Don't judge a book by its cover !

Welcome to 45^th  Monday Musings:

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One truck driver was doing his usual load delivery at a mental hospital, by parking his vehicle beside an open drain. He discovered a flat Tyre when he was about to return from the mental hospital. He jacked up the truck and removed the flat Tyre to fix the spare Tyre.

When he was about to fix the spare Tyre  he accidentally dropped all the 4 bolts in the open drain. As he cannot fish the bolts in the open drain, he started to panic as to what should be done?

Just then, one patient happened to walk past him and asked the driver as to why he was looking troubled.

The driver thought to himself, since there is nothing much he can do or this mental joker can. Just to keep the bugging away, the truck driver informed the whole episode to the mental patient and gave a helpless look.

The patient just laughed at the truck driver and said you just cannot even fix such a simple problem? "No wonder you are destined to remain a truck driver for life".

The truck driver was astonished to hear such a compliment from a mental guy. "Here is what you can do" said the mental guy... "take one bolt from each of the remaining 3 tyres / wheels and fix it on to this tyre.

Then drive down to the nearest workshop and replace the missing ones. Isn't it simple my friend".

The truck driver was so impressed with this quick fix answer and asked the patient "How come you are so smart and intelligent and you are here at the mental hospital?"

The patient replied "Dear friend! I stay here because I am crazy but not stupid".

No wonder, there are some people, who behave like the Truck Driver, thinking that others are just stupid. So, guys, though you all are learned and wise, but, just watch out, there could be some CRAZY guys in our professional / personal lives, who could give us lot of quick fixes and brush our wisdom.

Moral of the story :

you shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something, by its outward appearance alone, Just do not conclude that you know everything and do not judge people by mere looks/ attire stature or academic background !

Without being judgmental, you should always be ready to learn anything from anyone and anytime.

 You must not forget, A perception can be deceptive,  So Never Judge a book by Its cover.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Be pure at heart !

Welcome to 44^th  Monday Musings:

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Long ago, on the bank of a river, there lived a monk. Right across the street from him, lived a prostitute.

The monk always hated the fact that he had to live next door to the prostitute. He took every opportunity to rebuke her about her profession. He would take every opportunity to show her what a horrible person she was. In his mind, he always compared himself with her and took big pride in the fact that he was accruing so much good Karma compared to her.

The prostitute was a humble girl. She always respected the monk. She tried not to talk back when he was yelling at her. She felt bad about the choice of profession she made, but was not in a position to get out of it. She would always try to listen when the monk prayed, hoping that listening God’s name would help her wash off some of her sins.

The monk kept on his routine of massaging his own ego by comparing himself to the prostitute. Eventually he got so obsessed that he kept a jar with him and for every one person who visited prostitute, he dropped a pebble in the jar.

The prostitute kept her own routine. She was also watching what the monk was doing. She had a jar too. And every time the monk prayed, she put a pebble in the jar.

One day there was a big flood on the river. Both the monk and the prostitute were washed away and were dead. Upon their death, their souls stood in front of God of death.

To everyone’s surprise, the God of death ordered the prostitute to go to heaven and the monk to go to hell. The monk could not believe this. “What an injustice. You can still find a jar in my house. I have kept count of how many times this prostitute sinned.

How can she go to the heaven?

There must be some mistake ?

The prostitute also added humbly   “I think the monk is right. I don’t deserve to go the heaven. But he does. I have a jar where I kept count of the number of times I heard his prayer. He prayed a lot. So I think he should go to heaven and I should go to hell”

The God of death smiled and said TO Monk “You thought that God’s love meant judging the behavior of your neighbor. While you filled your heart with the impurity of another’s sin, this woman prayed fervently day and night. Her soul is so light after all the tears she has shed that we can easily bear her up to Paradise. Your soul is so weighed down with stones it is too heavy to life.

It does not matter what word is in your mouth. It matters only what is in your heart. The monk’s heart was filled with prostitute’s sins while he was saying his prayers. While the prostitute’s heart was filled with love of God while engaged in lifestyle of sins.

Moral of the story :

Don't waste their time judging others and telling others how to live their lives and how to be a good person, because at the end of the day.

If all you've done is judge someone else on how they live their lives, then you haven't done the world any good either.

The moral of the story is to take a good look at yourself before judging other people. If you want other people to do the world some good, then you have to start by doing the world some good and not persecute others. How can you expect other people to change, if you are not willing to change?

The heart that has love of God goes to heaven and the heart that judges others and is filled with jealousy goes to hell,  So always be pure at heart and spread happiness.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Monk and Baby !

