Character- the real wealth
A wealthy business man had a son. Since he had suffered in his childhood due to poverty, he never wanted his son to suffer the same and gave him all the comforts of life. The boy was never interested in studies or any work , got into bad company and roamed aimlessly , squandering money with his companions. The father was upset and went to a saint to seek his guidance. He told the problem to the pious man. The saint asked him how he got such a huge wealth, whether his father left him a lot of property. The businessman replied that he rose to a high position by his effort and integrity. He had suffered a lot in his childhood as his father was a poor man but a honest hard worker. His father taught him just the good qualities of life and importance of honest hard work in achieving things, that is all. Then the saint asked him whether he did the same to his son. The merchant replied that he he never wanted his son to suffer like him , concentrated on amassing wealth for his boy's comforts and secure future and never had time to pay attention to small matters like character building of the child.
The saint pointed out that that was his mistake. Instead of giving him the wealth of character he spent time in accumulating perishable wealth leading the boy astray. It is aptly said,
" When weath is lost, nothing is lost.
When character is lost ,everything is lost."
Also,
" Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time."
The businessman realized his grave mistake and requested the saint to help him. The kind saint called the boy to his hut. He asked him to pull out small grass grown in front of his hermitage. The boy pulled it using just two fingers. Then the saint asked him pull out a small tender plant near by. The boy did it with his hand. Then the saint asked him to pull out a full grown tree there. The boy tried and tried. He could never do it. Then the saint gave him a big spade to dig it. The boy tried, little by little only the roots came out. He found it very hard to pull it.
The saint said that he had to keep on doing then one day he would be able uproot it. The presence and the kind words had a salutary effect on the boy. He realized the mistake and determined to free himself from the bad company and follow the advice of his father.
A wealthy business man had a son. Since he had suffered in his childhood due to poverty, he never wanted his son to suffer the same and gave him all the comforts of life. The boy was never interested in studies or any work , got into bad company and roamed aimlessly , squandering money with his companions. The father was upset and went to a saint to seek his guidance. He told the problem to the pious man. The saint asked him how he got such a huge wealth, whether his father left him a lot of property. The businessman replied that he rose to a high position by his effort and integrity. He had suffered a lot in his childhood as his father was a poor man but a honest hard worker. His father taught him just the good qualities of life and importance of honest hard work in achieving things, that is all. Then the saint asked him whether he did the same to his son. The merchant replied that he he never wanted his son to suffer like him , concentrated on amassing wealth for his boy's comforts and secure future and never had time to pay attention to small matters like character building of the child.
The saint pointed out that that was his mistake. Instead of giving him the wealth of character he spent time in accumulating perishable wealth leading the boy astray. It is aptly said,
" When weath is lost, nothing is lost.
When character is lost ,everything is lost."
Also,
" Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time."
The businessman realized his grave mistake and requested the saint to help him. The kind saint called the boy to his hut. He asked him to pull out small grass grown in front of his hermitage. The boy pulled it using just two fingers. Then the saint asked him pull out a small tender plant near by. The boy did it with his hand. Then the saint asked him to pull out a full grown tree there. The boy tried and tried. He could never do it. Then the saint gave him a big spade to dig it. The boy tried, little by little only the roots came out. He found it very hard to pull it.
The saint said that he had to keep on doing then one day he would be able uproot it. The presence and the kind words had a salutary effect on the boy. He realized the mistake and determined to free himself from the bad company and follow the advice of his father.
No comments:
Post a Comment