MY SON STILL YOU HAVE TO LEARN A LOT

MY SON STILL YOU HAVE TO LEARN A LOT     Baba said, "By relying on your own cleverness you missed your way; a guide is always necessary to show us the right way in small or great matters" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, ch. xxxii.   So what if I am 74? A baby may be a few days or a month old, a young girl may be 20 years old and you yourself, my son, are 45 years old. And each one, in his or her own way contributes to the world. Just because you are an MBA and a manager in a MNC, you think that you know everything and your old man is a spent force? You may have more physical strength and more information but there are things like experience, wisdom and compassion .... which older people might have more than you do. Never underestimate an old man, my son. Calm down and sit with me and I will tell you the story of Mahabir.   Mahabir was a celebrated known wrestler. When he became older he did not go for as many competition as he used to. However, his enthusiasm about wrestling did not decrease. So he opened an akhara – a training school for wrestlers – in our village and taught the art of wrestling to many a young fellow. After years of hard training, one of his clever students, Rakesh, won the Best Wrestler Award in the district competition and did his Guru proud. However, unfortunately, Rakesh became conceited and arrogant and once while arguing with his Guru, he boasted that now he knew more about wrestling than even his Guru and could beat him at his own game. Mahabir, though feeble at 80, accepted the challenge of his disciple. All of us felt pity for the old man. However, the fight ended within minute when with one stroke Mahabir floored his disciple flat on the ground.   The young man was aghast. He mumbled breathlessly, "But you never taught me this trick." "If I had taught you everything I knew, what would have been my fate today?" replied the Guru calmly walking away. So, my son, you have, still to learn a lot.   (By R G Keswani in Dignity Dialogue, March 2000)

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