Short story: The Rabbit and the Frog

Copyright@shravancharitymission

By Kamlesh Tripathi

    Once upon a time three rabbits in the peak of summers assembled around the dry bushes of nearby strawberry plant. Since there was nothing available to eat in the fields because of the intense heat they were very hungry. They were also quite troubled by the pet dogs that used to escort the walkers both in the mornings and evenings. The bushes in the field had dried up and were without any leaves, so they could not even hide behind the bushes. And upon being chased by the dogs, they used to get a place to hide with great effort. With all such difficulties they had become weary of life.

    One rabbit in frustration said—‘Lord Brahma has done great injustice to our species. He has made us extremely small and weak. He has neither given us pointed horns like the deer nor sharp paws like the cat. We have no weapon to defend ourselves from our enemies. The only thing we can do is to run away from everyone. From all corners the creator of this world has only created disasters for us.

    The second rabbit in desperation said—‘I am extremely scared of this pitiable and tentative life of mine. I have decided to drown myself in the pond.’

     The third one giving up on life said—‘Even I want to die. I cannot take this sorrow anymore. I’m just going to jump in that pond.’

    ‘Let’s all go with you. Since, we all have lived together, we shall also die together.’ Voiced the first rabbit. And they all left for the pond.

    Many frogs were lying and lazing around the pond. When they saw rabbits approaching the pond, they got scared and quickly started jumping into the pond. On seeing the scared frogs jumping into the pond the first rabbit suddenly stopped and said, ‘brothers! There is no need to give our lives, come let’s go back. Because in this world of Lord Brahma there are even smaller and weaker beings than us, who live and survive, than why should we get demoralized with life and try to kill ourselves?’

    Heeding to the advice of the first rabbit they all decided to do away with the thought of committing suicide and they returned.

    Moral of the story: Whenever you feel there are serious problems on you and you are scared of life, lookout for people in this world who are sadder than you, poorer than you, who are sick and prone to difficulties. That will make you realize how better off you are and will remove the scare of life out of our mind.

                

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SHORT STORY: THE LION AND THE SHEPHERD

Copyright@shravancharitymission

By Kamlesh Tripathi

Once a lion in the forest was wounded by a sharp and poisonous thorn and soon it become sore. The lion tried to pull it out with its teeth but was unable to do so. And he was now in deep pain and could not even walk properly. In hope of some help he started limping slowly and reached a shepherd near the jungle. When the shepherd saw the hefty lion approaching him he got scared. He thought if he now tried to escape the lion in a couple of leaps will pounce on him and tear him to shreds. Also in the vicinity there weren’t any trees that he could have climbed to save himself. Having no other option he just stayed put there.

    The lion neither roared nor growled. He just came and sat in front of the shepherd and raised his foreleg. The shepherd saw the wound and could immediately understand that the lion was in deep pain and wants help. He immediately pulled out the thorn from the lion’s foreleg. The lion was relieved of the pain and he took an about turn and went back to the jungle.

    After some days there was a theft in the King’s Palace. Some people out of enmity informed the king that the shepherd was the thief and he alone had burgled the king’s palace. Shepherd was caught. But in his house the stolen stuff was not found. The king thought that the shepherd had hid it somewhere. And therefore he issued orders the shepherd be thrown alive in front of a lion.

    But by stroke of luck the same lion was caught to kill the shepherd, whose thorn the shepherd had pulled out. When the shepherd was thrown in front of the lion, the lion recognized him. He immediately came close to the shepherd and sat beside him and started wagging his tail like a dog.

    The king was surprised at this gesture of the lion. Upon enquiring he came to know about the helpful nature of the shepherd and also how he had helped the lion when he was in deep agony, because of which the lion was grateful towards the shepherd. The king then decided to set free the shepherd, realizing he may not be the culprit.

    Moral of the story: Even the mighty predator lion did not forget the help that he had received from the shepherd. Human beings who forget the kindness that is showered on them by others are worse than animals.

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POEM: YEH KISKA BHARAT HAI JO INDIA LE UDA HAI?

Copyright@shravancharitymission

By Kamlesh Tripathi

Yeh kiska ‘Bharat’ hai jo ‘India’ le uda hai?

Yeh kiska ‘Gandhi’ hai jise India kho chukka hai?

Pehle toh Bharat mein Jai-Hind-Jai Hind ka nara tha,

Par aaj ke India mein sirf Jai-Hum-Jai-Hum ka bol bala hai,

Yeh kiska Bharat hai jo India le uda hai?

Yeh kiska ‘Gandhi’ hai jise India kho chukka hai?

*

Kal tak ka Bharat, aur aaj ka India,

Ab jaise sat samundar ke antaraal mein aa khada hua hai,

Kuch samajh mein nahi aata,

Yeh kiska Bharat hai jo India le uda hai?

