THE SELFISH MAN

Once upon a time, there was a selfish man. He liked everything to be

his own. He could not share his belongings with anyone, not even his
friends or the poor.

One day, the man lost thirty gold coins. He went to his friend’s house
and told him how he lost his gold coins. His friend was a kind man.

As his friend’s daughter was coming from an errand she found thirty gold coins, when she arrived
home, she told her father what she had found. The girl’s father told her that the gold coins belong
to his friend and he sent for him. When the selfish man arrived, he told him how his daughter had
found his thirty gold coins and handed then to him. After counting the gold coins the man said that
ten of them was missing and had been taken by the girl as he had forty gold coins. He further
commented that he will recover the remaining amount from him. But the girl’s father refused.

The man left the gold coins and went to the court and informed the judge there about what had
taken place between him and the girl’s father.

The judge sent for the girl and her father, and when they arrived asked the girl how many gold
coins did she find. She replied thirty gold coins. The Judge that asked the selfish man how many
gold coins did he lose and he answered forty gold coins.

The judge then told the man that the gold coins did not belong to him because the girl found thirty
and not forty as he claimed to have lost and then told the girl to take the gold coins and that if any-
body is looking for them he will send for the girl.

The judge told the man that if anybody reports that they have found forty gold coins he will send
for him. It was then that the man confessed that he lied and that he lost thirty gold coins but the
judge did not listen to him.
This story teaches us to be always honest as dishonest never pays.

YOU ARE PRICELESS TO THOSE WHO LOVE YOU

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of
200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said,
“I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to
crumple up the $20 bill. He asked, “Who still wants it?” Still hands were up in the air.

“Well, what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the
floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty and asked, “Who still
wants it?” Still hands went up into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what was done to
the money, it was still wanted because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth
$20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled and ground into the dirt by the decisions
we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or will happen, you will never lose your value: dirty or clean,
crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you.

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 BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PLANT
An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different.
He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, “It is time for me to step down
and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.”

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. “I am going to

give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you
to plant the seed, water it and come back here after one year from
today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge
the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next
emperor!”

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and
excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the
seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After
about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that
were beginning to grow.

Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still
nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt
like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn’t say anything to his friends,
however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for
inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But honest about what
happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot
to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths.
They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the
other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, “Hey nice try.”

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to
hide in the back. “What great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the emperor. “Today,
one of you will be appointed the next emperor!” All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the
back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was
terrified. “The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!”

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling,” he replied. All the
kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked
at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!” Ling
couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the
emperor said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it,
water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow.
All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the
seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one
with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will
be the new emperor!”

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 If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends. “Remember your graves because your
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness. way passes over it. You will be dealt with
If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory. as you deal with others, you will reap what
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony. you sow, and what you send today will
If you plant hard work, you will reap success. meet you tomorrow.” Imam Ali (AS)
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.
But
If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.
If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.
If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.
If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.
If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.
If you plant greed, you will reap loss.
If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.
If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.
If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.

So be careful what you plant now, It will determine what you will reap tomorrow, The seeds you
now scatter, Will make life worse or better, your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday,
you will enjoy the fruits, or you will pay for the choices you plant today.

GENEROSITY

Mahatma Gandhi went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for
the Charkha Sangh. During one of his tours he addressed a meeting in Orissa.

After his speech a poor old woman got up. She was bent with age, her hair
was grey and her clothes were in tatters. The volunteers tried to stop her,
but she fought her way to the place where Gandhi Ji was sitting.
“I must see him,” she insisted and going up to Gandhi Ji touched his feet.

Then from the folds of her sari she brought out a copper coin and placed it at his feet. Gandhi Ji
picked up the copper coin and put it away carefully. The Charkha Sangh funds were under the
charge of Jamnalal Bajaj. He asked Gandhi Ji for the coin but Gandhi Ji refused.

“I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh,” Jamnalal Bajaj said laughingly
“yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin.” “This copper coin is worth much more than those
thousands” Gandhi Ji said. “If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two,
it doesn’t mean much.”

