RELIGION

        Religion is as old as man. It is based on the instincts of man. It gives him solace and contentment. It is a food for his soul. Every religion has a set of beliefs and a code of customs, rituals and ceremonies. The followers do not question the veracity of these beliefs. In fact, they develop a blind faith in these beliefs. Though the progress of science has made people doubt the relevance of religion in today’s world, yet the protagonists of religion are not prepared to give it up. They cling to it more firmly. Thus, religion continues to survive in the world side by side with science.

UNION IS STRENGTH

      Once there was a rich farmer had five grown-up sons. As he was getting old, he wanted them to help him in his work. But the sons were always quarreling among themselves over who would do what to help the old father in his work.

      As the old farmer lay dying, he called all his sons at his bedside. When they had collected, he asked them to take a bundle of sticks from under his bed. He untied the bundle and asked them to break the sticks one by one. This was an easy work to do. The sons picked up the sticks one by one and broke them into pieces. They were happy and pleased with themselves.

       The old farmer then asked them to take out another bundle of sticks from under his bed and asked them to break it. The sons tried by turns. But they couldn’t break the bundle. At last, they gave up and looked at their father.

       The old farmer explained to them how it was easy to break the individual sticks but very difficult to break the bundle as a whole. If they went their separate ways after his death, it would be easier to defeat them one by one. But if they stayed together as one single unit and worked together, they would be able to overcome all opposition.

        In this way, he taught them the value of staying together and the lesson: Union is Strength.

SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD

        In the past it was believed that the parents and the Teachers must be strict with children. Otherwise, the children would be spoiled. A child was continuously beaten so as the keep him away from negligence and bad habits. But with the passage of time, it is believed that a child has to be treated as an individual and that he has his own special needs and desires. Education today primarily caters to a child’s needs without too much use of the rod. Corporal punishment has been abolished in schools and the emphasis is on treating a child with sympathy and understanding. This helps in the development of the child’s personality.   

   

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

        The wounds caused by a sword may be deep and serious. But they ultimately heal with the right treatment and the passage of time. But the wounds caused by the pen when we write ill of others and criticize them are incurable. That is why it is said that the death and destruction caused by military conquerors is short-lived. So is their glory and heroism. On the other hand, the writings of such immortal men of letters as Kalidas, Shakespeare, Goethe and others leave as indelible impression on the human mind and civilization. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau, for example, brought about the French Revolution with their slogan of Liberty, Equality and Justice. Such writers deserve our respect and reverence, and not the military conquerors who main and kill thousands of people to fulfill their selfish ambitions.

JUSTICE DELAYED IN JUSTICE DENIED

       It is generally believed that the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. There may be delay in divine justice, but it is eventually meted out to the wronged as well as the wrong-doers. But the same cannot be said about justice in the world. Cases in our civil courts keep piling up and judgement is delayed beyond all reasonable expectations. It is said that if the grandson gets justice in a case filed by his grandfather even before the grandson was born, he should consider himself lucky for justice in Indian courts in inordinately delayed. In such cases, justice Delayed becomes justice denied because the wronged party is not alive to savor the fruits of justice.

SHOULD NOT THROW STONES AT OTHERS THOSE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES

     None of us is perfect. We all have our more or less faults and weaknesses. We should not, therefore, criticize and make fun of others when we see their black spots. They may turn back and pick up our faults and weaknesses and we shall end up by blaming each other and arguing about whose faults are more glaring than the others’. This will bring about disorder and chaos in society. We should think of ourselves are living in a glass house. If we throw stones at others from inside our glass house and they retaliate by throwing stones at us, our glass house will be shattered. We should develop tolerance for others’ weaknesses and shortcomings before we expect them not to criticize and make fun of us.

IDLENESS IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

         It has been rightly said that an idle man’s brain is the devil’s workship. If one sits idle for a long period of time, one’s mind is likely to go astray and come up with mischief. On the other hand, if one keeps oneself busy and occupied one gets hardly any chance to think of unnecessary and irrelevant things to divert his mind and attention from the task at hand. Idleness often leads to indolence and fatalism. It may also lead one to take to evil ways. It must, therefore, be avoided at all costs and we should keep ourselves occupied all the time with constructive work and creative pursuits. That would take our mind off mischief and harming others.