COMPETITION AMONG THREE ARTISTS

          Once upon a time three rival painters lived in a certain city of Persia. Their fame had spread far and wide. People from different places would rush to the city to see their pictures. They were so good at their work that it was very difficult to say who was the best artist. So as a trial of skill it was decided that each was to draw a picture and judges would decide who had done the best work.

         The artists began their work in right earnest. One of the artists painted a bunch of flowers. It was so beautiful and natural that a swarm of bees came buzzing to settle on the picture. The judges were amazed at his skill. Another painted a heap of plums and peaches in a dish. It was so natural and life-like that an ox came and tried to seize it. The third artist painted a curtain on the wall. The judges thought that the picture was behind the screen. So they drew the curtain aside and found there was no curtain there, but only a painting. The picture of the curtain was adjudged the best, for it had deceived the judges, while the other pictures deceived an insect and an animal.

LORD BUDDHA AND THE MOTHER IN GRIEF

           One day a poor woman came to Lord Buddha weeping for the death of her only son. So her sorrow was too deep for tears. She requested the great saint to give her some medicine to restore her dead son to life. Buddha was touched by the great grief of the woman. He asked her to bring a handful of mustard seed from a house where no death had taken place.

           The weeping mother went from door to door for a handful of mustard seed. She asked every member of the house if there was any death in his family. But at every door she met with the same replies. Some said, “I have lost my husband.” Another said, “Our youngest child died last year.”

           The woman came to Buddha with a heavy heart. She told him the result of her quest. Buddha then said to the woman tenderly, “Then you see, sorrow and death are common to all. Once a man is born, he is sure to die. So, you should not think much of your own sorrow.”

THE POOR COBBLER AND HIS RICH NEIGHBOUR

           Once there lived a poor but contented cobbler in a village. He earned an honest living by the sweat of his brow He worked and sang from morn till night. He was indeed the happiest man in the locality.

           The cobbler’s rich neighbor was always anxious about hi wealth. He knew no peace of mind. So being envious of the cobbler’s carefree life, he wanted to put an end to this by a clever device.

           One day the rich man gave the cobbler a bag of money, saying. “Friend, here is some money for you for improving your lot with it.”

           The cobbler was at first in a fix. Then he accepted the money and hid it in a hole inside his cottage. But his anxiety for the money made him forget his usual joy.

At last one day the poor cobbler felt that the money had matched away all his mirth. So he went to his rich neighbor with the money and said, “Sir, take back your money. My happiness and joy are more valuable than it.” So saying, the cobbler gave out a sigh of great relief and went away.

Moral: Contentment is the root of all happiness.

THE STOMACH AMD OTIIER LIMBS OF THE BODY

           All the organs of the body were very much disgusted with the stomach. They felt that each of them had to labour hard, hut the stomach alone sat idle and enjoyed the fruits of their labour. Once they met in a council and decided that they would not work to feed stomach any longer.

           Accordingly all the organs stopped work to teach the idle stomach a good lesson. The hand did not raise food to the mouth; the teeth did not chew it to feed the voracious belly. The gullet did -not send food to the stomach. But the stomach kept silent. It was starved.

           Very soon the natural result followed. All the organs of the body began to grow thinner and weaker. They could now realize their own folly. They understood that the stomach was not idle. It digested the food which gave them energy and strength. So they made up their quarrel with the stomach and began to cooperate with it for common good. The result was that the organs of the body got back-their usual energy and strength.

Moral: Cooperation is of great importance for success in any work.

THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE TOWN MOUSE

        Once upon a time there were two mice, who were intimate friends. One mouse lived in the country and the other in the town. One day the town mouse went to see the country mouse. “Good-day, friend,” said the country mouse, “I am so glad to see you!” He then took his friend to his house in the field and gave him nice things to eat—nuts, fruits and corn. But the town mouse did not like this dinner at all.

        “My friend,” said the town mouse, “why do you live in a hole? Come and live with me in the city where you would have a-nice house to live in, nice food, milk, bread arid cheese to eat.”

        The country mouse wanted to see the life in the city and went to his friend’s house. At night the mice found the remainder of a feast in a rich man’s house. When they fell to eating, the house-dog rushed into the room. Off they ran as fast as they could and went to a hole.

        “My friend,” said the country mouse, “our house and food are not as grand as yours; but we do not rim away leaving our dinner.” So saying he came back to his country again.

THE RECOLLECTIONS OF YOUR SCHOOL DAYS

        The memory of my boyhood is full of happy incidents. I can recollect everything vividly as if it happened yesterday. We lived in a district town on the banks of river Padma now in Bangladesh. My father was the Headmaster of the local school, and was a highly respected man. Our family consisted of six members; parents, my eldest twin sisters, and the elder brother. I was the youngest of them and the lion’s share of affection was bestowed on me. Ours was a very simple happy family. My mother had an inexhaustible store of fairy tales, which she used to open up every night before our going to bed.

        My next recollection is of a small park near our house where the children of the Locality were taken out every afternoon. I become intimate with some I met there and that intimacy continues till now.

        The next experience worth mention was my first day at school. When I was five years old, I was one day taken to the in fact class of my father’s school I was initially very nervous and could hardly feel, free with the other children. But soon the smiling face of my class teacher and the warmth with which my classmates received me dispelled all my fears. As I was promoted to higher class, I could feel a strong bond growing in me for the school. I began to take a keen interest in my lessons and won the admiration of my teacher.

        I was never a goody-goody type of boy. I learnt swimming at a very early age in a big pond near our house. When I grew up a bit more I often accompanied my elder brother and sisters to the Padma to swim for hours in the river. The current was often very strong, but we were good swimmers and we enjoyed swimming against the current. Then there was Bharat Sevasram  Sangha. Where I learnt the tricks of playing with lathi and knife for self-defence. My other friends also joined m often. We also played hide and seek in the nearby abandoned Nil Kuthi.

        What a time the boyhood was! Everything then appeared to b charming and life was as happy as anyone could wish to be.

SELF-HELP

        One of the greatest virtues of man is self-help. He who can do his own work does not need to depend on anyone else. He does not depend on anyone for anything. He does most of his essential works himself. He has the courage to face the various tasks of life boldly. To him, life becomes a great adventure.

        On many occasion, it is found that a man face trying circumstances.  Usually a man who is independent and who does his own work and who is confident about himself is able to get out of these situations bold. Self-help is thus a key to success in life. This is the best quality a man can have and it, in its own turn, develops discipline, courage and efficiency?

        If one goes through the life stories of great people, it can be found that on every occasion they were self-reliant. Both Gandhi and Tagore have always insisted that one should be self-reliant and this virtue should be developed from the student-life which is the formative age of any person.

        Not just individuals, but a nation should also try to be self-reliant. It is indeed a good sign that our country is trying to be self-sufficient. We are dependent o anybody to give us our daily needs of life. Other developing countries should follow our example and try to be self-reliant.