But this coin was perhaps all that the poor woman "Overlook and forgive the weakness of
possessed. She gave me all she had. That was very generous people, because if they fall
generous of her. What a great sacrifice she made. That is down, Allah gives his hand in their hands
and helps them…." Imam Ali (AS)
why I value this copper coin more than a crore of rupees.

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 THE CRYSTAL BALL
In the south of Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful and lucky. The
children played under the shade of trees in the gardens of their home. A shepherd boy whose name
was Nasir, stayed near the village with his father, mother and grandmother. Early morning each
day, he takes his herd of goats up the hills to find a suitable place for them to graze. In the
afternoon he would return with them to the village. At night his grandmother would tell him a
story. The story of stars. This story really interested Nasir. As usual, on one of these days, as Nasir
was watching his herd and playing his flute he suddenly saw a wonderful light behind the flower
bush. When he came towards the branches he saw a transparent and most beautiful crystal ball.

The crystal ball was glittering like a colorful rainbow. Nasir carefully took it in
his hand and turned it around. With surprise suddenly he heard a weak voice
coming from the crystal ball. It said; “You can make a wish that your heart
desires and I will fulfill it.” Nasir could not believe that he had actually heard
a voice. But he became so engrossed in his thoughts for he had so many
wishes but he must wish for something which was impossible like the wish to
be able to fly. He said to himself, if I wait till tomorrow I will remember many
things. He put the crystal ball in a bag and gathered the herd, happily returned back
to the village. He decided that he would not tell anyone about the crystal ball. On the following day
also, Nasir could not decide what to wish for, because he really had everything he needed.

The days passed as usual, and Nasir appeared to be very cheerful that the people around him were
amazed to see his cheerful disposition. One day a boy followed Nasir and his herd and hid behind
a tree. Nasir as usual sat in one corner, took out the crystal ball and for a few moments looked at it.
The boy waited for the moment when Nasir would go to sleep. Then he took the crystal ball and ran
away. When he arrived in the village, he called all the people and showed them the crystal ball.
The citizens of that village took the crystal ball in their hand and turned it around with surprise.
Suddenly they heard a voice from inside the crystal ball, which says, “I can fulfill your wish.”
One person took the ball and screamed, “I want one bag full of gold.” Another took the ball and
said loudly, “I want two chest full of jewelry.”

Some of them wished that they would have their own palace with grand door made from pure gold
instead of their old houses. Some also wished for bags full of jewelry, but nobody asked for gardens
in their palaces. All their wishes were fulfilled but still the citizens of the village were not happy.
They were jealous because the person that had a palace had no gold and the person that had the
gold had no palace. For this reason, the citizens of the village were angry and were not speaking to
each other. There was not even one garden which existed in the village where the children could
play. The patience of the children was running out and they were uncomfortable. Nasir and his
family were happy and pleased. Every morning and afternoon he would play the flute.

The children could not wait anymore and decided to return the crystal ball to Nasir. The parents
and neighbors went to him. The children said to Nasir; “When we had a small village we all were
happy and joyful.” The parent also spoke. In one way or another nobody is happy. The expensive
palaces and jewelry only bring us pain. When Nasir saw that the people were really regretful, he
said I have not wished till now, if you really want everything to return to its own place, then I will
wish for it. Everyone happily agreed. Nasir took the crystal ball in his hand turned around and
wished that the village become the same as it was before. Everyone quickly turned towards the
village and saw it became the same old village with gardens full of trees and fruits.

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 Once again the people started to live happily and the children played under the shade of trees.
From the next day and everyday at sunset the sound of Nasir’s flute could be heard in the village.

This story teaches us that we should be happy with whatever we have and not to be greedy.

THE SIGNS OF HAPPINESS

There was a young couple who led a very happy life together. The only thing that they worried
about was, whether their happiness would last forever or would they too would have to face
problems. One day, they heard that a wise old man had come to town; he could solve all kinds of
problems and guide people. So the couple decided to visit the wise old man and tell him their
source of worry.

The wise old man told them; “Travel around the world and seek a man and a woman who are
perfectly happy as a couple. When you find such a couple, ask them for a piece of cloth from the
man’s shirt, then keep that piece of cloth with you, and you always remain happy.”

The young couple began their journey, to find the happiest couple in their world. In one place
they heard that the governor and his wife were the happiest people, so they went to their palace
and asked them, “Are you the happiest couple?”

