IT’s NEVER TOO LATE: The Creator created people, gave them words for communication and thinking, settled them in the fertile valley at the foot of the mountains, gave them longevity and started to observe, how they will aspire to the development. The time has passed, but people did not develop. They did not go beyond their village and did not climb up the mountains. Their eyes did not look at the sky and did not look in the Heart. So they became old. The Creator decided to find out, what was the matter. He became a man and came to them as a traveller. Before sunset people gathered at the square to talk with the traveller. He described them a life beyond the horizon and suggested: – Do you want me to lead you there, and you will see how people live in these places? — Oh, — they answered sadly, – it is late, we became old … – Then come with me to the mountains to look at the world from the top! — Oh, — they suspired, — it is too late, we have no energy … — Look at the sky, — the traveller said them, — and I will tell you about the life in the Kingdom of Heaven! They answered again: — It is late; our mind will not understand your story … The traveller became sad. He decided to cheer people. — Let‘s sing a song! — he said and was going to sing first, but people noticed that the sun went down. — It is late, — they said, — it is time to sleep… — and went to their huts. The traveller shouted them: — People, when life is continuous and infinite, it is not late for any achievements! But they did not turn back. Then the Creator told himself: — I will take away all words of limitation from people: „late“, „not“, „impossible“, „far“, „high“, „hard“, „will not understand“, and will place in their hearts the joy of infinity. Maybe they will perceive my Law: nothing is late, because there is no end, there is only the beginning! He did so and waited for the morning: will people change and will they go with him to the mountains?

There was once a well-educated, highly successful man who went to visit a Zen master to ask for
solutions to his problems. As the Zen master and the man conversed, the man would frequently
interrupt the Zen master to interject his own beliefs, not allowing the Zen master to finish many
sentences.
Finally, the Zen master stopped talking and offered the man a cup of tea. When the Zen master
poured the tea, he kept pouring after the cup was full, causing it to overflow.
“Stop pouring,” the man said, “The cup is full.”
The Zen master stopped and said, “Similarly, you are too full of your own opinions. You want my
help, but you have no room in your own cup to receive my words.”
Moral of the story:
This Zen story is a reminder that your beliefs are not you. When you unconsciously hold on to your
beliefs, you become rigid and closed-mind to learn and expand your consciousness. The path to
self-realization is to stay conscious of your beliefs and always be open to learning.

FIVE WISE MEN

Five wise men got lost in the forest. The first one said: – I will go the left – my intuition tells me that. The second one said: – I will go the right – because “the right” comes from the word “rightness”. The third one said: – I will go back – we came from there, it means I will go out from the forest. The fourth one said: – I will go straight – we should move forward, the forest will end and something new will open. The fifth said: – You are all wrong. There is a better solution. Wait for me. He found the tallest tree and climbed into it. While he was climbing everyone else scattered towards their own sides. From above he saw where they should go to leave the forest faster. Now he could even see in what order the other wise men will reach the end of the forest. He climbed higher and saw the shortest way. He understood the problem and found the best solution! He knew that he did everything right. And the others were wrong. They were stubborn and they didn’t listen to him. He was the real Wise Man! But he was wrong. Everyone was right. The one who went to the left, found himself in the thicket. He had to starve and fight with wild animals. But he learned how to survive in the forest; he became a part of the forest and could teach others the same. The one, who went to the right, met thieves. They took everything from him and made him steal with them. But after some time, he had woken up something in those thieves that they have forgotten – humanity and compassion. The remorse was so strong in some of them, that after his death they also became the wise men. The one, who went back, made a pathway through the forest, which soon became a road for those who wanted to walk in the forest without being afraid of getting lost. The one, who went straight, became a pioneer. He visited the places where no one else was and opened wonderful new possibilities for people, amazing healing plants and magnificent animals. The one, who climbed into the tree, became a specialist of finding short ways. People turned to him when they wanted to find the fastest way to deal with their problems, even if it didn’t lead to any development. This is how the five wise men reached their destiny.

Once upon a time, there was an unfortunate poor man. His home was also very poor – a small and empty house, where mice made their nests and spiders made their webs. People tried to avoid coming into his house – why should they go into those poor ruins? And the poor man thought that poverty is the reason of his misfortunes – his eternal destiny. So once, the poor man met a wizard and complained to him about his poverty and miserable life. The wizard felt sorry for the poor man and gave him an unprecedented vase. And said: – This is a magical vase that will save you from poverty. The poor man took the vase and wanted to sell it at first and then spend the money on alcohol, as usual, besides, why would he need such a beautiful thing? But then he started admiring the vase and couldn’t take it to the market. He brought the vase home, put it on the table and started admiring it. – It’s not right for such a beautiful thing to be empty, – the poor man thought. So he picked some wildflowers and put them into the vase. It became even more beautiful. – Not good, – the poor man though again, – that such a beautiful thing stands next to a spider web. So the poor man started cleaning his house from spider webs, sweeping out cockroaches and mice, cleaning the dust, washing the floor and the walls, whitening the ceiling. And it became clear that his house wasn’t poor, but rather warm and cosy. And the poor man wasn’t a poor man anymore, but a hard working host, who had no time for the thoughts about misfortune.