*

Bharat ko dabochkar bana hai India,

Jahan corruption ka hai bol bala,

Aur sachai ka hai mooh kala,

Aur kuch pata nahi,

Yeh kiska Bharat hai jo india le uda hai?

*

Bharat ke damkhan ko parast kar,

Netaon ne vote bank ko apnaya hai,

Jahan Bharat wasiyon ko Indians banakar,

Aapas mein he ladwaiya hai,

Aur kya kahen,

Yeh kiska Bharat hai jo India le uda hai?

Yeh kiska ‘Gandhi’ hai jisse India kho chukka hai?

*

Bharat toh ab siskiyan le raha hai,

Jab katleaam he ho gaya sanskaron ka,

Par netaon ko toh chahiya ek he sanskar,

Is India mein rahe gaddi hamari barkarar,

Aur kya batain,

Yeh kiska Bharat hai jo India le uda hai?

Yeh kiska ‘Gandhi hai jisse India kho chukka hai?

*

Janta siskiyan lete hue kehti hai,

Yeh hamara Bharat Mahaan hai jo Neta le uda hai,

Yeh hum sabka India—jahaan hai jo Neta le uda hai,

Aur yeh ham sab ka hi ‘Gandhi’ hai jisse neta kho chukka hai.

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ARTICLE: BOSSGIRI

Copyright@shravancharitymission

By Kamlesh Tripathi

    The word ‘boss’ is perhaps the most dreaded word in any company. We all deal with various kinds of bosses in our career. I too have dealt with many in the past. And, the very word as if pyramids seamlessly on words like the ‘leader’ and the ‘coach’ as if it is God gifted to the hierarchy—the Boss. But that is certainly not the case.

    In my long career, I too worked with a variety of bosses where each boss had his own SWOT to mull. I often pondered if the boss is a collective strength of his subordinates, his qualification, his talent and experience. And in the same ratiocination what is the subordinate then? But answers were not quite visible.

    In the long corporate saga of every executive, that keeps un-folding, from time to time it will be interesting to observe the type of bosses you come across. Some bosses are oven-baked with qualities of leadership and are excellent coaches. They are not stuck-up on hierarchy; and are devoid of any hangover about their tall qualification, wide experience and seniority. But a majority of bosses may not be like this.

    During my long innings, I interfaced various kinds of bosses. I also took adequate pains to study the bosses of my colleagues and always kept an eye on my boss’s boss and never deviated from keeping my focus on the top boss, from where, actually, the culture of the organisation flowed.

    Often HR granularly defines the KRAs of each functionary in the company but the gray area remains—the delicate relationship between the boss and the subordinate as there is always something ‘intra’ about it.

    A successful boss is a person who can extract the maximum out of the ambience in the given environment. And for that to happen optimum tuning is required with the team. But, sadly some bosses only keep cribbing about the capabilities of their subordinates. Conversely subordinates tend to perform better if the boss is approachable and can add value in problem solving and for sure possesses the art of debottlenecking. This requires both soft skills and talent and bosses who don’t have this in abundance, usually confine themselves to isolation.  

    While dealing with your boss try and get to know more about the behavioural side of him. For all you know he might have feudalistic tendencies in him where he might consider you more of a constituent then a co-worker. Such bosses are like tyrants and they prefer sycophancy to merit. One can call them feudal bosses. Then there are some bosses who are soft by nature and don’t demand too much out of you, nor reprimand you, but they never ever do anything for you considering your worthiness. One can christen them as frigid bosses.

    The third variety are the ones who give their subordinates enough space to move around and train on the job, but do not extend a helping hand in training you; but overall they are concerned about you and have a magnanimous heart. They are also open to learning from you on a selective basis.

    But the most spectacular variety, are the ones who not only demand work out of their subordinates, but also keep coaching them to perform better. They also have the talent to train you on the job in case you are not skilled to perform the task. This is the prized catch: Boss+talent+coach.

    In this digital and high-tech world where talent is replacing experience every moment, the line between the boss and the subordinate is only getting hazier. There is need for bosses to move from ‘Bossgiri’ to a talent retentive boss.

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SHORT STORY: RELYING ON OTHERS IS TRICKY

Copyright@shravancharitymission


By Kamlesh Tripathi

RELYING ON OTHERS IS TRICKY

Once, a farmer had a cow and a horse. They used to graze in the nearby jungle together. In the neighbourhood of the farmer there lived a Dhobi (washerman). He had a donkey and a goat. The Dhobi too left his animals in the same jungle for grazing. Gradually, all four started grazing together and soon became friends. They started coming to the jungle together and in the evenings they all used to go back together.

    In the same jungle there lived a clever hare. Upon seeing the inseparable friendship of these four he started thinking—‘if only I could befriend all four, my life will become easy. If you have tall and mighty friends such as these, no dog will ever have the courage to trouble you.’

