In this post, I am sharing a story which I like very much. Once a Professor brought an empty jar and some other material into the classroom and told students that he is going to teach very important lesson today. He put the empty jar on the table and started putting table tennis balls into the jar until the time there was no place for more balls to settle in the jar. He then asked the students “Is this jar full?”Students answered “Yes”. Then professor started putting some pebbles into the jar until there was no place for more pebbles to settle in the jar. He again asked the same question and got the same reply. Then he started putting sand into the jar until there was no place for more sand to settle in the jar.He again asked the same question and got the same reply. This time he started putting water into the jar until the time there was no more place for water to settle in the jar. Then Professor looked at the students and asked “What did you learn from this exercise?” There was complete silence.Professor then explained: The empty jar is our life. The table tennis balls are important things in our life like God, family, children, relations, friends, health, passion etc. Small pebbles means your job, car, big home etc Sand means useless things like hatred, anger, fights etc. If you would have filled the jar first with sand, then there would have been no place left for table tennis balls and pebbles. If you would have filled the jar with pebbles first, then there would have been no place left for balls, only sand could have come. He then explained that same philosophy applies in life. If you are always discussing small matters, talking useless things about others, then you will have no time for important things in your life. You have to decide what is more important for true and real happiness in life.Play with your children, spend time with your family and friends, maintain good health, everything else is sand. Shared by: Mohamad Shaved … [Read more...]
Family honour or Child’s Happiness?
Reading reports of honour killings in the papers, I can’t help wondering if we are living in the medieval ages. Killing your own children for the supposed dishonour brought upon the family by marrying outside the caste is not just despicable, it is downright barbaric. If these shameful acts were performed by illiterate folk in villages, where caste reigns supreme and khap panchayats lay down the law, it would still shock. But it is even more horrifying to know that educated people, who should have been open-minded, are doing very much the same thing. It is as if education does not make any difference to the way we think. In a country slated to be a super-power, a journalist with a reputed business paper is reported to have been killed by her mother for deciding to marry a person from another caste. Killing, of course happens is some rare cases when the daughter is murdered in cold blood, when she, the epitome of family honour crosses the line. But the lives of many children are sacrificed everyday when parents by force, by emotional blackmail, by threats of disinheritance, make their son or daughter marry a person of their choice. It is a common fact that a majority of marriages in 21st century India are the prerogative of the parents. Children today, have the right to decide on their education, on their career, on so many matters pertaining to their lives at least in urban households, but even now finding a life partner for oneself is out of bounds for many Indians irrespective of their economic and social background. The argument is that, in India, the system of arranged marriage has stood the test of time. This system may sound strange but there is not anything wrong with it per se. It is after all part of our culture. The problem starts when parents force this system on their children. They are very strict in this one matter. So a boy or girl may be very bold and independent minded in the workplace and elsewhere, but when it comes to marriage they are more than willing to toe their parents' line. We usually will have heard of at least one instance among acquaintances, where parents refuse to accept a … [Read more...]
