Jai Shri Ram

Sanjay always went to the temple on Tuesday evening to offer sweets to the Lord. Thereafter he would distribute them to the poor children lined up outside the Temple.

He would occasionally take chocolates, biscuits or sweets to give to these children. He felt good, giving them things that they could not afford to buy for themselves. The look of happiness on their faces when they reached out for a chocolate would melt his heart. He would insist that each one of them repeat the words ‘Jai Shri Ram’ after him individually as he handed out the goodies to them all.

The children smiled gleefully when he entered the compound and said ‘Jai Shri Ram’ uncle has come! One day he came in holding a carton of Mango Frooties in his hand, and said, “Who wants mango juice today? Those who don’t repeat ‘Jai Shri Ram’ after me won’t get the juice.” So saying, he started distributing and each child reiterated the name of Lord Rama after him. One child, however, did not; he asked her thrice to say ‘Jai Shri Ram, but she just smiled shyly. Only to prove a point, Sanjay did not give the juice to the child, and moved on to the next one.

After he had handed out 3-4 packets, one boy said, “Sir, that girl cannot speak!” That floored him! He went back to the girl touched her head and said, “I’m sorry.” So saying, he gave her two packets of mango juice.

In our eagerness to enforce discipline, we sometimes overlook the fact that each one around us may not be as lucky as we are. Sometimes we don’t give discount to others for things that are beyond their control. If only we would stop for a second and view the situation from the other person’s perspective, we would be able to relate better to people around us.