Welcome to 43^rd  Monday Musings:

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Once there was a monk who lived in a village. One day a young village girl became pregnant and was unmarried. She did not want to expose her boyfriend. Out of fear when her parents asked her who is responsible, she pointed her finger to that monk.

Her parents were infuriated. The next day, the whole village turned up to blame the him. "How could you?" "You dirty old man!" "You are a disgrace!" "Get out of our village, you hypocrite!" Some villagers even threaten the his life.

 After listening to all the accusations, what he said was "Is that so?" and went back to meditate. Months went by; the young girl gave birth to a baby. The parents of the young girl were forced to find a father for the child.

The parents and the villagers went up to approach him saying "You are responsible for this baby; therefore you should bring up the baby!" Once again, he said "Is that so?" He took the young baby in his arms and went back.

 By this time the he has lost his reputation but it did not trouble him. He took very good care for this baby and he manages to obtain milk and everything the child needed from his neighbors.

 After a year, he young girl felt ashamed and guilty and wanted to see her baby. She finally told the real story to her parents. When all the villagers came to know the truth, they all felt ashamed of having wrong him.

  So all of them gathered and went to the monk asking for forgiveness. Once again, after listening to them said "Is that so?" He handed the baby back to the young girl.

Moral of the story :

Mankind are an incorrigible race. Give them but bugbears and idols -- it is all that they ask; the distinctions of right and wrong, of truth and falsehood, of good and evil, are worse than indifferent to them.

That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end

No Matter what you decide is right or wrong , but inside your heart you always knew what was right , so always make a right Decision and stand with truth, no matter world is with you or against you.

When you are right, one thousand angels swearing that you are wrong does not matter. But when you are wrong, ten thousand angels swearing that you are right will not make any difference.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Two Monk and Lady !

Welcome to 42^nd Monday Musings:

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Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling together.

They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge was damaged. They had to wade across the river.

There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn’t cross the river.

The big monk offered to carry her across the river on his back to which the lady accepted.

The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk and was thinking

How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females But he kept quiet.

The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.

All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of accusations about big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation.

Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. “How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty?”

All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite.

The big monk looked surprised and said, I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along

Moral of the story :

This very old Chinese Zen story reflects the thinking of many people today. We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry.

But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away.  There is no point in remaining hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over. Learn to move on in life!

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Face Your Fears !

Welcome to 41^st Monday Musings:

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An old story tells of a woman who dreams every night that she is being chased, throughout a big haunted house,  By a hulking Monster.

Night after night, the hideous thing runs after her, its breath like acid on the back of her neck...

It all seems so real...

Finally one night, the dream begins again, but this time the beast corners the poor terrified woman, and just as it's about to tear her apart,

the woman finds her voice and shrieks: "What are you! Why are you chasing me! What will you do to me!"

At that, the monster stops, straightens up, and with a puzzled expression, puts its hands on its hips and says, "How should I know? It's your dream."

Moral of the story :

Always face your fear and doubts, we always keep running from fears that we may face something unwanted outcome, and being scared of same we don’t face our fears, and we miss fortune lying behind it

It is necessary to face our fear; in fact, "the essence of cowardice is not acknowledging the reality of fear

So easy to say, So difficult to do, but until you face your fears, you’re always looking back. You’re a diminished version of yourself.

Don’t be afraid, conquer the fear within, because  beyond fear lies victory.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Important of Appreciation !

Welcome to 40^th Monday Musings:

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One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview; the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"

the youth answered "none".

The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"

The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, "Where did your mother work?"

The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"

The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, "Please explain me your feelings."

The youth said,

Number 1, I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.

Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.

Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

Moral of the story :

Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune. Appreciated people achieve the best; dominated people achieve second best; neglected people achieve the least.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them ~~ John F. Kennedy.

Appreciate everything in life, appreciate yourself, your job and everything you see, The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one. Well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune and Everyone appreciates being appreciated!

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Fall seven times, stand up eight !

Welcome to 39^th Monday Musings:

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As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg.

No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well, "trainer said,

When elephant is still a baby, the elephant is tethered by a very thick rope or chain to a stake firmly hammered into the ground.

The elephant tries several times to get free, but it lacks the strength to do so.

After a year, the stake and the rope are still strong enough to keep a small elephant tethered, although it continues to try, unsuccessfully, to get free.

At this point, the animal realizes that the rope will always be too strong and so it gives up.

When it reaches adulthood, the elephant can still remember how, for a long time , it had wasted its energies trying to escape captivity. At this stage, the trainer can tether the elephant with a slender thread tied to a broom handle, and the elephant will make no attempt to escape to freedom.

it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away.  They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were

Moral of the story :

Like the elephants, many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we can’t do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do. Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. Never ever Give up.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh