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How to become great?

The young boys and girls were all huddled around the Grand Old Man. During the summer

vacation, this was a regular feature at sunset in the neighbourhood. Every evening, he would tell them

stories of heroes and battles, of the moon and the stars, of gods and demons, of fantasy and fairylands.

That day was the last day of their vacation. The next day, they would all leave for their homes in the city.

The old man, a short-story writer of great acclaim in his younger days, said to the kids , Look

here. Tomorrow, you will all leave me and go. I will have to wait for one more year to see you again

when you get your next vacation. I do not know when the Lord will call me back. I wrote a small book a

few years ago, which is not yet published; a book of stories; stories that will make you great men and

women when you grow up. Do you know when you will be truly great? When your heart opens out and

embraces the whole world. I shall read out some stories from this book.

There was something in his voice that day, as he read out the stories. The words etched

themselves on the tender minds of the kids, opening up hitherto unknown feelings, awakening new hopes,

colouring new dreams, making each one of them resolve, I too shall manifest these qualities in my life.

The Old Mans voice rang out:

Nitin was in High School. He was excited and eager to participate in the Under-16 State Level

Athletics Championships. While his parents watched expectantly from the stands, he ran and won

the gold medal in the first race. He was proud of his medal and the cheers from the crowd.

Then he ran in the second race. Just at the finish line, when he would have again won, he stopped

and stepped off the track. His parents gently chided him, why did you do that, Nitin? If you had

continued running, you would have won the race, you know.

Nitin innocently replied, But, mummy, I already have a medal. Santosh didnt have one yet.

The old man said, There is such a thing as experiencing joy in the joy of another person.

He then read them the story of the kind dentist:

Ajays tooth ached like hell. He feared dentists. However, now he had to see one. But how? He

was too poor to afford a dental treatment. Maybe he would go and ask a dentist to just see his

tooth and get some medicine prescribed, and not get the tooth treated or pulled out. So he went to

a dentist nearby.

Hmmm....this tooth is in real bad shape, young man.

Aw, doctor, I already know that.

Butdont worry; Ill fix them.

No, doctor. I dont have money to payyou. Saying so, he started climbing out of the chair.

Whatdo you do, young man? asked the doctor, filing a syringe with novocaine.

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I told you I have no money.

Areyou studying in the Govt College?

I dont see what difference thats going to make to you, doctor was his curt reply. When ones

teeth start aching, all gentility takes flight.

Afteryour graduation, you plan to get a job?

Great! Doctor, just tell me what medicine will subside this bloody pain. And what exactly are

you doingturning into my career manager?

Well, you can pay me when you graduate and land a job. Meantime, you concentrate on your

studies and leave your tooth-problem to me saying so, the doctor pushed the needle into Ajays

gums.

Ajay never forgot this incident. It changed his outlook towards life forever.

The Old Man then read out the incredible story of Ugly Jaipal:

Jaipal was a student. He was quite normal in every way, but he had a distorted and grotesque

face. His friends laughed behind him and caricatured him. Jaipal was sad.

Listen boys, said their teacher, every feature has its own beauty, its own harmony. You have a

very limited notion of what is beautiful and what is not. Thats why you cant see beauty in

Jaipals face. When you look at him or talk to him, know that he too, like you, is a person, Gods

own creation. Unknown to you, there is a reason why God made him like that. Once you believe

this, you will find him him an excellent friend and you will love him. Once you love him, he will

look absolutely normal to you, if not handsome.

One day, Jaipal went shopping. He saw a mirror lying on the road in front of a shop. He asked

the shopkeeper why it was outside. The shopkeeper replied that it was a defective mirror which

reflected ones face in a distorted manner; hence he had thrown it away. Jaipal looked into the

mirror. His face looked charming. The peculiarity of the glass gave his face a new look.

The defect in the glass used to re-arrange the parts of a face in its reflection. A handsome face

therefore appeared grotesque. The same process worked for a deformed face too. The defective

glass re-arranged the parts of this deformed face and made it look handsome! Jaipal gazed at it

for a long time and took it home.

He began to think seriously. Did the mirror show something untrue? No. it used to distort thereflection, of course. But it was only re-presenting the object already present before it. It added

nothing new to it. So, he realised that the mirror could not reflect what was not there before it.