    Hare decided to get close to all the four. He started playing with them every day by jumping and doing various kinds of acrobats. He also started grazing with them. Slowly, he became friends with all the four, and was very happy now. And he thought the scare of dogs is over for life.

    But sadly one day a dog came into the jungle and started chasing the hare. The hare confidently ran towards the cow and yelled—‘Sister Cow! This dog is very wicked. He has come to kill me. So, you please kill him with your horns.’

            The cow replied—‘Brother Rabbit! You’ve come to me very late. It’s time for me to return home. My kid is hungry and must be crying for me. I’m in a great hurry to go home, so you go to the horse for help.’

    The rabbit ran towards the horse and said—‘brother horse! I’m your friend. We graze here together each day. Today, this devious dog is after me. Kindly help me sit on your back and take me away from this danger.’

    Horse replied—‘Dear Hare! What you’re saying is correct, but I don’t know how to sit. I even sleep while standing. So how will climb on to my back? And these days I’m also injured. I can neither run fast nor can trot properly.’

    Dejected by the horse the hare approached the donkey and requested—‘Friend Donkey! Please attack this mischievous dog with a kick as that will save my life.’

    Donkey replied—‘As a routine, I return daily with the cow and the horse. Those two are leaving. And if I am unable to leave with them, and happen to stay back, my master—the dhobi will come and whack me badly with his cane and turn me to pulp. So, I just can’t stay back anymore.’

    In the end the hare approached the goat. But the moment the goat saw him he said—‘Buddy Rabbit! For heaven’s sake don’t come to this side. Otherwise, behind you that dog will also come running. And I’m very scared of that dog.’

    Finally, dejected from all sides the hare ran from there. After running some distance he went and hid himself behind the bushes. The dog searched a lot but couldn’t find him. And, when the dog retreated, the rabbit came out of the bushes, tired. He looked on all sides and heaved a sigh of relief, and then said—‘It’s tricky to rely on others. One should help oneself.’

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DIGNITARIES NEED TO EXHIBIT GOOD BEHAVIOUR

Copyright@shravancharitymission

By Kamlesh Tripathi

A TIP FROM BHAGWAD GITA

    We often hear of politicians and senior government officers misbehaving with the common man. Debates arising out of such incidents are often broadcasted in prime channels and at the prime time slots; not alone for TRP ratings but also to sensitize these misguided dignitaries about their bad behavior. The media also refers it as VVIP racism, where a Neta bashes up the common man or where a government official abuses and ill treats the aam aadmi. And at times our VIPs are also seen misbehaving in an inebriated state.

    To all such people who believe that success in life comes only by showing brute misdemeanours to people below them, there is a tip from the Bhagwad Gita:

Yadacharitra shrestastha devevtro janah

Sa yetpramanam kurute lokast danuvartate.

    The verse tells us:

    The demeanours of all eminent people in the society are followed quite closely by the common man. Whatever he projects through his daily behavior as his deeds is followed by his followers, rather even the world at large.

    Let us not forget that the Aam aadmi (common man) always needs a leader to continuously inspire him and the purpose is best served when the leader exhibits decent civil behaviour and righteous orientation.  If a mass leader himself smokes or drinks, how can he stop the junta (common man) from smoking or drinking? And if he behaves in a rowdy manner how can he expect his followers to be civil and if he creates scams how can he expect his constituents to be honest? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu preaches that a teacher (in this case any leader) must observe right moral behavior, and only such teachers with upright and good behavior should be considered as ideal teachers.

    Therefore teachers before imparting education to commoners should apply religious and moral texts on themselves. And no teacher should ever deviate from the time tested and proven religious texts and should not pass his own self made laws to the commoners. Proven religious texts like Manu-Smrti should be followed by common people as a benchmark of teachings. Therefore the sermons of the netas should be based on the rules of the religious shastras and there shouldn’t be a difference kathni and karni (what you say and what you do). But unfortunately this is not the case with most eminent people.

    People who want both spiritual and worldly progress in life should imbibe and practice teachings of high moral values and rules practiced by great teachers. Srimad bhagwad Gita too confirms the point that human beings should follow the spiritual footsteps of knowledge for spiritual and materialistic progress; and this is the only way.

    Whether it is the king or his administrator, whether a father or a teacher—they all are considered as natural leaders. They have a great duty and responsibility towards people who lean on them and therefore they should be well versed with spiritual samhita and other religious texts so that they can convey a proper message to the society at all times.

    In school days we had a paper on moral science but it was never taken seriously as the marks were never added to the finally tally deciding our ranking. But the time has come when these marks need to be added in the education of life. Maybe, an abridged form of all religious texts should be taught in school and a refresher course should be part of State Assemblies and Parliaments curriculum, including government offices.

    We have tried many ways to refine the behavior of politicians and government officials but failed. So, where is the harm in trying out religious texts? For, if nothing else, it will at least remove the misconceptions about religions.

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