Another Story of a Man with the Lamp

A man with a lamp in a dark night notices another man coming across with no lamp.

He said, 

"My friend, please take my lamp as you don't have any. I am almost home".

The other man replied, 

"Thanks for your kindness my friend. But I am blind and so there is no use of a lamp to me".

Though taken aback for a moment realizing that the man is blind, he still persuades the blind man to take the lamp. Now his point is that it would help others notice the blind man and thus avoid an unnecessary barging into him. The blind man agrees to this and takes the lamp. 

After walking for a while, the blind man hears another person coming against him.

The blind man asks, 

"Hello friend, do you have a lamp with you?"

The other man replies, no.

Blind man then says, 

"Please take my lamp, I am blind anyway and this lamp would be more useful to you" 

The other man replies, 

"Thank you for offering the lamp, my friend. But it has already gone out"! 

Anything that is owned by someone who doesn't realize the value of, is like the lamp in the hands of the blind. They are too blind to notice it losing all its virtue in their hands!

Indian Thoughts Archives

The Frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well.... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'

Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking?

Indian Thoughts Archives

Where are all the sermons gone?

A Church goer once wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" 

It is true that we can not remember all what we have heard, all the lessons we have learned, all the experiences – sweet as well as bitter - that we have had, but they all have had their share in the making of what we are today.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Indispensable

A disciple very much wanted to renounce the world but he claimed that his family loved him too much to let him go. 

“Love?” said his guru. “That isn’t love at all. Listen...” And he revealed a yogic secret to the disciple whereby he could simulate the state of death. The next day the man was dead to all outward appearances and the house rang with the cries and wailing of his family.  

The guru then showed up and told the weeping family that he had the power to bring the man back to life if someone could be found to die in his place. Any volunteers?  

To the “corpse’s” astonishment every member of the family began to bring forth reasons why it was necessary to keep their own lives. His wife summed up the sentiments of all with the words, “There’s really no need for anyone to take his place. We can manage without him.”  

No one is indispensable.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Fair is fair

This story is told about Kruger, the great South African statesman, who lived at the beginning of this century. He was called upon to settle a dispute between two brothers. The dispute involved the equal division of land between the two.

The land contained mines, lakes, rivers and beautiful scenery, and Kruger knew that no matter how he divided it, he is bound to run afoul of at least one of the brothers.

He pondered the problem at great length, and then he came up with the solution. He called the two brothers together and he gave one of them the task of dividing the land in two. When he had finished, Kruger gave the other brother his choice as to which half he wanted.

Indian Thoughts Archives

The sign of love

A man owned a wonderful magic opal ring. The person wearing it became so good that the person was loved and respected by everyone. 

The man had three sons. Before he died he gave each of the sons an opal ring. After the old man died, the three sons began to quarrel and argue among themselves about which of them had the magic ring. 

They went to a wise old man to settle the dispute, “My sons,” he said, “only time will show that. Your lives, how you live your lives, will show which of you has the magic ring.”

Indian Thoughts Archives

Look into your own heart

A young businessman began dating a charming young actress. The relationship progressed and developed until it reached the point when the businessman was considering the possibility of marrying the young woman. Being a very cautious businessman, he hired a private detective to check out the young actress, to ensure there weren’t any skeletons in her closet. 

The detective knew nothing of the relationship; in fact, he was just given the young woman’s name.  He did his work very thoroughly, and finally submitted the results of his investigations. It went something like this: “This is a very charming, honest, and upright lady. There seems to be but one blemish on her character. It appears that, of late, she has been keeping company with a young businessman of very doubtful character, and of questionable reputation”.

“Hypocrite! First get rid of the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see the speck in your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5)

Remember, when you point one finger at another, there are three fingers pointing at you. We are free to be whichever way choose to be, but we would expect our spouses to be real saints. The present culture is very liberal in its social outlook, nay, we should say it actively promotes all sorts of freedoms and promiscuity. Come election time they look for a “saint” with no taint of the slightest blemish. Hypocrites!

Indian Thoughts Archives

The poor in Spirit

During the Great Depression in America, a government agency had the task of travelling through backward mountain areas, in search of poor farmers, to whom they gave some grant of money for the purchase of seed, or repairing their homes. 

One agent came upon an old woman living in a shack. It had no floor. Several windows were broken and covered over with tar paper. The old woman had but the basic essentials, and was just barely scratching out a living on a miserable plot of land.

The agent said to her, “If the government gave you $200, what would you do with it?” 

Her instant answer was: “I’d give it to the poor.” 

It is a mistake for a religious to think of money as riches. In spite of the lack of it this good woman does not consider herself poor. Millions of good people are really rich, while having little money. On the other hand, one could have plenty of money, and be really poor.

