Torch bearers

Lesson 5

Summary of the lesson

Age does not make one great. It is wisdom that makes one good citizen and great man. So one should think for
some time before every action. It is our responsibility to make ourselves a good citizen.
Part I

Once upon a time, many centuries ago, there lived an old merchant. All his life he had toiled hard, buying and selling,
with the result that he had made a lot of money. As the years went by, he laid by more and more riched. But the day came
when he felt that he had not long to remain in this world. He began to wonder what he should do with his money.

Now, he had two sons. He made up his mind that he would not divide his money between them, but that he would give it
all to the one who proved himself to be the cleverer of the two. The problem to be solved was that of finding out which of
the two sons was the cleverer. He decided to solve this problem by giving them a test.

Calling the young men, he said to them. “Here are two rupees. I want you to take one rupee each, and then to go out
separately and buy something which will fill this house. You are not to spend more than more than one rupee.”

The two sons looked at him as if he had taken leave of his sense. “How can we possibly buy enough of anything to fill the
house with only one rupee?” They asked themselves. And they were reluctant to pick up the rupee. But the old man insisted
on their doing as he told them. “Off you go,” he said. “And don’t take too long over the business. I expect you back in a
couple of days.”

So each young man took up a rupee and went out. The first one wandered through the bazaar. But nothing could he find
which would in any way serve his purpose. All day ling he wandered about, looking in all the shops but nothing could he
find. He became more certain that something had gone wrong with his father. He was about to give up his search in des-
pair, when he saw a bullock cart with a load of hay. “That looks hopeful,” he thought. “I wonder how much that I can get
for a rupee.”

He went up to the driver of the cart and enquired about the price of the hay. There was a good deal of huddling over the
price, but, in the end, he was able to buy the load of hay for a rupee. (This was in the days when a rupee would buy a
great deal more than it would buy now.)

So the young man led off the cart with the hay to his gather’s house. Hopefully he poled it into the house. But when it was
all in, he found that there was not enough to cover even the floor; let alone fill the whole house.

When the second son went out with his rupee, he did not go straightway to the bazaar instead of doing that; he sat down
and began to think. For a long time he sat thinking about what he could possibly buy. At length, at evening time, an idea
struck him. Taking his rupee, he walked quickly down the bazaar till he come to a shop where candles were sold, he spent
his rupee on candles, of which he got quite a number. Then, taking his candles with him, he made his way back to his fa-
ther’s house. When he got where his brother was standing disconsolately looking at the hay spread ort on the floor.
It was now getting dark. Quickly the second son stood two or three candles in each rooms. Then he lit them. At once the
house was filled with light.

His father was very pleased with him and said, “my son you have shown true wisdom. I am ready to hand over all my
money to you.”

Now, we all live in a big house which we call our native country. We have each of us been given, some one rupee, some
two rupee, some three and some four. These rupees are not rupees with which we can buy things, but they are different
powers we have been given. Each of us has powers of body, powers of mind, powers of character. Each of us has
strength, time, intelligence, which can be used. As we leave school and go out into the world, we are tested as to how we
are going to use these talents which we possess. Are we going to use them to buy useless hay, or are we going to use
them to spread light throughout our houses, that is, our country? If we are going to be good citizens, then we shall use
our powers and abilities to try to spread light into all parts of our country’ that is , we shall spend ourselves in the service
of our country.

No country can progress unless it has good citizens. So that if we love our country and want to serve it, we shall try to
become good citizens.

While we are at school, this is what we should be doing; we should be training ourselves in citizenship, and cultivating the
characteristics of good citizens. If we do this, then when we the school and home, and go out into different parts of our
country, we shall be able to fill it with the light of good citizenship.

-W.M. RYBURN

Glossary

Toiled Worked hard

Laid by saved
Reluctant Unwilling
Insisted Emphasized
Haggling Bargaining
piled Put in a heap
disconsolately cultivating
cultivating To develop

