fell on the ground. After a while, a farmer passed by and saw Overlean lying on the ground and brought him in his hut.

When Overlean came into a conscious state he thanked the farmer and said, 'You have saved my life and I want to give you an expensive gift'. The farmer shockingly asked him, 'Gift for what? I saw a man in trouble and brought him in my hut, I have only fulfilled my duty'. When Overlean asked him his name he said, 'Dear friend, as Bible doesn't mention the name of any benevolent man likewise let me also be unnamed'.

Moral: A man who does good works considering it as a duty do not desire fame, appreciation or gifts rather he considers good works as his life's motive.

Be Humble To Receive God's Blessings

Once there was a lady who had no child and therefore she was in a great sorrow. She tried all the suggested ways but nothing worked for her. Then one day someone gave her the address of Saint Chidamber Dixit saying that he is a very holy person and whomever he blesses their wishes get fulfilled. The lady reached Saint Chidamber's ashram but there was a swarm of worshippers there. The Saint gave a handful of roasted chickpeas to the lady and told her to sit under a tree and eat them and he will call her after a while. The lady sat under the tree and started eating chickpeas.

Seeing her eating chickpeas the small children who were playing around the tree came to her and said, 'We also want to eat, give us some chickpeas'.Hearing this the lady shouted in anger, 'I will not give you anything, run away from here'. AlL the children ran away from there except one, he again said, 'Why are you eating it alone? Share it with me...' The lady scolded him badly and he too ran away in fear. When she finished eating chickpeas the Saint called for the lady and asked her the reason for her visit. The lady put forth her wish for a child. The Saint said, 'Only those who have a large heart full of love can be blessed with a child. You could not even share a handful of chickpeas with the small children, then how can God bless you with a child? Go, go back...'

Moral: Expansion is life and contraction is death. The one who has love and affection for everyone around him receives the same and is alive in a true sense whereas a selfish person even being alive is worth dead.

A Sober Lie

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a very generous man and he considered his priority to help others. One day he came to know that another kind hearted man who used to help needy people named Jairaj had passed away and his wife doesn't even have money for his funeral ceremony. Vidyasagar did not personally know Jairaj but he wanted to help his wife. After thinking for a while he came out with a way. He went to Jairaj's house where he saw Jairaj's wife weeping near Jairaj's dead body. Consoling her Vidyasagar said, 'Few days back I borrowed some money from Jairaj and today while I was coming here to return some amount of money from it, on the way I came to know about his sad demise. Kindly accept this money and I will soon return the remaining amount too.'

Jairaj's wife accepted the money with thanksgiving and used it for her husband's funeral. Even in future Vidyasagar regularly provided financial assistance to Jairaj's family. After few years when Jairaj's wife came to know about the reality she along with her sons came to Vidyasagar's house. She fell at his feet and with tears in her eyes said, 'I am very grateful to you for everything you did but in order to help us you had to lie because of us you had to commit a sin. How will I be able to forgive myself?' To this Vidyasagar said, 'Any lie spoken for some good work is not a sin.'

Moral: Any lie spoken for some one's help or some good work is not a sin rather it is counted as a holy act. Basically any lie or untrue words with public welfare in its background is worth appreciation.

Beauty Is World's Biggest Glory

Once a philosopher read that, "Beauty is world's biggest glory. Worship, knowledge, deeds and servicing are trivial ways for the attainment of God. In reality beauty is the only correct way." He further read, "A person can attain God only in the natural beauty of the environment which is enclosed with beautiful mountain ranges, where the rivers flow in their innocence, where there is purity in the ambiance." Since his own house was in the desert so after reading this the philosopher left his house in the search of beauty. For a long time he stayed in the midst of the mesmerising beauty of nature surrounded with mountains and rivers. Then one day he returned back to his home but only after a few days he felt weary and he prepared to move out again.