Indian Thoughts Archives

The Enemy Within

The Great Wall of China is one of the wonders of the world. It is said to be the only man made structure on earth that can be seen from the moon. The cost and the effort that went into building it just boggles the mind.

When it was finished, the people relaxed. They knew they were safe. Nobody could possibly attack them now. It was impossible to either climb over or penetrate their superb protecting wall, behind which they were safe.

But their enemies got through easily. How? They simply bribed one of the gatekeepers! He opened the gate and they came through unhindered.

So much for the best laid plans of men! The problem is, there is something of an “enemy within” in all of us. 

Indian Thoughts Archives

House on fire

Mulla Nasruddin’s house was on fire, so he ran up to his roof for safety. There he was, precariously perched on the roof, when his friends gathered in the street below holding a stretched out blanket to him and shouting, “Jump, Mullah, jump!”

“Oh no, I won’t,” said the Mullah. “I know you fellows. If I jump, you’ll pull the blanket away just to make a fool of me!”

“Don’t be silly. Mullah. This isn’t a joke. This is serious. Jump!”

“No,” said Nasruddin. “I don’t trust any of you. Lay that blanket on the ground and I’ll jump.” -                                                          - Antony de Mellow 

Believing or trusting everybody is dangerous; but believing or trusting nobody at any time is extremely dangerous.

Indian Thoughts Archives

The Sinner

Ten Chinese farmers were working in a field, when suddenly the sky darkened. There was thunder and lightning. It began to rain heavily. The farmers, holding on tightly to their large straw hats, ran for shelter to the ruins of a temple nearby. Lightning flashed again and again and the thunder shook the walls of the temple.

“The gods are angry with us,” said one of the men, his voice shaking in fear. “Why?” asked another.

“Obviously, there’s a big sinner amongst us!” a third voice said with apparent panic. “We must find him and throw him out, lest we all perish!” “I have an idea,” said one. “Let us all hold our hats outside the window. Let the gods show us the sinner.”

So they all thrust their hats outside the window. Immediately a lightning cracked and instantaneously one of the hats was reduced to ashes. The owner of the hat was a quite, middle-aged man who had not uttered a word till then. Now he began to plead with his companions to protect him.

“I’ve a wife and three children and aged parents to support,” he said. “What will happen to them if I die?” But the others were merciless.

“Out, out with you!” they shouted and lifting him, they threw him out of the temple. The man scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could to the shelter of a tree some distance away. Hardly had he reached the tree, when a lightning struck the temple, which collapsed, killing all nine men inside.

Till then they had been protected by the presence of the only good man amongst them. God alone knows how often we are spared due to the goodness of others, whom we make scapegoats.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Faithful Friends

One day a father told his children the following parable: 

"The superintendent of an island was one day called by his lord, the king, to give an account of his administration.

"The friends in whom he had placed his trust let him go alone and did not move from their homes; others whom he had also trusted accompanied him to the ship; but others still, whom he had trusted very little, accompanied him all the way to the king's throne and spoke in his favour winning for him the sympathy of the king."

The children did not understand who these friends were: "Man also has three kinds of friends on earth, but most times he comes to know them only when he is called from this world to give an account of his actions. The first of these friends, that is, money and earthly goods stay behind; others, that is, relatives, accompany him only as far as the tomb; the third, that is, the good works, follow him into eternity right to the throne of God where each one of us will be rewarded according to his actions, and even a drop of water handed to one who is thirsty will not remain unrewarded.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Treasure

A lawyer opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the lawyer was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW. 

"Officer, look what they've done to my BMW!!!", he whined. 

"You lawyers are so materialistic, you make me sick!!!" retorted the officer.  "You're so worried about your stupid BMW, that you didn't even notice that your left arm was ripped off!"

"Oh my God..." replied the lawyer, finally noticing the bloody left shoulder where his arm once was.

"Where's my Rolex Watch?"

Indian Thoughts Archives

Evil Brothers

There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church, and looked to be perfect Christians. 

Then their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers. A fund-raising campaign was started to build a new assembly. 

All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building. "I have only one condition," he said. "At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint." 

The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check. The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. 

"He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." 

After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded..... 

"But compared to his brother, he was a saint.”

Indian Thoughts Archives

Genuine seeker

When the devil saw a seeker enter the house of a Master he was determined to do everything in his power to turn him back from his quest for Truth. So he subjected the poor man to every possible temptation: wealth, lust, fame, power, prestige.

But the seeker was far too experienced in spiritual matters and was able to fight off the temptations quite easily, so great was his longing for spirituality. When he got into the Master’s presence, he was somewhat taken aback to see the Master sitting on an upholstered chair and the disciples at his feet.

