God Help Those Who Help Themselves
Once there was a flood in a village. People were to their roofs for safety. One of
the men was constantly praying to God. He was deeply religious and a god-
fearing man. Water level was rising steadily. Along came one boat, others asked
him to climb onto it to save himself. He refused. He said, “ No, I will be
saved by my God.” The boat left. After a while came another boat and again
people insisted. He replied in the same vein.
The water level went up to the roofs finally. Then came a
helicopter, and a rope was thrown to him asking to get in the helicopter.
Again, the same answer. In a short while the man was upto his neck in water,
and eventually died.
He reached heaven and bursting with anger, asked God why He
didn’t come to his rescue, when he was an ardent devotee. God replied, “Foolish
fellow, the rescue teams in the boat and the helicopter were sent by me. But it
was you who did not want to save yourself. How can I do anything about it? I
gave you three options, but you declined them yourself.”
MESSAGE
In this world we
will, of course, have to face difficulties and problems, we do pray to God
during those times, but we have to continue working hard. People who blame
their luck for their misfortune or spill it on God will forever remain where
they are, since God too loves those who work unceasingly and do not sit idle
Different People, Different Opinion
Four blind men once visited the king. The king gifted them
an elephant and asked them to describe what they sensed. The blind man standing
near the tail thought the elephant to resemble a rope. The one near the leg
felt the animal to be a tree trunk. The person standing near the trunk thought
it to be a snake, and for the one facing his stomach, the mammal was like a
thick wall. This being said, a heated argument broke out amongst the four of
them.
MESSAGE
The moral is that everybody ultimately experiences the world
the way he/she thinks of it. What may be wrong for one person could be just the
ultimate for another. The depth of our understanding totally depends on our way
of thinking and experiences. We tend to press forward an argument, however
hollow it may be. There can be drastically different opinions of people on the same topic, and
everyone goes around ranting one’s own philosophy.
Never Give Up
Melanie wanted to be a dancer from the very beginning. She
was a gifted artist. She could dance for hours on music. Seeing this, her
parents decided to make her a ballet dancer. Those days there was a big dance
troupe in town. Her parents took her to the chief of the ballet group and
requested him to train her. He asked her to perform. She did that. Instead of
paying any attention, he didn’t even bother to look at her. He was busy with
his own work. After her performance, he admonished her, saying that she neither
had the talent nor the inclination. It would be better if she gave up the idea
of pursuing a career in that field and should opt for another career.
Melanie was heart- broken. She felt her world coming to an
end. She followed the dance master’s advice and gave up dancing—her only
passion. She joined as a teacher in a school. She had been working there for
five years now. Once it so happened that the dance master was away for a while.
Melanie was asked to supervise the children. She was teaching them dancing when
suddenly the dance teacher reached there. She was stunned to see her talent.
She encouraged her and praised her immensely. She told her that she danced
superbly. Melanie was stunned to hear that. She couldn’t believe her ears. She
was taken to the dance teacher and the world then witnessed one of its most
exotic dancers in her.
So, we see how one pessimistic, negative minded teacher
could curb Melanie’s talent for 15 years, whereas the other one shaped her into
a true artist.
MESSAGE
Do you want some such
person to demolish your aspirations and hopes and dreams? Do not surrender
yourself to any such person who can turn you into a frustrated creature and
pull you down.
Remain Silence Avoid Many Problems
Three engineers worked in a foreign land. For some reason
the king of that place was displeased with them and punished them a death
sentence. They pleaded and begged before the king. He wouldn’t retrace the
decision, rather told them that God willing, they could be saved. In his
kingdom, they could chop off the neck of the prisoner by some machine. On the
day of execution, an old man who pitied them, advised them saying not to utter
a single word there. Remain mum. Those engineers agreed to that. The first one was taken to the guillotine.
Somehow the gadget failed to work properly and the engineer was saved. It was
the turn of the second engineer—same thing happened and he too, escaped the
death-knell.
Now, the third one was intently watching all this. He forgot
what he had promised to that old man, about keeping quiet. The moment he was
put there, he jumped saying that what you are voicing as God’s sweet will, is
nothing but a technical defect in the apparatus. He pointed out the flaw and
the executioner easily did the job--- he was killed.
MESSAGE
This principle
advocates that whenever a situation is heated up, there is a controversy, any
argument getting out of hand, your boss/husband/wife—anybody in a fuming rage,
a single word from you would add fuel to the fire. So best would be—TO REMAIN
QUIET.
After an argument, if
the other person finds out that you were correct, even then you never
retaliated, listened patiently—he would be thoroughly ashamed and embarrassed.
He would certainly repent while your prestige would increase manifolds.