A man and his son were going through the forest hills. Suddenly, the boy fell down
on the trail and screamed with a pain, “Aah!” Surprisingly, he heard the same
voice from the mountain, “Aah!” Curiously, the boy shouted, “Who is this?” But the
voice replied the same, “Who is this?” He got angry, and shouted again, “You are
stupid!” And again the voice replied the same, “You are stupid!”
Annoyed By this, the boy asked his father, “Father, What is going on? Who is
this?” The Father replied, “Son, Pay attention”. The father shouted, “You are very
nice”. And the voice responded the same, “You are very nice!” The father again
shouted, “Thank you”. And the voice again responded the same, “Thank you!” The
son was very surprised but he still could not understand what was happening.
The father explained, “Son, people call it resonance, but this is the truth of the life.
The life is a reflection of your actions. What you will give to others, you will receive
the same in return.”
Moral: What we give to others, life gives us the same in return. Your life is not an
accident or a coincidence, but it is the shadow of your actions.

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.  The two survivors who have been good friends, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island. The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren.  After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing. Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.  Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?” “My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.” “You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.” “Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?” “He prayed that all your prayers be answered ” Moral: For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us (Congregational Prayer). Value your friends, don’t leave your loved ones behind.

A father was engrossed in his work while his little daughter constantly distracted
him in an attempt for him to make him play with her. To keep her busy, the man
tore a page of printed map of the world from a magazine into pieces and asked
her to go to her room and put them together to make the map again. The daughter
was very young and he was pretty sure that she would take hours to get it done.
The father was surprised when he saw his little one coming out of the room with a
smile and the perfect map within a few minutes. The stunned man asked his
daughter how she could solve the puzzle so quickly.
“Daddy, there is a woman’s face on the other side of the paper, When I made the
face perfect, I got the map right.” replied the young girl.
Moral: There is always the other side to whatever you experience in this world.
Whenever we come across a challenge or a puzzling situation, look at the other
side. You will be surprised to see different approaches to tackle the problem

Once there lived a greedy man in a small town. He was very rich, and he loved
gold and all things fancy. But he loved his daughter more than anything. One day,
he chanced upon a fairy. The fairy’s hair was caught in a few tree branches. He
helped her out, but as his greediness took over, he realised that he had an
opportunity to become richer by asking for a wish in return (by helping her out).
The fairy granted him a wish. He said, “All that I touch should turn to gold.” And his
wish was granted by the grateful fairy.
The greedy man rushed home to tell his wife and daughter about his wish, all the
while touching stones and pebbles and watching them convert into gold. Once he
got home, his daughter rushed to greet him. As soon as he bent down to scoop
her up in his arms, she turned into a gold statue. He started crying and trying to
bring his daughter back to life. He realized his folly and spent the rest of his days
searching for the fairy to take away his wish.

Moral of the Story
Greed will always lead to downfall.

Decision StoryA washer man was taking his old donkey to the market with his son riding the
donkey. Some people who saw this, said, “What a son that makes his old father
walk”.
The son felt bad, got down and decided to let his father ride the donkey. Some
people who saw this, said, “What a set of foolish father and son. They have a
donkey and yet one of them is walking”.
Now based on this input, the father and the son made their second decision and
both of them started riding the donkey together. Some people who saw this, said,
“What a merciless pitiable act. Two people riding on a poor old donkey?”
Based on the new remarks the father and son did analysis of the situation and
took yet another decision. They both got down and carried the donkey all the way.
They were too tired by the time they reached the market, tripped over a stone and
fell down injuring themselves and killing the donkey they brought this far to sell.

Moral of this story

“What people think is their problem. Make decisions based on what you
think.”

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.  One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King, why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy.  The King asked the servant, “Why are you so happy?” The man replied, “Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don’t need too much, just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies.”  The king was not satisfied with that reply.  Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor.  After hearing the King’s woes and the servant’s story, the advisor said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club.” “The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?” the King inquired.  The advisor replied, “Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant’s doorstep.”  So the King ordered to do it.  When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house.  When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy, So many gold coins!  He began to count them.  After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins.  He wondered, “What could’ve happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!” He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive.  Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.  From that day, the servant’s life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin.  He stopped singing while he worked.  Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled.  When he sought his advisor’s help, the advisor said, “Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club.” He continued, “The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never content, because they’re always yearning and striving for that extra 1 telling to themselves, “Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life.” Moral:  We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we’re given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us, all these as a price for our growing needs and desires.  We must learn to maintain a balance of our need and desires to enjoy a happy life with what we already have.