Publication particulars
My Dear Son - Book 01
Science of Good Living.
Lessons on good living
through Short stories
Nagarethinam Natarajan
Introduction
In the east, it is customary for a father to earn wealth as much as possible, lead a frugal living, and enrich their children’s future. Whether they need it or not, people earn and save wealth for the bright future of their generation next.
It is also believed that most valuable of the asset, typically the parents leave for their children, is the stories with which the children lead a good life.
I am presenting here some of the stories that I heard from my father along with a few other stories that I read. They may be relevant to the current times.
Most problems are because of our not being conscious of some basic truths. They are called, in short, knowledge. Men of knowledge explain that, all our problems can be traced to the fact that we live with our wrong knowledge.
Some of our serious problems could be traced to our society which is aping the west mindlessly. That too, selectively even the west does not cherish.
For generations, our grandmas brought- up and supplemented the education of the children with stories of valour, kindness and knowledge.
I am doing just that, so that you and people of your age derive immense benefit from the lesson received by us.
Note: It is possible that, you might have read or heard some of the stories. It is also possible you might have experienced some of the situations found in the stories or narrations.
The intention of writing this book is not meant for telling just some stories. For all that you might have heard or read some of the stories, from one of the several sources. The objective is to link these stories to certain themes, so that the themes gets into your mind and internalized. Any internalized knowledge will help you in appropriate life situations, through subconscious acts.
Affectionately
N NATARAJAN
Knowledge - a key to good living.
(1) Learn from other’s experience:
Learning from one’s own experience is both painful and takes longer time. Learning from other’s experience increases the pace of learning. Read the history, short stories, news around the world. Absorb and abstract the knowledge relevant to you and your life situation. I am sure you will discover that it makes your life journey pleasant and enjoyable.
(2) Learn while you are young.
As one grows, the ability to absorb and retain the knowledge decreases. So read and absorb all good things while you are young and able.
You may read in this book a few themes. Each theme has a list of information under the caption, know this. These can be retained in your mind until these are absorbed into our subconscious mind.
Finally, one or more stories relevant to the theme are given. These stories would help remembering the theme. Stories form good message carriers.
I am planning to introduce you to some more themes with short stories, for your benefit, in a few more books I am writing.
They will be titled, My Dear Son, Book 2 and book 3 respectively.
I am sure you will spend some time reading them a few times over and benefit from it.
CONTENTS
1 Theme: Anger can be won over. Story: The Wise Donkey.
2 Theme: Wrong judgments . Story: GUILT.
3 Theme: Wrong judgments. Story: Indecent Fellow passenger
4 Theme: Wrong judgments. Story: The wayfarer.
5 Theme: Fight to finish. Story: Edison’s light bulb.
7 Theme: Facing adverse situation. Story: The Water carrier
8 Theme: Pick the right lesson. Story: The hunter and the hunted !
9 Theme: Help people around you Story: The Unexpected help.
10 Theme: Help people around you. Story: VEDA BECOMES AN ANGEL.
11 Theme: Acting selflessly. Story: Man and Mango
12 Theme: Perform sincerely, always ! Story: The Jack’s last assignment
13 Theme: Avoid a fool’s company. Story: The Fox in the town.
14 Theme: The luck Story: There is nothing called the luck.
15 Theme: Tire before you retire!. Story: Tire before retire.
16 Theme: Tire before you retire!. Story: Tire before retire.
17 Theme: No one is superior to any other.. Story: The Boatman And The Teacher.
18 Theme: No one is superior. Story: The Stone cutter.
19 Theme: Live today. Now. Story: The traveler on the mountain.
20 Theme: Mindless Compassions. Story: Compassion that killed.
21 Theme: COMPASSION. Story: The monk and the scorpion
22 Theme: Greed see no end. Story: Endless desires.
23 Theme: Greed see no end. Story: Greedy Sufi.
24 Theme: Our real problem. Story: Revolt against the god.
Theme: ANGER. Know this:
(1) Anger is a natural reaction when things do not happen the way it was expected.
(2) It is the expression of helplessness on your part. Shouting and other violent reactions are the typical fallouts.
(3) When you shout at some one, he receives it as a shock for first time. Less affected next time. They anticipate it subsequently.
(4) You may be typically nicknamed - The pressure cooker! or the jumping jack, worry- ental, dynamite, barking dog and one such.
(5) People around you, whose action are the source of your anger would never change their ways.
(6) People in anger cannot think cohesively. (7) Angry people cannot take the most appropriate decision and action in a difficult situation.
(8) From the time immemorial, wicked people made their opponents get angry, to win over them.
Suggestion:
You have two options to choose from.
First, choose to live with the anger and suffer the consequence. That is what most people do!
Second option: attempt to win over the anger.
Is it possible? Yes. why not?
The only precondition is that, you should believe that, you can ! If you choose the second option.
(1) Be conscious of the fact that you get angry and the typical situations that bring anger to you.
(2) When such situation arises, decide not to react in any manner. Here you need to devise a tool to divert your own attention elsewhere. Essentially shift your mind elsewhere. Hum a music that you like or listen to a music or to any favorite activity without others noticing it. I count one to hundred within my mind.
(3) After a few minutes wait, list down ways to combat (action plans to tackle) the present situation. For each such plan write separately the favourable and unfavourable reactions that can be expected.
(4) Choose the best among the options before you. Often you discover that, there is no need to react then and there!
(5) The decision thus made, after you have cooled down completely, will invariably be the best.
(6) You might take a day or longer for the first time.
But very soon you will find yourself that nothing angers you. Your pace of taking action in every tough situation will improve each time.
Note: This advice is based on my own experience. That was when my friends of fourteen long years association, forced themselves into our family - run enterprise that we started. They did everything even a sworn enemy would not imagine. Starting with embezzlement of huge cash, manipulating accounts to swindling the investments, to attempting to transfer the property of the company to one’s own name. We, the investors, were made to run to courts, police stations and ultimately bring down the shutters.
We did not express our anger or anguish to our associates who let us down. We never blamed any one for the problem.
We owned the problem. We accepted that our laxity or failure to run the business professionally, lead to the problem. Went soft on people. Got every thing in place quickly. Cleared every paise we owed and made a honourable exit.
Some stories that follow will help you believe that you can live free of anger.
Theme : ANGER.
Story 01
The Wise Donkey.
A merchant was traveling with his donkey laden with his merchandize.
He had a stick in his hand with which he would cane the beast often. He hurled abuses at the donkey and held it responsible for the ills that he is suffering. This he did it non-stop, all along the way. In addition, he would kick the beast once in a while.
A Sufi saint walked past the donkey and the merchant. He could quickly grasp the situation between the man and the donkey. He thought it fit to give the merchant a slice of his thought.
He drew the attention of the merchant politely and told him that it was unfortunate that the beast was not provided by the god with faculties to understand our language and ways we think.
So there is no use in abusing and torturing the hapless beast. The merchant was not impressed with this advice.
Instead, the Sufi continued, there is something that a man can learn from Donkey. It is worth attempting.
The merchant was shocked to hear this suggestion. “You mean, I learn from this dumb and good for nothing animal”?
The Sufi continued. “True. Learning the art of keeping cool head and composure in front of a donkey, in an adverse situation”.
Hope you noted both the fun and pun in Sufi’s advice. But there is a lot more to it.
Is it that, only donkeys are not equipped with enough faculties to understand humans. Not at all.
Most fellow humans are also do not have enough faculties to understand the