Moral Stories:

Once upon a time there was a monk who lived in a modest cottage in a hermitage. People from all walks of life came to him with their problems. The monk would listen to them patiently, and with great insight and wisdom, he would give appropriate advice.

One day, a rich man came to visit the monk. He had amassed considerable wealth. His safe was full of money and gold. He believed that life could not go on without wealth and that man needed money to survive. Still people professed the need for religion. Why? He explained his predicament to the monk. The monk did not say anything.

The rich man decided to stay at the hermitage for a few days to see if the monk would answer his question.

In the evening, a lamp was lighted in the cottage. The night progressed and it was time to go to bed. The lamp was still burning. The rich man asked the monk, "O sage, why is the lamp still burning?"

The monk replied, "Because there is darkness."

The rich man could not sleep. A little later, he asked the monk, "How long will the lamp continue to burn?"

The monk replied promptly, "Till there is darkness."

Those words opened the rich man's eyes and resolved his dilemma. A voice from his inner self revealed that religion was needed because there were immoral and unethical tendencies in mankind. As long as there are vices such as immorality and indiscreetness, religion will continue to shine.

Once there was a king who was extremely kind, generous and benevolent towards his subjects. He promoted farming so that nobody in his kingdom would go hungry. He made sure that everyone had clothes to wear and a roof over his/her head. He built hospitals where the sick could get adequate treatment. In other words, the king did everything in his power to keep his subjects happy and healthy.

In spite of the king's best efforts to help his subjects, the people of his kingdom were not satisfied. They made one demand after another. As soon as one demand was fulfilled, another one was raised. There seemed to be no end to this process. The king tried his best to fulfill every demand of his people. However, that was impossible because there was no limit to the desires of people, while the resources at hand were limited.

The king had phenomenal patience but how long could he go on that way? Ultimately, the king became extremely distressed, and consequently he fell sick. He received the best treatment available but to no avail. There is cure for a physical ailment but the king's affliction was something else.

One day, just by coincidence, a monk passed by the kingdom. On hearing about the king's condition, he went to see him. He noticed that the king was in a miserable state. The king explained his grief in detail and implored, "O sage, please help me and eliminate my malady."

The monk thought for a while and then said, "O king, you yourself are responsible for your grief. Your thinking is deluded. Desires can never be fulfilled completely. Mind is an active drifter. The more you satisfy it, the more it wants. Desires are like vines that continue to spread. One does not attain happiness by fulfilling one's desires, rather by curtailing them."

The king realized the truth. He corrected his mistake and recovered his health. When his subjects learned what the monk had said, they realized their mistakes, and became content and happy.

Once upon a time, there was a man who developed an intense passion to see God. He went to a monk and said, "O master, I have a longing to meet with God. Will you please help me?"

The monk rejoined, "Why not? Come to this spot tomorrow in the morning. We will walk to the top of that mountain. There your wish will be fulfilled."

The next day, early in the morning, the man went to the same spot. The monk said, "Good, you have arrived. Let us start. If you don't mind, please carry this backpack."

The man was anxious and excited. He gladly picked up the backpack and started to walk toward the peak with the monk. As they climbed the steep hill, the man started feeling tired and the backpack felt heavy. He said to the monk, "O sage, I am tired and I am having trouble walking further."

The monk said in a casual manner, "Never mind, there are five stones in the backpack. Discard one of them." The man opened the bundle, removed one of the stones, closed the backpack and started towards the mountain top.

A little later, the man again started to feel tired. The peak of the mountain seemed too far. The man again expressed his difficulty. The monk said, "Discard one more stone. That should help." The man did as the monk had suggested and continued to walk.

The backpack did become lighter but not for long! Once again the man complained and the monk suggested that he throw out one more stone. The man did as the monk had suggested and both proceeded toward the top of the mountain.

Eventually, the fourth and the fifth stones had to be discarded. They reached the peak of the mountain but with an empty backpack. There the man said, "O master, now that we have reached the top, please let me have a face to face meeting with God."

The monk became very somber. In a serious tone he said, "My son, you have seen that you could not climb the mountain with the load of five stones. How can you expect to realize God without eliminating the five gigantic rocks of lust (KAAM), anger (KRODH), greed (LOBH), delusion (MOHA) and pride (AHAMKAAR)?"

The man's eyes were opened. He learned that minimizing the passions of lust, anger, greed, delusion and pride is the means to achieving godliness.

Footnotes:

1. These three stories have been adapted from AMAR KATHAAEN, published by Sasta Sahitya Mandal, New Delhi,, India, 1996. Back up

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