Seeing this a local saint asked him, "Where are you going now?" The philosopher replied, "I am going away from here, to a place where I can find beauty which can give peace to my heart and soul." Saint asked, "Till today you have wandered in the search of beauty but how much did you contribute in the creation of beauty? You kept running away from your own house and land, one day God will ask you that even after seeing my numerous beautiful creations why didn't you make any effort to beautify one less beautiful place? Have you ever thought that planting a flower plant or growing some grass can even make this desert look beautiful. You only think about your personal welfare." These words touched philosopher's heart and he stayed back and made his contributions in the creation of beauty there and earned self-satisfaction.

Moral: True happiness lies in social welfare. Happiness is incomplete if we alone are happy and others are unhappy.

Our Deeds Decide Our Fruit

Once there was a rich man named Chandushah in the kingdom of Jehangir. He sent a marriage proposal to sikh guru Arjundev Ji for their son Hargobind Singh Ji and his daughter but Arjundev Ji rejected his proposal. Chandushah got angry on this rejection and was in search of an opportunity for revenge. Chandushah earned close proximity with Jehangir and started bad biting him saying that Guru Granth Sahib consists of many anti-muslim talks. Jehangir ordered Guru Arjundev Ji to extract those parts from Guru Granth Sahib. Arjundev Ji said, 'Guru Granth Sahib is the praise of the Lord, I cannot dare to extract any part from it.' On this Jehangir penalized him with 2 lacs of rupees, to this Guru Arjundev Ji said, 'I cannot use a single penny from the treasure of Sikh Trust to pay this penality amount.'

Jehangir then gave severe punishment to Arjundev Ji, he made him sit on a heated iron griddle and poured hot sand on his body from above. Seeing this Guruji's well-wisher Miya Meer requested Guruji to allow him to punish Jehangir and his people with his magic powers but Guruji refused, accepting it as God's will. Chandushah's own grand daughter couldn't see this and she brought a glass of soft drink for Guruji. Guruji refused to take it and sent her back with lots of blessings. After five days of severe torture Arjundev Ji extincted in River Ravi. It was heard that later Chandushah got demented and while wandering in the streets of Lahore one day he passed away.

Moral: Good deeds bear good fruits whereas bad deeds always lead to destruction. The path of dishonesty will lead us to dishonest destination.

Newton Was Given Suggestion By His Servant

Mr Laal Bahadur Shastri was a very simple and down to earth person, he respected all humans equally. He had one very fine quality that while discussing the important matters with his colleagues he would often ask his servants and even gardener about their opinion on the related matter. People found this behaviour of Shastriji somewhat weird. One day a friend asked him, 'Shastriji, we are unable to understand this behaviour of yours. Political talks are of complicated nature and beyond a common man's understanding, is it logical to take servants and gardeners opinion on it? Do these people have the knowledge of such serious talks?'

Shastriji smiled and said, 'I will answer this question narrating you a true incident. A cat gave birth to kittens at Newton's 'the inventor of gravitational theory' home. At night when all the doors of the house were closed cat and its kittens would uproar to come out. So Newton told his servant to make two holes in the door, one big for cat and one small for kittens. The servant suggested that one big hole would be enough because if cat can pass through it, kittens also can easily pass through the same hole. Hearing this Newton was surprised that why didn't this simple thing came into his mind.' Shastriji concluded saying that sometimes even a lay-man's advice can be of great help.

Moral: Sometimes even less educated, less intellectual, less knowledgeable people on the basis of their experience put forward useful thoughts which can be of great help in taking big decisions.

Sai Baba Gave The Message Of Equality

More than 92 years ago there was a renowned saint in India named Sai Baba who lived in Shirdi. Worshiping God and working for public welfare was his daily deeds. A temple was built there which was looked after by Sai Baba's disciple Upaasani Baba. One day Sai Baba asked his disciple if worshippers come to the temple or not? Upaasani baba replied, 'No'. Then Sai Baba said, 'Well, I would come here sometimes then'. One day Upaasani Baba was getting food for Sai Baba who was in temple, on the way he saw a hungry dog but he ignored him. When he reached to Sai Baba and served him food, Sai Baba said, 'Why did you bother to come here? I was on the way only.' Upaasani Baba understood Sai Baba's indication and decided to rectify his mistake. But the very next day again while taking the food he forgot that.