The harmony and the charm he saw were there in himthe mirror had only re-arranged them.

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He grew more and more introvert. He now concentrated more on his inner qualities. In a natural

way, he stopped bothering about what others saw in his appearance. Surprisingly, by and by,

others also stopped noticing anything abnormal in his appearance!

For it is the law that people see in us only those qualities that we believe we already have.

The sun was down. But nobody remembered to put on the light, charmed as they were by the Old

Man. But the stories didnt stop. Could the Old Man read in the dark? No; he did not need to read from

the book. For the book was actually in his own mind. And his mind was, luminous. They now heard only

a voice, without the face that uttered it. It had a mystical touch to it, reaching straight down into the

childrens psyche.

The Voice chimed, Always see the whole picture. Only then can you really understand things

clearly; seeing the whole picture, or the integral vision, means opening up your heart. And out came this

story:

The Ministry of Agriculture once notified that sparrows were a menace to the crops and should

be killed. When sparrows were killed, hoards of insects, that the sparrows would have eaten,descended upon the crops and ravaged the harvest.

The Ministry then came up with the idea of costly pesticides. The pesticides made the food

expensive. They also made the food a health hazard.

They discovered, but alas, too late, that it was the sparrows who, feeding on the crops no doubt,

managed to keep the food wholesome and inexpensive!

The Voice continued with another charming story:

Father said to his young daughter, If you mow the lawn, I will get you the new dress you saw in

the Mall.

The girl set upon the task with great zeal and by evening, the whole lawn had been beautifully

mowed, expect for a large uncut patch of grass in one corner.

Icantget you the dress agreed upon because the whole lawn hasntbeen mowedobserved the

father.

I can forego the dress, but I shall not cut that patch of grasssaid the little one firmly.

Curious to find out why, the father checked the uncut patch. There, right in the centre of the

patch, sat a large toad. The girl had been too tender-hearted to run over it with the lawn-mower!

Indeed, where there is love, there will be some disorder. Perfect order would make this world a

graveyard.

All that you give others, said the Voice, you are actually giving to yourself. And this comment

was followed by a wonderful story.

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There was a farmer whose wheat always got the first prize at the State fair. He had the habit of

sharing his wheat seeds with all the farmers in the neighbourhood. Someone asked him why he

shared his excellent seeds with his neighbours. He replied, The wind picks up the pollen and

carries them from field to field. So, if my neighbours grow inferior wheat, the cross-pollination

brings down the quality of my own crops. Thats whyIm concerned that they too should plant the

best quality wheat.

The Voice boomed, Reach out and connect with others. Never remain cut-off from those around

you! and the scene of a fierce battle came up in the dark:

The soldier said desperately, He isntback from the battlefield, Sir. I plead for your permission

that I may go out and get him back.

The Colonel flatly refused him saying, I shall not allow you to go. Idontwant you to risk your

life for a man who is probably dead, for all we know.

The soldier went, all the same, and an hour later, came back mortally wounded, carrying the

corpse of his friend.

The Colonel was furious. He yelled, I told you he was dead. Now, I have lost both of you. Tell

me; was it worth going out there to bring in a corpse?

The soldier whispered, Oh, it was, Sir. When I got to him, he was still alive. He said to me, I

was sure you would come.

The Voice said, I'll tell you one last story for its time for supper and in a hushed tone spoke:

A question was once askedHow do you tell when the night has ended and the day has begun?

Many answers were given. When you see an animal from some distance and can tell whether it isa cow or a horse.When you look at a tree from some distance and can tell if it is a neem tree or

mango tree.Etc. All were rejected as wrong.

When pressed for what was the right answer, they were told, When you look into the face of any

man and recognize your brother in him; when you look into the face of a woman and recognize in

her your sister. If you cannot do this, no matter what time it is, it is still night!

Indeed, that was the last time the kids saw the Grand Old Man. But his stories remained with

them and imperceptibly moulded their lives as they grew up.

Today they are all grown up men and women, doctors, engineers, farmers, ministers,businessmen, government officers, housewives, teachers, but each has manifested a Nitin, a Jaipal...And

thus the Old Mans Voice spreads....

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