We Don't Understand!

It was a travel in the sea… The ship was moving.

Many people were travelling.

Some were standing in the upper deck and were enjoying the sights of the vast stretches of  the sky and the water.

Some were sitting in the lower deck and gossiping.

In between these two, was a man.

Until then, he had neither seen the sea… nor a ship.

At that time, the wind started blowing strongly.

He was filled with fear on seeing the ship sway.

He started shouting.

The co-passengers were in a dilemma.

How do they make him all right?

A doctor who was travelling came forward.

He gave a few medicines and went away.

The man ate them.

He slept off for some time.

When he woke up, he started shouting again.

Now, an old man came forward.

“I will cure him-” he said. “The disease called fear is gripping him! Call the man who is shouting!”

They brought him.

“Throw him into the sea,” he ordered. And, they did.

“Alas! I am dead!” the man in the sea cried.

“Now take him out, and bring him,” said the old man. They did so.

“Thank God! I am alive!” cried the man.

After that, he never shouted again.

He withdrew to one corner without speaking.

Everyone looked at the old man with admiration.

He said:

“Until our situation becomes worse… we really don’t think about how fortunate we already are!”

Translated by me from "Ullame Ulagam" by Thenkachi Ko Swaminathan (publishers Vanathi Pathipagam).

Way to Happiness

“I am caught in the prison of sorrows and I am suffering,” he said.

“What is the reason?” asked an old man.

“Others are giving me trouble.”

“It is your mind that gives you trouble.”

“Is that what you say?”

“Yes.”

“If that is so, what is the way out of sorrow?”

“Understand your mind…It’s enough.”

“How to understand?” he asked.

“Listen to this story”, the man said.

Thus, he narrated:

“A man had a pet cat and he loved it. One day, that cat caught a rat and brought it. That made him happy. The next day, the cat caught his pet parrot and brought it. He was shocked by that. Yet another day, the cat roamed somewhere and caught and brought a sparrow. He was neither happy nor shocked by that. It took him sometime to understand that it is the nature of a cat to catch something.

It is happiness when a rat, which is not liked, is caught. 

It is sadness when a parrot, which is liked, is caught. 

It is neither happiness nor sadness when a sparrow, not related to him, is caught.”

The old man ended the story. 

He started thinking. He heard the gate of the prison being opened.

“People who understand live happily.”


Translated by me from "Ullame Ulagam" by Thenkachi Ko Swaminathan (publishers Vanathi Pathipagam).

Three Filters

Portrait of Socrates. Marble, Roman artwork (1st century), perhaps a copy of a lost bronze statue made by Lysippos. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Sir…,” I called out a voice.

The philosopher Socrates looked up.

“I came to tell you a news,” said the man trying to tell something.

“Don’t be in a hurry, my friend…. Did you filter the news by the 3 filters?”

He did not understand.

“3 filters…?”

“The 1^st filter stops anything that is not true….Is the news you wanted to convey true?”

“I do not know about that… The others were talking…just that…”

“The second filter stops bad news. Is the news you brought a good news?”

“No.”

“The third filter stops any news which affects the others. Can the news you have brought do good to others?”

“No.”

“The news that you came to tell me is not true. It is also not a good news. It is not going to benefit or bring happiness to anyone, isn’t?”

“Yes.”

“My dear friend, why should we discuss about such a news wasting our time and energy?”

The man who came fell silent.


Translated by me from "Ullame Ulagam" by Thenkachi Ko Swaminathan (publishers Vanathi Pathipagam).

People Who Do Not Know The Value

English: Official portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer, first director of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Français : Le portrait officiel de Robert Oppenheimer, alors premier directeur du Laboratoire national de Los Alamos. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Of all the powers in the world, which is the most powerful?"
"The most powerful is the human power."
"How?"
"For all the things in the world, it is only the humans who set the value."
"It's true."
"The humans who set high value for gold and diamonds do not understand their own value."
"So what?"
"That's why humans became cheap. Human lives have also become cheap."

A day in the past.
The world's first atom bomb comes into existence.
The power of the brain creates that super power.
It is made under the supervision of the scientist Dr. Robert Oppenheimer.
Yes.
Now it is waiting for the orders of the humans.
At this stage...
The American parliament gathers.
There the scientist talks.
He speaks in detail.
Members shoot arrows of questions.
He answers all the questions with patience.
He explains how the effects would be if the atom bomb explodes.
They listen without blinking their eyes.
A member stands up...

"Are there any truly strong and safe measures to prevent that disastrous weapon?"
"Definitely, there is," says the scientist.
Everyone stands up and asks curiously: "What is that?"

Oppenheimer slowly looks up at them.
Then he says,"That is peace."

Translated by me from "Ullame Ulagam" by Thenkachi Ko Swaminathan (publishers Vanathi Pathipagam).