On the way a poor and sick person requested him for some food but ignoring him he came to Sai Baba and said, 'Master, please have the food !' Sai Baba said, 'I requested you for food on the way but you didn't give me there.' Hearing this Upaasani Baba was filled with guilt, he fell at Sai Baba's feet and said, 'I apologize for my mistake, in future I will treat all human beings equally.'

Moral: People search for God in temples, mosques or in saints but true God rests in the service of poor and needy people.

Ishwar Was Punished For Helping His Friend

Exams were going on in the examination hall. All the students were busy solving the question paper. Ishwar who was a brilliant student was also calmly solving his paper but his friend Manish who was sitting behind him was very dull in studies and was trying to catch Ishwar's attention for some help. After finishing the paper Ishwar was revising his paper, grabbing the opportunity Manish again indicated Ishwar for some help. Initially Ishwar was scared at the idea of helping him but when he looked at his friends sad face he placed his answer sheet in such a way so that Manish could copy easily but nothing skipped from the sharp eye of the teacher. He beated Ishwar for this, Ishwar got really hurt with this insult.

After the exam got over the teacher called Ishwar in the staff room and said, 'I am feeling really bad for beating you today'. Ishwar said, 'Sir, I was not cheating I was only helping Manish'. Sir then explained him, 'One who does wrong is certainly a sinner but one who helps the wrong doer is also a sinner. You were not helping Manish rather you were supporting his laziness and dulness. In future he will not be able to do anything without support'.

Moral: The result of every work is a mixture of good and bad. We must indulge ourselves in such works which result in betterment of others.

Trust Your Heavenly Father

A young navy officer and his wife went on a sea voyage for their honeymoon after marriage. The navy officer was quite brave and fearless due to the nature of his job and was enjoying the trip but his wife was very scared as it was her first water expedition. Whenever she told her husband about her fears he playfully roll over the topic. One day her fear turned into reality and there was a huge storm in the sea. She was awestruck to see its enormity and lost all hopes of life. Her husband tried hard to raise up her spirit and confidence but she turned all gloomy.

Seeing all his efforts going in vain he took out a chopper knife and placing it on his wife's neck he asked her, 'Are you not afraid of me?' His wife relaxed for a moment and with a smile on her face replied confidently, 'You are my husband, why shall I be afraid of you?' Placing aside the knife the officer told his wife that God is our Father, even if He is carrying a knife of storm in his hand it is not necessary that He will kill us. He further said, 'As you trust your husband likewise you must trust your Father also. Trusting Him will keep our trip happy and safe.'

Moral: We must never indulge in useless doubts, because it only lowers down our morale. Rather if we keep ourselves at peace and filled with confidence we can face things in a better way.

Aurangzeb Was Filled With Respect Towards Durgadas

After the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur, Aurangzeb wanted to conquer jodhpur but Jaswant Singh's minister Durgadas Rathore didn't let Aurangzeb succeed in his plans. Durgadas wanted Jaswant Singh's son Rajkumar Ajit Singh to acquire the throne and therefore Durgadas fought with great bravery against the Mughal army. Durgadas was very loyal and brave, during the battle he used to eat and sleep on his horse's back only. For him his country and his responsibility towards it were his first priorities, he even sacrificed his desires and happiness for the sake of his country's security.

Once during the battle, Durgadas caught hold of Aurangzeb's grandson and grand daughter. But he kept them in the kingdom with great respect. After a while Aurangzeb sent a message to Durgadas asking for his grandchildren to be sent back. Durgadas kept the condition of the acceptance of Ajit Singh's right on the throne of Jodhpur. Aurangzeb accepted the condition. When his grandchildren returned to Delhi, Aurangzeb told them that since they were in a non-muslim's home for such a long time now they must read Quran daily. To this his grand daughter replied, 'Even there we used to read Quran daily. Durgadas appointed a muslim lady for us who used to make us read Quran.' Hearing this Aurangzeb was filled with great respect towards Durgadas and he said, 'Suban-Allah ! even if you have an enemy he must be a good human being.'

Moral: Never let enmity be a hurdle in some one's personal respect. Be human at heart collecting the power of goodness.