“This man certainly lacks the principal virtue of the saints, humility,” he thought to himself. He then observed other things about the Master that he did not like; for one thing, the Master took little notice of him. (“I suppose that is because I do not fawn on him as the others do,” he said to himself). Also the kind of clothes the Master wore and the somewhat conceited way he spoke. All of this led him to the conclusion that he had come to the wrong place and must continue his quest elsewhere.

As he walked out of the room, the Master, who had seen the devil seated in a corner of the room. said. “You need not have worried Tempter. He was yours from the very first, you know.”

Such is the fate of those who, in their search for God, are willing to shed everything except their notions of what God really is.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Garbage Truck

One day on the way to the airport I hopped into a taxi. We were going on the right track, when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of our car. My taxi driver slammed the brakes, skidded and scarcely missed hitting the other car. The driver of the other car started yelling at us. To my great surprise, the taxi driver just smiled and waved his hand in a friendly way. So I asked him, “Why did you do that? He almost ruined your car and could have sent us both to the hospital.”

That is when the taxi driver taught me what I call ‘the law of the garbage truck.’

“Many people are like garbage trucks,” he explained. 

“They run around full of garbage, frustration, disappointment etc. As the garbage piles up, they need a place to dump them. Sometimes they will dump it on you. NEVER, never take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well and get on with your work. Don’t ever take their garbage and spread it to other people around you at work, at home or on the streets.”

Every one you meet is fighting some kind of battle within him, though we may not know what that might be. So be kinder than necessary. The bottom line is that we should not let garbage trucks take over our day. Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. Love the people who treat you right…, pray for the ones who do not.

Indian Thoughts Archives

FT89 070217 What Do You Mean “We”?

A well-known organist was performing a concert on the huge, antique organ in the local Presbyterian Church.  The bellows were hand-pumped by a boy who was behind a screen, unseen by the audience.  The first part of the performance was well received.  The audience was thrilled by the organist’s ability at the keyboard of the old instrument. After taking his bows and accepting the ovation, the musician walked triumphantly into a side passageway. As he passed the boy he heard him say, 

“We played well, didn’t we Sir?”

The organist haughtily replied, 

“And what do you mean, ‘we’?”

After the intermission, the organist returned to his seat at the impressive five-keyboard console and began to play. But nothing happened; not a sound was heard. Then the organist heard a youthful voice whisper from behind the screen, 

“Hey! Mister, Now do you know what ‘we’ means.

Any association can function well, if only its weakest and tiniest link functions well. Any slight malfunction would through everything out of gear. From that point of view no one part is more or less important than another. The success of the leader would depend on his ability in taking along and co-coordinating the activities of all parts. 

Indian Thoughts Archives

Where to Look

An oyster saw a loose pearl that had fallen into the crevice of a rock on the ocean bed. After great efforts she managed to retrieve the pearl and place it just beside her on a leaf.

She knew that humans searched for pearls and thought, “They look for pearls so they will take it and let me be.”

When a pearl diver showed up, however, his eyes were conditioned to look for oysters and not for pearls resting on leaves. So he grabbed the oyster which did not happen to have a pearl and allowed the real pearl to roll back into the crevice in the rock.

We know exactly where to look, and that is the reason why we fail to find God. We are so conditioned to look for the oyster rather than the pearl.

Indian Thoughts Archives

What a Fool I’ve Been!

There’s a story about a tenant farmer who worked hard for many years to improve the production of the land.  Then something happened that caused him to become very bitter. When it was time to renew the lease, the owner told him that he was going to sell the farm to his son, who was getting married. The tenant farmer made several generous offers to buy the farm for himself, hoping that the owner’s decision would be changed.  But it was all in vain.

As the day drew near for the tenant to vacate his home, his weeks of angry brooding finally got the best of him.  He gathered seeds from some of the most pesky and noxious weeds he could find. Then he spent many hours scattering them on the fertile soil of the farm, along with a lot of trash and stones.

To his dismay, the very next morning the owner informed him that the plans for his son’s wedding fell through¸ therefore, he’d be happy to renew the tenant’s lease.  The owner couldn’t understand why the tenant exclaimed in such agonizing tones, “Oh, Lord, what a fool I’ve been!”

Hatred and revenge are very much like the mythical vampire, which first sucks out the life blood of the host. Their host is the their first and worst victim.

Indian Thoughts Archives

Deadly Prophecy

A medieval Jewish astrologer prophesied to a king that his favourite mistress would soon die.

Sure enough, the woman died a short time later.  The king was outraged at the astrologer, certain that his prophecy had brought about the woman's death.  He summoned the astrologer and gave him this command: "Prophet, tell me when you will die!"

 The astrologer realized that the king was planning to kill him, immediately, no matter what answer he gave.  So he said, finally,  "I do not know when I will die.  I only know that whenever I die, you will die three days later."

Indian Thoughts Archives