Saturday Story from Siva (15): The Story of Pandavas and.....

Hi,
Festive time again! This time, it is Dussehra, the festival of Victory of Good over Evil. Remembering the Pandavas who recovered their weapons and came out of their life in incognito on the day of Vijayadasami, I thought we could read a short story from the great epic, The Mahabharata.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story of Pandavas and the way they chose their Commander before the Kurukshetra War An excerpt from MAHABHARATA retold by C. Rajagopalachary
When faced with the dilemma of who should be chosen as the Commander of the Pandava Army for the Kurukshetra war, Yudhishthira first asked Sahadeva, his youngest brother: "We should select a Supreme Commander. Who do you think is most fitted for this responsibility?"
Sahadeva replied, "Let us take as our Supreme Commander the king of Virata who helped us when we lived in disguise and with whose support we now demand our share of the kingdom." Followed by him, Nakula said, "It seems to me best to make Drupada the Generalissimo, for, in point of age, wisdom, courage, birth and strength, he is supreme."

Dharmaputra then asked Arjuna for his opinion. "I think Dhrishtadyumna should be our chief in the battlefield... He is the only man fitted to be our commander. I can think of no one else," replied Arjuna. And then, Bhimasena said his opinion. Yudhishthira finally asked Sri Krishna for his opinion who said, “Each one of the warriors mentioned is worthy of selection. All things considered, I would endorse Arjuna's choice." Accordingly, Dhrishtadyumna was anointed Supreme Commander of the Pandava army.
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Rajaji narrates that in the olden days, it was the practice to ascertain the views of younger people first, before consulting elders. This instilled enthusiasm and self-confidence in the younger folk. If the elders were consulted first, it would not be possible for others to speak with freedom, and even honest differences of opinion might savour of disrespect. To reap the full benefit of wisdom available, it may be appropriate even today to follow this practice, while brainstorming in the teams at work or among the members of a family. Let there be opportunity for expression of true ideas. And, that’s possible when the leaders/elders ask for the opinion of younger and meeker ones before expressing their own.

You can download a free PDF copy of “MAHABHARATA retold by C. Rajagopalachary” at the link given below: http://www.gita-society.com/bhagavad-gita-section3/mahabharata.pdf

Happy Dussehra! With love and regards,
Siva --------------------------------
B. Sivaprasad
Corporate Trainer and Motivational Speaker
SS Technologies, 401, Rajya Lakshmi Nivas
5-2-26/1, Kukatpally, Hyderabad 500072, India
Tel +91-9963969797
Email: value4value@gmail.com
Skype: sivaprasad.bandarupalli
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Saturday Story from Siva (14): The Story of a Kid Who Made a Difference

Hi,
Good morning! Great coming back to you with yet another story. This Saturday, I would like to share with you a true story of a kid from South Africa, who was rated among the top 10 South Africans ever lived and contributed to the nation. Here it goes...... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Story of Nkosi Johnson, a South African Kid who chose to make a difference Source: Internet info
Nkosi Johnson was born in 1989 in a township slum east of Johannesburg. His mother was HIV-positive and passed along the virus to her unborn baby. But Nkosi was a fighter. He survived beyond his second birthday, which is unusual in HIV-infected babies. He was adopted by a volunteer worker, Ms. Gail Johnson at the age of two.
He was denied admission into a primary school, as there was opposition from some parents because of his HIV-positive status. Ms Johnson, his foster mother went public with a complaint and won her case. The school reversed the decision, and Nkosi went to school. That made provincial education departments across the country to draw up new policies. His big moment came when he addressed delegates at the international AIDS conference in Durban. He told about an audience of 10,000 the story of his birth and his life. He finished his speech with the words: "Care for us and accept us - we are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk, we have needs just like everyone else - don't be afraid of us - we are all the same!" That made a powerful impact on public perceptions of the HIV pandemic and its effects. Nkosi founded a refuge for HIV positive mothers and their children: “Nkosi's Haven”. He died in 2001 at the age of twelve. In Nov 2005, he was posthumously awarded the International Children's Peace Prize. He was also ranked fifth in a public survey of SABC3's Great South Africans, the first 4 being Nelson Mandela, Christian Barnard, F. W. de Klerk, and Mahatma Gandhi.
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Nkosi, despite the limitations he battled with, made a difference. He lived only for 12 years. But, he left a legacy behind him that will live for generations. Everyone has been endowed with enough of what it takes to make a difference. Realizing the purpose of life and channelizing the energies on a chosen goal, every person, despite the limitations he or she may have, could find a way to make this world a better place to live.
Sources for more info: 1. Nkosi Johnson - biography http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=5164837&blogId=222866978#ixzz11mdN41Xe 2. The 10 Greatest South Africans of all time http://www.biz-community.com/Article.aspx?ai=4673&c=11 3. Nkosi Johnson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nkosi_Johnson
With love and regards,
Siva --------------------------------
B. Sivaprasad
Corporate Trainer and Motivational Speaker
SS Technologies, 401, Rajya Lakshmi Nivas
5-2-26/1, Kukatpally, Hyderabad 500072, India
Tel +91-9963969797
Email: value4value@gmail.com
Skype: sivaprasad.bandarupalli
--------------------------------
Connect with me on

Saturday Story from Siva (13): The Story of MK Gandhi and His Experiments With Truth

Hi,

Good morning! Today is 2nd October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a man who preached and practised truth and non-violence and made an enormous difference with a significant impact on the lives of billions of people around the world. Here is an excerpt from his autobiography, “The Story of My Experiments With Truth”...

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An Excerpt from "The Story of My Experiments With Truth"

By Mohandas K Gandhi

There was an incident during the time when I was in the seventh standard. Dorabji Edulji Gimi was the headmaster then. He had made gymnastics and cricket compulsory for boys of the upper standards. I disliked both. The reason of my dislike for gymnastics was my keen desire to serve as nurse to my father. As soon as the school closed, I would hurry home and begin serving him. Compulsory exercise came directly in the way of this service. I requested Mr. Gimi to exempt me from gymnastics so that I might be free to serve my father. But he would not listen to me.

Now it so happened that one Saturday, when we had school in the morning, I had to go from home to the school for gymnastics at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I had no watch, and the clouds deceived me. Before I reached the school the boys had all left. The next day Mr. Gimi, examining the roll, found me marked absent. Being asked the reason for absence, I told him what had happened. He refused to believe me and ordered me to pay a fine of one or two annas (I cannot now recall how much).

I was convicted of lying! That deeply pained me. How was I to prove my innocence? There was no way. I cried in deep anguish. I saw that a man of truth must also be a man of care. This was the first and last instance of my carelessness in school.

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A man of truth must also be a man of care. Else, one should be prepared to pay the price, the way Gandhi ji did it at that instance. But the realization helped him becoming more careful and remaining a man of truth. Truthfulness helps build trust among people, and therefore it is said to be the foundation of all human virtues. Truth Alone Triumphs. It’s just a matter of time.

You can read an online copy of “The Story of My Experiments With Truth” of MK Gandhi at the link given below:

http://www.mkgandhi.org/linktoautobio.htm

To your continued SUCCESS,

With love and regards,

Siva