A Visionary Young Boy

Once there was a village facing drought from a very long time. All the ponds and the wells of the village had turned dry. The villagers were having a hard time. There was a Shiv Temple on the outskirts of the village. The villagers decided to go there, and offer collective prayers to God for the rain showers. The next morning all the villagers; men, women, children and old people gathered and filled with immense enthusiasm they began walking towards the temple. One child in the crowd carried an umbrella with him. Seeing that everyone started scoffing at him. An old man from the crowd asked him, "Son, why are you carrying this umbrella with you"? The young boy replied, "Baba, we all are going to the temple to pray and beseech God for rain showers. While returning back to the village, when it will begin raining this umbrella will be needed."

Hearing that everyone started laughing. The old man said, "Very wisely spoken. You have complete trust in God, and if it does rain, then it will be due to your prayers and firm faith in God". On reaching the temple, all the villagers prayed together and began returning to their village, while they reached half-way it started raining heavily. The young boy proudly opened his umbrella and the rest all reached home wet.

Moral: Chanting the name of God, will not bring you closer to him. For this one must experience, practise and feel his presence with firm faith.

The Sweetness Of Mangoes Bittered Relations

There were two childhood friends, who after completing their studies started a joint venture. Their business grew well with time, and so did their relationship. Everyone felt amazed to see the love and affection even between their families, but one day an incident took place which shook the roots of their friendship. One day when both the friends were in the shop, a mango seller was passing by, they bought a basket of mangoes from him and kept it in the shop. After a while, one of them had to leave for some important work and before leaving he told his friend to divide the mangoes and he left. While making the division, he thought about his son who loved mangoes a lot and out of greed he selected larger and riped mangoes for his family and left the smaller ones for his friend.

When the first friend returned and saw the division he felt apprehensive, but he held peace. The next day he met the advocate and got the papers ready for the end of partnership in the business. The other friend shockingly asked him the reason behind the division. To this the first friend replied, "Yesterday I saw that you kept the bigger mangoes for yourself and the smaller ones for me. It's not about the mangoes, but about the partiality and greed which cropped up in your heart. Now we cannot work together". This is how the strong bond of friendship broke in a couple of minutes.

Moral: Partiality and greed give birth to indifference in the other person's heart affecting the natural flow of love and affection, which also disturbs the mental peace.

The True Goal

One day, two strangers were walking from a city to their village. A good exchange of talks made their journey easy, and soon they crossed the half way to their village. When they reached the river side they saw that there was no bridge to cross that river. One of them did not know swimming, but seeing no other choice he too decided to swim his way to the other side. The one who knew swimming lost his confidence in the middle of the river, and ended up striving for his life and breath. Whereas the other one easily swam his way and safely reached the other side of the river.

When he saw his companion stuck in the middle of the river he again jumped in the water and got him out safely. On reaching the shore safely the one who knew swimming asked the other that how he could swim so confidently. The one who did not know swimming replied, "My friend the box tied to my waist is full of gold coins, which I have earned for my wife and children working day and night over the years." The one who did not know swimming replied, "My friend the box tied to my waist is full of gold coins, which I have earned for my wife and children working day and night over the years."

Moral: Complete focus on a goal gives us enough courage to overcome all the hurdles of the way without fear.

No One Accepted Human Head

One day King Ashoka and one of his minister was going somewhere on a chariot. After travelling for a while, they came across a beggar, and the king asked the charioteer to stop. The king dismounted the chariot to meet the beggar, but before leaving, he bowed his head before the beggar and then he moved ahead. The minister did not appreciate this gesture by the king and asked him why had he bowed his head before that beggar. King Ashoka told to him that he would reply to that question the next day. The next day, he gave one bag to his minister in which there was a human head, a goat head and a cow head and told his minister to sell it out.

On hearing this the minister got confused thinking who would buy this, but following king's order he went to sell them, and as he had thought no one bought it. He came back to the king and told him everything. This time the king asked him to offer it for free of cost and the minister managed to gave out the cow and goat head, but no one agreed to take the human head. On hearing this the king smiled and said, "This is the reply for your question, which you asked me yesterday. Human head, which is worthless for mankind, does not loose anything, if it is bowed before any humble and polite person. The fame of being a king is transitory, but love and respect are forever."

