5

The Empty Jar

Let me tell you the parable of the empty jar, which the shishya (the student) asked his guru (teacher) to fill
up. The guru in front of the entire class looked around and found the round stones that were lying around. So
he filled the jar with these balls. He then asked: ―Is the jar full now?‖ The students agreed that it was full. He
then went out and brought in some small stones and poured these into the jar. He then shook the jar. The
stones settled into the jar. He then asked the students again if the jar was full and when they agreed that it
was, he went out again and brought in some sand and poured that into the jar. Of course, the sand filled
every part of the jar. Now everyone agreed that the jar was as full as it could be. In front of them all, he
poured some tea into the jar, this time filling every cubic centimeter of the jar.
The entire class laughed. Once the laughter was over, the teacher told them: ―This jar is a bit like your life.
The round balls are things that are important in your life; your family, your children, your health, your
friends, - those things that if everything else was lost and only these remained, you would still call your life
full. The small stones are the other slightly less significant things, but still important in your life; like your
job, your house, your car etc.
The sand is everything else; if you had poured the sand in first you would have had no space for the
important things, things really important to you for your happiness, comfort and fulfilment. Therefore pay
attention to things that are central to your happiness. As you grow up, and have children, take time to play
with them; keep yourself in good physical and mental condition, take regular exercise. There will always be
time to do small things that are important for pleasing others; for example, keeping your house clean, and
ensure that the water system in your house is in good shape, your books and papers are kept in a orderly
manner so that you can lay your hands on that which you need quickly. Then the teacher was about to leave.
One of the more observant students raised her hand and said ―Guruji what about the tea?‖ The teacher
laughed aloud and said ―I am delighted you asked. The tea indicates that no matter how full your life may
seem, there is always room for a cup of tea with a friend or your wife, giving you an opportunity to laugh,
joke, think, dream, or smile to yourself; for those are things that fill you again with energy and provide the
capacity to review as also renew life that lies ahead of you‖.

Adapted from Mr. S K Singh‘s Convocation Address

 6

The Story of the Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:
‗Are you writing a story about what we have done? Is it a story about me?‘

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
‗I am writing about you. Actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I am using. I hope you
will be like this pencil when you grow up.‘

Intrigued the boy looked at the pencil. It didn‘t seem very special.
‗But its just like any other pencil I have ever seen!‘

‗That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which. If you manage to them, will make you
a person who is always at peace with the world.‘

‗First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget, that there is a hand guiding your
steps. We call that hand God and He always guides us according to His will.‘

‗Second quality: now and then I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a
little, but afterwards, it is much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because
they will make you a better person.‘

‗Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that
correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.‘

‗Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always
pay attention to what is happening inside you.‘

‗Finally, the pencil‘s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that
everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.‘

By

Paulo Coelho
(Brazilian Author)
Source: Like the Flowing River
(London) Harper Collins, 2005
ISBN: 13-978-0-000 7 24630-4
 7

A Word of Wisdom by Sheikh Sadi

In his introduction Sa'di describes how a friend persuaded him to go out to a garden on 21 April 1258. There
the friend gathered up flowers to take back to town. Sa'di remarked on how quickly the flowers would die,
and proposed a flower garden that would last much longer:

Of what use will be a dish of roses to thee?

Take a leaf from my rose-garden.
A flower endures but five or six days
But this rose-garden is always delightful.

Sa'di continues, "On the same day I happened to write two chapters, namely on polite society and the rules
of conversation, in a style acceptable to orators and instructive to letter-writers.".[6] In finishing the book,
Sa'di writes that, though his speech is entertaining and amusing, "it is not hidden from the enlightened minds
of sahibdils (possessors of heart), who are primarily addressed here, that pearls of healing counsel have been
drawn onto strings of expression, and the bitter medicine of advice has been mixed with the honey of wit"

This well-known verse, part of chapter 1, story 10 of the Gulistan, is displayed in the entrance of the United

Nations Hall of Nations:

‫بنی آدم اعضای یک پیکرند‬

‫که در آفرینش ز یک گوهرند‬
‫چو عضوى به درد آورد روزگار‬
‫دگر عضوها را نماند قرار‬
‫تو کز محنت دیگران بی غمی‬
‫نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی‬

Human beings are members of a whole,

In creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.
If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain.

U.S. President Barack Obama quoted this in his videotaped Nowruz (New Year's) greeting to
the Iranian people in March 2009: "There are those who insist that we be defined by our differences. But let
us remember the words that were written by the poet Saadi, so many years ago: 'The children of Adam are
limbs to each other, having been created of one essence.'"
 8

Face Difficulties Positively

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer‘s well. The farmer
heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells.
After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the
mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbours together, told them what
had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his
misery.
Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbours continued shovelling and the dirt
hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on
his back, HE WOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!
This he did, blow after blow. ―Shake it off and step up… shake it off and step up… shake it off and step
up!‖ He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation
seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
It wasn‘t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well!
What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him … all because of the manner in which he handled
his adversity.
THAT‘S LIFE! We face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic,
bitterness, or self-pity.
 9

Letter from a Father to his Son‟s Teacher

The following letter was written by Abraham Lincoln, the 16 President of the United States born on 12
February 1809. He was the President of the United States from March 1861 till he was assassinated in April
1865. Lincoln is revered in the United States as a founding father of the democratic nation. He led the
country through the American Civil War and abolished slavery. Reared in a poor family Lincoln modernized
the economy and set the path of progress for the United States of America.

He will have to learn, I know,

that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician,
there is a dedicated leader...
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,

Steer him away from envy,

if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that

the bullies are the easiest to lick... Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books...
But also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,
and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him

it is far honourable to fail
than to cheat...
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,

even if everyone tells him

they are wrong...
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son

the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon...
Teach him to listen to all men...
 10

but teach him also to filter

all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.

Teach him if you can,

how to laugh when he is sad...
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness...
Teach him to sell his brawn
and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag
on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears

to a howling mob
and to stand and fight
if he thinks he's right.
Treat him gently,
but do not cuddle him,
because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage

to be impatient...
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always
to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have
sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,

but see what you can do...
He is such a fine fellow,
my son!