The Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked :
'Are you writing a story about what we've done ? Is it a story about me ?'

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson :
'I am writing about you actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I'm using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.'

Intriqued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn't seem very special.
'But it's just like any other pencil I've ever seen !'

'That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

First quality : you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.

Second quality : now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he's much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

Third quality : the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing ; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

Fourth quality : what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

Finally, the pencil's fifth quality : it always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.'

(From the book of Paulo Coelho - Like the Flowing River)

Never Judge Anyone

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call ASAP, changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father going and coming in the hall waiting for the doctor.

Once seeing him, the dad yelled: “Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have the sense of responsibility?”

The doctor smiled and said: “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital and I came the fastest I could after receiving the call. And now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”

“Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies now what will you do?” said the father angrily.

The doctor smiled again and replied, “I will say what Job said in the Holy Bible “From dust we came and to dust we return, blessed be the name of God”. Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go and intercede for your son, we will do our best by God’s grace”

“Giving advice when we’re not concerned is so easy,” murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, “Thank God! Your son is saved!” and without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running. “If you have any question, ask the nurse!!”

“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state,” commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left.

The nurse answered, tears coming down her face: “His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was in the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”

Thus, NEVER JUDGE ANYONE because you never know how their life is and as to what is happening or what they’re going through!!!

-- Author Unknown

Power and Corruption

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely – this is a popular saying which has a strong element of truth in it. In every sphere we come across powerful and corrupt people who, to serve their own interests, stoop to any extent. They could threaten a vulnerable, honest person to implicate him in a case of corruption. Often, even if the actual culprit happens to get caught, the umbrella of power is there to provide protection. Power begets power. The most dangerous are those who are powerful and corrupt as well as intelligent. Intellect is a double-edged sword – it can cut either way. It could even justify a wrong-doing. Articulation and skilful presentation could make untruth appear like truth.

Since there will always be powerful and corrupt persons in life, the crucial question is, how should we handle them? Two paths are before us. One is to unite ourselves with others as per the old saying ‘united we stand divided we fall’. It will be possible to find like-minded people who have respect for truth and ethical values. It is not as though society is full of corrupt people; they are fewer in number but they seem to dominate because of the strong nexus they have with the powerful. If only the honest ones keep their ego under check and come together to overthrow the corrupt, the problem of corruption can be overcome.

Here is an example from the our religious traditions, from Durga Saptasati. As long as devtas fought Mahisasura individually, none could defeat him. The moment they came out of their individual ego and decided to act together, the result was tremendous – it led to the arising of the eternal Goddess Durga. Each devta empowered her with the strength that they had individually. That collective force rose up to meet the challenge posed by negativity. The message is clear: sometimes evil cannot be destroyed by individual actions of each of us, but it can be easily tamed through our collective actions. It’s thus important not to remain indifferent when faced with corruption or deliberate misuse of power but to speak out and do what one can to make a difference.

Several temptations will come our way that could distract us from the task at hand. These offers are likely to be substantial in terms of the material. However, the need is to cultivate equipoise and not surrender to temptation. Not even a few of us might have the resilience and strength of a Gandhi or have the will to follow in the footsteps of a Christ. But one can try, and perhaps make a difference, however small, so that eventually, taken in the collective, there comes a time when the force of honesty and goodness gathers sufficient strength to root out corruption wherever possible.

Each one of us can contribute a bit of ourselves to strengthen the efforts of the more forthcoming among us – and who knows, just as the devtas put in their mite to raise the eternal Durga, we too could find ourselves raising a strong force that will help cleanse the system.

[Arup Mitra (arup@iegindia.org), from Times of India dated 23rd March 2012]