The governor and his wife replied, “Yes, we are happy in every way except for one thing;
we do not have any children.”

Well that didn’t make the governor and his wife the happiest couple. So they continued their
journey. They arrived in one city where they had heard that the happiest couple lived.
They went to their house and asked them, “Are you the happiest couple?”

The couple replied, “Yes, we are really happy in every way except that we have too many children
which make our life a bit uncomfortable.”

No, this couple did not sound to be the happiest. And, so they continued their journey. They visited
many countries, cities, towns and villages asking the same
question but they did not find what they were looking for.

One Day the young couple came across a shepherd in the desert.
The shepherd was grazing his sheep when his wife and child
came along. The shepherd greeted his wife and gently patted
the child she was carrying. She laid the mat and started to eat
contentedly. The young couple came to them and asked them,
“Are you the happiest couple?”

The shepherd and his wife replied, “Nobody is unhappier than

the king.” The young couple immediately realized that they were
the happiest couple and asked them for a piece of the shepherd’s
shirt, so that their happiness too would last throughout.
The shepherd said, “If I give you a piece of cloth from my shirt
then I will be left without any clothes since I own just one shirt.”

The young couple at once understood that it is very difficult to

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 find perfect happiness anywhere in the world. The couple decided to return to their own country.

They went to the wise old man and related all that had taken place. They also complained that his
guidance was difficult to abide by.

The wise old man laughed and said, “Was your journey useless or did you learn something from it?”

The young man replied, “Yes, after this trip I have learnt that in this world, nobody is perfectly
happy, only that person is happy who does everything to please God.”

Holy Quran (2:38) says:

“And whosever follows My (Allah’s) guidance, on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.”

The wife said, “I have learnt that in order to be happy it is important to remember two things;
first, all human beings should be thankful and contented with whatever they have.”

Holy Quran (14:7) says:

“And your Lord declared publicly: if you are grateful, I will add more favors unto you.”

And secondly, for ultimate happiness one must always practice patience.

Holy Quran (2:45) says: “Seek help through patient perseverance and prayers.”

After that, young couple thanked the wise old man for his guidance and returned home. The wise
man prayed for them and said, “Indeed the sign of happiness is in their heart and they have good
manners and if the lifetime is spent in pleasure of God there would be no differences in the exis-
tence of mankind.”

Holy Quran (20:123-124) says: “Whosoever follows My (Allah’s) guidance, will not loose his way or fall
into misery But whosoever turns away from My message, verily for him is a miserable life.”

HOPE AND GREED

Caliph Haroon Rashid desired that any one who had seen the Holy
Prophet (SAW) in his lifetime be brought before him. After some time
a very old woman was brought before the Caliph. The Caliph asked the
old woman, “Did you see the Prophet yourself?” She said, “Yes! Sir.”
The Caliph then asked her if she remembered any narration from him.
She said yes and said, “When old age comes two things become young,
one is hope and the other is greed.” The Caliph thanked her and gave her
one hundred dinars. The woman thanked Caliph and she was taken back.

Half the way some thought passed through her mind and she desired
to be brought before the Caliph once more. When she was shown in, the
Caliph asked, “Well, why have you come back?” She said. “I just came to
inquire whether the monies you gave me were once for all or is it to continue every year?”

The Caliph thought. “How true is the Prophet’s (SAW) word?” she has hope of life even now and
she has greed for money too. The Caliph said, “Don’t worry; you will be paid every year.”
She was taken back but on the way she breathed her last.

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 FOUR WIVES
Once upon a time. There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and
adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her & gave her
nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to
his friends. However, the merchant is always in fear that she might run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient & in fact is the
merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his
2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in
maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the
merchant did not love the 1st wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of
his luxurious life and told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be alone. How
lonely I’ll be!” Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing
and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?”

“No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another
word. Answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart.

The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much
for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me
company?”

“No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m going to
remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and
you’ve always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep
me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife.” “At the very most,
I can only send you to your grave.” Answer came like a bolt of thunder & merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out: “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The merchant
looked up and there was his 1st wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition.

Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you while I could
have!”

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and
effort we lavish in making it look good, it’ll leave us when we die.

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