Exercise

A. Extracts from the text for comprehension

Read the following passage and answer the question that follow:
I. Once upon a time………………………………them a test.
1. Who lived many centuries ago?
2. What happened as the time passed?
II. When the second son………………………….money to you.
1. What did the second son buy for his rupee?
 2. What did the second son see when he got back home?
III. Now, we all ……………………………………..service of our country.
1. What is the meaning of rupees in the passage?
2. What will happen after leaving the school?
IV. Now we all live…………………………………of our country.
1. How are we tested as we leave school and go out into the world?
2. What does the author mean by ‘hay’ and ‘light’ in the given passage?
V. No country can…………………………………good citizenship.
1. What should we do at school?
2. When shall we be able to fill our country with the light of good citizenship?
3. What should we do, if we love our country?
4. Write the name of the lesson from which the given passage has been taken. Who is the
author of this lesson?
B. Long answer type questions:
Answer the following questions in about 60words:
1. What was the problem before the old merchant in the lesson ‘torch bearers’? how did he solve it?
2. How did the sons of the merchants spent their money?
3. What did the old merchant give one rupee to each of his two sons? How did two sons spent their
money?
4. What test did the old merchant give to his to his two sons to find out who was the cleverer of them?
Why did he want to judge them?
5. Do you approve the decision of the merchant to five all his money to his second son?
6. How can you fill your country with the light of good citizenship?
7. How can the students assist their country as good citizens?
8. What are the students solicited to do at school, at home and afterward do their country?
9. Write a character-sketch of the old merchant in ‘torch bearers’.
C. Short answer type questions
Answer the following questions in about 25words:
1. What was the result of merchant’s hard toil?
2. Why were the two sons reluctant to pick up the rupee?
3. To whom did the merchant want to give all his money?
4. How did he solve the problem?
5. What did he say to his sons?
6. Why did the first son of the old merchant go up to the driver of the bullock-cart?
7. What did the first son of do before buying anything?
8. What happened when the second son lit the candles?
9. What did his father sat to him?
10. Which powers do we all possess?
 Part II

A story is told of Guru Nanak that, in the course of his travels, he came to a village. Besides him, his disciple, Mardana,
also came to the village. They wanted to stay there for the night. But the villagers were rude and inhospitable, and would
not let them stay anywhere in the village. So Guru Nanak and Mardana were forced to spend the night in the open. As
they turned away from the village, Guru Nanak said, “I pray that the people of this village may always in this village.”
Mardana was somewhat puzzled at this, but said nothing.

The next night they came to another village, where they met with a very different reception. The villagers welcomed them,
treated them kindly, found them a place to stay for the night, and gave them food to eat. In the morning, as guru Nanak
and Mardana were leaving, the guru said, “I pray that the people of this village may not remain in their village, but may
be scattered throughout the country.”

But this was too much for Mardana. He protested. “Why,” he said to the guru, “do you pray for good things for people
who treat us badly and for misfortunes for those who treat us well? You should have prayers for those inhospitable villag-
ers to be scattered over the country, and for these good people to remain comfortably where they are.”

“No,” replied Guru Nanak. “It is better for those inhospitable and selfish people to stay in one place where they can do
harm in one place only. If they went to other places they would have an evil influence all through the country. Now these
good people, with whom we put up last night, are too good to be left in one place. They have something which is needed
everywhere. Their influence and their character will be benefit to others, wherever they go. Hence they ought to be scat-
tered so that they can take their light to other places.”

Now we have to see to it that we grow into such citizens that people will want the light of our character and our influence
everywhere. We do not wish to have the sort of character that will make people want us to stay in one place, not to mix
with others. If we are to be good citizens, who will be able to serve their country, we must be for good, and not for bad.
Our lives must be such that wherever we go and wherever we go and wherever we live, other people will be the better
for our having been with them. A good citizen is a centre of light wherever he lives, and whatever he is doing. The great-
er the number of good citizens in a country, the more enlightened will the country be as a whole.

All of us are, or will be, citizens of our country. But we have to make up our minds whether we are going to be good
citizens or bad ones. We have to decide whether we shall live such lives that our country will be the better for our lives
and work, or the worse. We have to try to imagine what our country would be like if everyone lived and acted in just the
same way as we do.

A chain is as strong as its weakest link, each one of us is a link in the chain that is our country. If we are weak and poor
citizens, then our country will suffer, even though we may try to comfort ourselves with the false idea that it does not
make any difference what one person does in such a large country where so many people live. But if one candle goes out,
then in that one place there is darkness instead of light. It is only when all the candles burn brightly that the whole house
will be full of light.

Each of us, therefore, has the responsibility of being a good citizen. We must see that over particular link in the chain is
not a weak one. When the Olympic Games held in the London in 1948, a flame was carried to London from Greece,
where the Olympic Games used to be held in times ling ago. This flame was carried by a ling relay of runner’s right
across Europe. Each runner, carrying a lighted torch, ran for a certain distance till he came to the place where a fresh
runner was waiting for him. The new runner then lit his touch from the one that had been carried to him. As soon as he had
done this he set out to run with his lighted torch to where the next runner was waiting. He had a fresh torch, which he, in
his turn, lit from the one brought to him. And so from runner to runner the flame was carried till it reached London. From
the last torch was lit the fire which burned all the time the games were going on.

Although nothing was said about it, and no names were mentioned, at one place there was an accident. One runner when
handing over his torch to a fresh runner, let it go out. How ashamed he must have been! He had let the flame go out. He
had broken the chain.

Each of us, as we leave school, has a flame to carry which we have to pass on to others. We have been given knowledge
and skill. These we pass in by using them in the service of our country. If we do not use them, it means that we are letting
the flame go out, and none of us wants to do that. But if we are going to be able to keep alight the torch that has been
given us, we have to know how to look after it, and we have to know how to told it as we run. In others words, we have
to train ourselves for citizenship, and for service of our country

-W.M. RYBURN

(Adapted)