I love stories which begin on a once-upon-a-time note, don’t you? So here it goes.
“Once upon a time there lived a farmer Hari Singh. People found him peculiar. He did not want to hang out with his friends, sit idle or chat or smoke with them. You would never find him loitering in the bazaar or playing cards with the good for nothing work shirkers. Every village has a number of them, you know. Otherwise, he was caring, sensitive, supportive, a great listener and a loyal person.
Hari was a very hard working person. He kept to himself and his fields. In today’s parlance you can say he was an introvert. He listened to everyone but kept aloof. He was highly focused. He loved his farming work and was not afraid of working hard. Naturally nature favored him – his fields had the best yield.
The Oracle announced that there would be a famine; there would be no rains for a long time. People were very upset. People discussed and planned. They tried to appease Gods. Special yagnas were performed. Animals were sacrificed, while everyone knew one should be kind to animals. Everything possible was being done. The fields became neglected, abandoned. Even the weeds stopped growing.
Hari as usual kept to himself. He told his wife to give contribution asked for all the collective activities. He would go to his fields in the morning and plough them. Others regarded him mad and made fun of him. Hari’s wife felt insulted and tried to stop him, but he told her not to pay attention to them. The soil called to him – he was the soil’s true son.
One day a small cloud was watching Hari till the soil. The small cloud had also heard the comments, sniggers and snickers behind Hari’s back in the village. He was curious. He looked down from the sky and asked Hari, ‘Don’t you know there are going to be no rains for a long time? Why are you working in your fields?’ Hari looked up and realized it was a small cloud and not somebody from his village teasing him. He was an innately polite person. So he made an effort to explain, ‘Son, I am a farmer and am doing my work. It’s my habit to work in the fields daily. I know about no rains… if I won’t do my work for a long time I might even forget to do it. If rains decide to come then my field, my furrows will be ready for them.’
The power of suggestion is very strong. The little cloud was impressed by Hari’s logic. He got worried, ‘What? Hey, this can happen to me also. If I do not rain for a long time, I also may forget to drop my rain.” So he decided to get to work. It rained in Hari’s fields.
Other villagers and clouds also decided to get back to business.”
If we do not procrastinate, do our allotted work – we live happily. Why should we be frightened of things that happen, might happen, might not happen? Always – always do your best. Form good work habits. Push yourself and don’t waste your time in day-dreaming. Success is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failures.
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