THE POT OF INTELLIGENCE

Here comes one more interesting story from my school book.

Akbar and Birbal stories and folk tales are featured in Amar chitra katha and Chandamma.

Akbar had great confidence in Birbal. But once, for some unknown reason, the Emperor was not very happy with him. Sensing this, Birbal decided to stay away from the Emperor for few days. He went to a small village and started living there.

One day, Akbar got a letter. One of his vassals, Raja Samant, had written, "Please send me a pot full of intelligence."

Akbar could not comprehend what it meant. He thought," If only Birbal was here, he would have explained it in a minute."

The Emperor came up with an idea to find out where Birbal might be. He invited the heads of the village and said, "I shall give a goat to each one of you. You must feed them well. Take good care of them. The cost is my responsibility. You must return the goats after one month. But when you return, the goats should weigh the same as they are today."

The village heads wondered how this would be possible.

Somehow, Birbal came to know about this. He went to see the Patel (village head).

"Patelji, do not worry about what the Emperor has said. Just take good care of the goat," said Birbal.

"In that case, the goat will grow fat."

"There is a solution for that. On the outskirts of the village, there is a lion in the cage. Tie up this goat just a little way of from the lion. Due to fear and insecurity, the goat will not gain an ounce of weight," said Birbal.

The Patel followed Birbal's instruction. After a month all goats were brought to the Emperor. Only one goat had not gained any weight. Akbar guessed that this was possible only with Birbal's help. He sent for Birbal and pacified him. Then he said, "Birbal, I need your advice. How can I sent a pot full of intelligence to someone?"

Birbal started working on it. First, he got a pot, filled it with soil and sowed a pumpkin seed in it. It sprouted and a pumpkin grew inside the pot. When the pumpkin filled the pot, Birbal cut of the plant. The pumpkin remained inside the pot. Birbal tied a cloth and covered the pot. He showed this to Akbar..

Then Akbar ordered his messenger to send this to Raja Samant with a letter by mentioning, that this is full of intelligence. Take it out carefully. While removing the pumpkin, the pot should not break and the container should not get damaged. If anything contrary to this happens, you will have to pay a very heavy penalty."

The vassal received the pot and the letter. He realized what an impossible task it was. He came to Akbar's Court and apologized. He realized what a fool he was to ask for a pot of intelligence from an Emperor in whose kingdom a man like Birbal lived!"

Moral: Most problems have solutions. Just we have to think with a calm peace of mind for solutions. If you can't find them yourself, find someone who can! 

MY UGADI KOLAM HAPPY UGADI TO ALL

BE A GOOD LISTENER

                                                   
To be a ‘good listener’ is a vital trait that anyone from any sphere of life must have. It is easy to dispense advice, and everyone likes doing that. However, in many circumstances, more beneficial than advising someone is listening with all your heart to what he or she has to say. Not everyone will be able to help others financially. But when someone is trying to unburden his or her heart, we can try to listen with an open heart. Doing so is great service.

Where there is love, there will be proper listening, too. Listening is of utmost importance in both family and professional life. There is no better way to avoid mutual misunderstanding and avoid complications in life. One of the biggest drawbacks today in the relationship between spouses is the inability to patiently hear each other out.

There are three types of ‘listening’: listening with the intellect, with the mind, and with the heart.

It is impossible to listen intellectually. One might even say that there is no listening involved when one ‘listens’ with the intellect only.

Here is a story. A philosopher went to see a mahatma (spiritually enlightened being). As soon as he arrived, the philosopher started speaking non-stop. The mahatma listened to him silently. After talking uninterruptedly for a very long time, the philosopher told the mahatma, “Please give me some advice”.

The mahatma said, “I’ll bring some tea first. The advice can come after that.” He came back shortly with some tea. He placed a cup before the philosopher and started pouring the tea from the teapot. Soon the cup was full and began to overflow. But the mahatma did not stop pouring. Seeing this, the philosopher exclaimed, “What’s this? The cup is full. It cannot contain even one more drop of tea!”

Hearing this, the mahatma chuckled and said, “So, you know very well that once the cup is full, it cannot take in even one more drop of tea, don’t you? In the same way, your mind and intellect are crammed with many types of thoughts and information. There is not even an iota of space left for advice. First, create a tiny space for it. The advice can come later.”

Listening with the mind is partial listening. Our preconceived ideas will be an obstacle to assimilating fully what we hear. But when we listen with the heart, it is the power of love that is most actively operating. Here, one gives full attention to the other person. Such listening helps the speaker as well as the listener and brings about a change in both.

There are four ways of communicating properly: reading, writing, speaking and listening. We receive training in the first three from childhood itself. To a large extent, we are well-versed in reading what is necessary, speaking when the need arises, and writing. However, we have not acquired sufficient skills in listening properly. That is why most people are bad listeners.

God has given us two ears and one mouth. So, we should listen twice as much to others as we speak to them. But at present, we are doing the very opposite. We talk non-stop, and do not try to listen to anyone. When someone else is speaking, instead of paying attention, we are thinking about what we are going to say next.

When we listen with the intellect alone, the differentiating attitude — ‘you’ and ‘I’ — will always be there. Knowingly or unknowingly, when we talk, we strive to express the feeling, “I’m great; you’re inferior.” Problems cease and life becomes pleasant when we understand the heart of another person,  and  not when we air our own greatness.

It is said, “It’s not enough to have eyes; one should see.” In a similar vein, it is not enough to have ears; one should listen properly. Being a good listener is a great asset in life. The ability to listen with love and patience will help to make the person speaking to us happy, show us how to behave in any given situation, and help us see the right solutions to problems.


Article Courtesy: The New Indian Express