Inspirational and Motivational short stories Volume #5

This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #5 of this collection.

1.

To what extent can a person go to have peace of mind? How many people can show the courage of sacrificing their fashionable lifestyle and lead a simple life as a monk?

Well, Nisha Kapashi, 27, did just this. She was working at J crew, a famous fashion brand in US as merchandiser, earning a hefty salary. She felt that while there was lot of glamor and excitement in her profession, it was not giving her any contentment or satisfaction at the end of the day. She felt that true happiness has to come from within and cannot come from outside.

With these thoughts, deeply influenced by the Jain philosophy, recently she took ‘Diksha’ and became a Jain Monk. Now, she wears plain white clothes, walks barefoot, chants spiritual mantras & hymns all the time, and eats sparsely whatever alms she gets. 

She is a very happy person now and feels that she has found the right path for her life.

It is debatable though, whether she did the right thing. Not everyone would agree with her approach to life.

But one thing is true … and that is, one may earn lot of money, one may achieve lot of success, one may be too powerful, but if he or she does not have peace of mind, it is all waste. It is better to live a satisfied life as a monk that to live a glamorous life feeling miserable all the time.

2.

Recently, while having lunch in a food court in a mall, I observed two teenaged girls carrying tray containing pizza and other spicy items. They were looking worried over some matter and discussed something seriously while searching for a vacant table.

However, once they were seated, immediately, they took their photos on their phones, smiling with a V sign, with the delicious dishes. They immediately posted these photos on their respective accounts on social media and started eating. They were once again seriously discussing the subject, which bothered them.

I wondered at the possible logical reaction of this incident.

Their friends who saw their pictures would undoubtedly believe that these girls were having a gala time and enjoying in the food court of the mall. With these thoughts, some of those friends might also feel sad that they were not enjoying as much as these girls were appearing to be.

That brings forth one bitter truth of today’s world… today more people are unhappy, not because of their problems. They are unhappy because of the ‘assumed happiness’ of others around them.

The problem is that people overlook their blessings, which can make them happy. Instead, they look at other’s ‘fake happiness’ and feel sorry that they are not as much happy.

Many people tend to forget that happiness is often derived from simple things in life…! 

3.

Recently, in one of the interviews, Amitabh Bachchan said that he still considers himself as a struggling actor.

This one statement reflects his five qualities.

Humility:

In spite of being in the film industry for over 40 years, that too in a commanding position, he still believes that he needs to struggle to give a god performance.

Aiming for Perfection:

He still aims to improve his performance, even though he is crowned as the shahenshah of Bollywood.

Being Realistic:

He knows that he would be in demand till he can perform. The day his performance goes down, he would no more be in limelight.

Never give up:

Even at the age of 72, he wants to re-invent himself and learn something new with every role.

Devotion for duty:

Even after reaching the pinnacle of success and stardom, he still maintains punctuality on sets, like any struggling actor. He rehearses the scenes with others like newcomers. That is devotion.

…

Obviously, anyone who has these qualities is bound to be attain the status of a superstar, whichever field he may be working in… for sure.

4.

Recently, the people of Kanpur were surprised, when an amount of two-lakh rupees was discovered from the bag of a beggar who died in suspicious circumstances. The beggar used to sit in front of a Ganesh temple in Harbans Mohal.

It is not surprising that he had that much money. What is more surprising is - why did he not use it? He must have earned it over a long period, hoping to use it on some day. Unfortunately, that day did not come. It is doubtful whether he had one good meal before he died unexpectedly.

There is a deep philosophical message in this incident.

Many times, people get so worried about their ‘uncertain future’ that they do not enjoy their ‘certain present’. They keep marching towards their destination unmindful of the beautiful journey. They miss the point that often, the journey is more enjoyable than the destination. 

In one of the scenes of the popular movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, Hritik Roshan says to Katrina Kaif, ‘I want to work hard and earn as much money as possible by the age of 40, and take retirement. I want to enjoy life after 40.’

She says, ‘What is the guarantee that you will live after 40?’

…

Live in present … for the future cannot become past unless it passes through present.

5.

Sometimes, a simple helpful act makes a huge difference in someone else’s life. No one could have demonstrated it better than an Auto rickshaw driver, Rakesh Kumar in Noida.

It so happened that siblings Tanya and Karthik from Noida, aged 6 and 4 respectively, lost their way while walking home from school and strayed for 3 km, towards Surajpur. It got dark and they both started crying not knowing what to do.

Rakesh Kumar, who was passing by, found them. It was already 8 pm. He hesitated initially to help, but then his goodness prevailed. He asked them where they lived and brought them in the area.

By then, Dhara Singh, their father had made futile enquiries at the school and already lodged a missing compliant in the police station. He and his wife were frantically searching for their kids.

They broke into tears as they saw their kids brought back safely by Rakesh Kumar. The Greater Noida-based Active Citizen's Team appreciated Kumar's effort and awarded him with Mobile phone.  

Such acts of kindness come as a fresh breeze amidst the daily dose of prime time news full of crime and deceit.

6.

Donating money to poor kids is considered to be a very noble gesture. However, when the person donating it is a 6-year-old boy, it is much more praiseworthy and commendable.

Bhavya Aavte from Devas, Madhya Pradesh donated his entire savings of Rs. 107/-, from his piggy bank, to the poor kids, on his birthday on 25th January. He then wrote to the prime minister about this.

He wrote: "I see poor kids on the roads and on TV who cannot go to school. This is why, grandfather, I am sending Rs 107 so that they can go to school like me and study.”