Moral: The pride for a position bring in disrespect whereas love and respect get reciprocated in the same measure.

Beggar - The Giver, King - The Receiver

Once there was a beggar who believed that one must authorise whatever he receives. One day he went to the posh area of his town for beggary. He received some grains from one house putting them in his bag he moved ahead. Suddenly he saw that the king of the town seated in his chariot was coming towards his direction. He stood there to see the king's procession, but to his surprise the king's chariot came to a halt near him. The king got down from the chariot, stretched out his hand before the beggar and said, "I beg you to give me something. Our country is about to face some trouble, the Pandits told me to beg before the first beggar I meet on the way as this will terminate the problem. So kindly do not refuse."

On hearing this the beggar felt astounded, but believing king's words he dived his hand into the bag. He filled a fist full of grain from it, but then thought he would not give away this much. Therefore, he loosed his fist and dropped some grains back into his bag. Again he thought that he would not give this much grain, otherwise what will his family eat. Finally, he gave away a miser amount of grain to the king. On returning home, he told his wife about the whole incident. She was also surprised to hear about the whole matter. Later, his wife found a gold coin in the bag while emptying it. Seeing that the beggar regretted and said, "Why did not I give everything to the king? My lifetime poverty would have ended had I done the charity with wholeheartedness."

Moral: Charity gets reciprocated in large profits some day if we do it wholeheartedly. Therefore, we must all contribute to the society whole-souled as charity bring in prosperity.

A Selfless Saint

Once King Vidabh of Shravasti attacked the kingdom of Kapilavastu. The army of Kapilavastu was not prepared for the attack and thus could not protect its kingdom and the king had to flee from there. King Vidabh and his soldiers entered the kingdom of Kapilavastu and started plundering and looting. The people got extremely terrified. During that time, there was a saint named Mahanama who lived in Kapilavastu, he could not see people's pain and sorrow. Therefore, he went to King Vidabh who was once his disciple and said to him, "Oh king! I beg you for the protection of people's life and assets." King Vidabh said, '"You are my teacher and I will not harm you, but I have taken a pledge to destroy Kapilavastu." Mahanama said, "Dear king, do you remember that you still owe Gurudakshina to me, and today I ask you for the protection of these people as my Gurudakshina."

King Vidabh wanted to give Gurudakshina to his teacher, but also fulfill his pledge, so he said to the saint, "There is a pool nearby, as long as you will be in the pool nobody will be attacked, but as you come out of it the plundering will restart." The saint accepted the king's proposal and entered the pool, he went deep inside the pool and tied himself to a pillar. After a long while the divers took out his dead body. Seeing this king Vidabh got filled with remorse and he returned with his army.

Moral: Some times for the attainment of some goals people have to be ready for self sacrifice as it also gives inspiration to others.

Oschev - The Real Fighter

Oshchev was a famous Stunt Pilot of Roose. He mesmerized everyone, his officials and friends with his fighting skills. Oshchev had full faith and trust in God and believed he could accomplish great tasks with this faith. Once while fighting with the enemies the engine of his fighter plane failed and crash into a small mountain nearby. Oshchev got terribly hurt and lost both his legs. All his friends who came to visit him had tears in their eyes and one of them said to him in choked voice, 'We will never be able to see you fly again'.

Oshchev smiled and said, 'Lord has saved me to live and remain as a fighter otherwise I would have died then and there'. Everyone took it as a false consolation but soon after recovering from hospital Oshchev got artificial limbs fitted and practised walking day and night. His friends tried to explain him that this could worse his wounds but he ignored them all. Friends asked him on what basis is he talking about being a Stunt Pilot again? He simply replied, 'My trust and faith is with me'. Soon he started walking without sticks and seeing his progress and confidence he was taken back in army. His faith and confidence won and handicapped Oshchev once again became a Stunt Pilot.

Moral: Any work done with complete faith in God and trust in oneself leads to success.

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