In response, PM's letter to him said: "I applaud your gesture as you are aware about the hardships of the poor kids of the country and I am obliged for this."

Here the role of all the three is worth appreciating.

Bhavya Aavte: In an age, when children fight for toys and generally do not give anything to others, he has behaved extremely well. He gave all his savings to unknown kids.

His Father: It is his good upbringing, which made Bhavya to think about the poor kids and their concerns. It wasl also his idea to encourage Bhavya to write about this to the PM.

PM: By replying to Bhavya, Modi has shown that he is reachable by even a 6-year-old. His reply would be the most precious gift received by Bhavya on his birthday.

Mahatma Gandhi had said, ‘India cannot be happy till someone does not wipe the tears of the poorest of the poor’.

Well, his soul would surely experience some joy to see Bhavya … contributing in his small bit, towards attainment of his cherished goal.

7. 

What is more important - knowledge or degree?

Well, Ravi Kumar Reddy a Ph. D scholar from IISc Bangalore has been teaching Power Systems to the Electrical Engineering students in Saveetha Engineering College in Kanchipuram since 2012. His students were quite satisfied with his teaching.

Recently, he was caught for forging his qualification documents. Actually, his name turned out to be Ashok Kumar Chaudhary, who failed in 8th class and dropped out of the school. He worked in a photocopier shop, where he got access to many textbooks, brought by students for photocopying. He started learning from those books. He realized that he could get knowledge, but not qualification.

Therefore, he chose the alternate route. He forged certificates of customers. First, he forged an ITI Diploma to get a job. Then he ‘obtained’ M.Sc. for a better job. Finally, he ‘earned’ his Ph.D. in Power Systems in IISc Bangalore, on the name of Ravi Kumar Reddy.

The suspicion arose among his colleagues when he refused to meet a delegation from IISc for a discussion. Some members of the delegation were supposed to be his batch mates, going by his certificates.

This raises some important questions:

The fact that no one doubted his credentials for three years shows that he was good at subject and teaching. Are these parameters not more important that the formal qualification?

What about the professors, who have fancy degrees, but are not good at teaching?

Is the educations system hypocrite in that sense, to value only the qualification and not the ‘ability’ to learn and teach, for the job of a professor?

If his identity was not revealed, he would have probably continued for several years. Would it have been harmful in any ways?

Is he not a real genius to have sustained in his job as a professor for three years, without a complaint, just by gaining knowledge from the books and internet?  

Is he an inspiration for the school dropouts, or a blot on the society / education system?

…

Very difficult to answer. The opinions are sure to vary from person to person.   

8.

The ‘Putra Prem’, or the love for one’s son is well known from the times of Dhritarashtra. The love for one’s child usually blinds a person’s logic as well as rational thinking. Particularly, the politicians are known to further their children’s careers in highly unethical and unjustified manner.

Therefore, when we come across a MLA, who made his son appear for a class IV exam, it raises eyebrows. Well, that is what Heera Lal Verma, the BJP MLA from Rajasthan did. He made his son Hansraj appear the peon’s exam in a state government job. He believes that his son, who dropped out of the school after 8th standard, is not capable of doing bigger jobs. He says that he did not want his children to lead a ‘prosperous’ life through ‘unfair’ means.  Heera Lal is himself a postgraduate in three subjects and a gold medalist as well.

The greatness and maturity of a person is demonstrated when he is able to judge his child’s capabilities in an unbiased and impartial manner.

But this incident raises a few uncomfortable questions:

Did he fail as a father in the first place to allow his son to drop out after 8th standard?

Is he being pessimistic or realistic in assuming that his son is not capable of handling bigger jobs?

Has he instilled such good values in his children that Hansraj readily agreed to appear for this exam?

Difficult to say…!

9.

With great preparation and a strong determination, every obstacle looks manageable. Even if it means falling in a well 30 feet deep.

Well, that is what happened to Supraja, a class 12 student in Chennai, on Monday, the day of her Chemistry exam. 

She woke up at 4 am to study, and was strolling in the backyard of her house in Madipakkam. That is when, inadvertently, she fell in the well 30 feet deep. There was three feet water level in the well. She frantically shouted for help for 45 minutes, when her brother heard her. Soon, they found out that she was inside the well. Immediately, her father called the fire fighters who arrived in twenty minutes and pulled her out in a semi-conscious state.

Within 4 hours, she wrote the Chemistry exam, and wrote it well. She came out of the exam hall flashing ‘thumbs up’ sign to her father, who waited anxiously outside the exam hall. She came out limping, due to the injury.

This proves only one thing – If we want to do something sincerely, we can find hundred reasons to do it well; and if we do not want to do something, we will find one thousand excuses for not doing it.

Bravo Supraja … you inspire us.

We are tempted to sing for you … All is well….! 

10.

Some people do social service not for the sake of any publicity or financial gain, but only because it gives them immense satisfaction. Like Jagadish Nayak, 68 from Ahmedabad.

He retired in 2001 after working as a Maths teacher for 32 years. However, during his career as a teacher, he had seen that many children were afraid of Maths. He wanted to help the children ‘overcome the fear’ about Maths.

So, immediately after his retirement, he started teaching Maths free of cost to those children, who were afraid of Maths and could not afford to go to any tuition. For the last 14 years, every day between 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm, children enthusiastically reach his one-room class in Nirnaynagar. He has successfully helped over 700 students learn the tricks of Maths and do well in their academics. His success ratio is also high – more than 80% passed their exams.

People like Jagadish Nayak demonstrate that life is not always about making money or buying comforts. Sometimes, helping others can bring much greater happiness …!

***

Coming Soon Volume#6