Theme: Don’t cheat and don’t be cheated. Know this:
(1) In society, a few people cheat many other people, all the time.
(2) People cheat others to deprive others of their possession or position.
(3) Ignorance or lack of knowledge makes one vulnerable to be cheated.
(4) Ignorance in conjunction with greed makes one more vulnerable to be cheated.
(5) Poorest among the society are the people who were cheated by many people, all the time.
(6) Cheating can be defined as a method of systematic exploitation of one’s ignorance, need or greed.Superstitions are untested or unverifiable knowledge, reaching us through our culture. No one knows their origin or the situation in which they emerged. Some of the superstitions may be based on wrong application of statistics. Even well lettered people do not want to take chances when confronted with a situation involving superstition.
Inauspicious time: Hindu calendars have slots of good or auspicious time and inauspicious times every day. People do not step out of their home for activities considered important at inauspicious times. No important actions are initiated at the inauspicious hours of the day.
There is no proof that every activity initiated at auspicious time was successful from start to end orviceversa.
Let us halt the discussion here to read a story.
Theme: Don’t cheat and don’t be cheated.
Short Story 12
Inauspicious tree (Superstitions)
A teacher was lecturing his students about rational thinking and he told a story to drive home his point.The hero in this story was a quite, pious person called Ganesh . He had a neighbour called Amar. Amar was talkative, outgoing and street smart.
There was a tree in front of Ganesh’s house. It was too old. The leaves withered away and branches were dying gradually.
Amar approached Ganesh with a suggestion to uproot the dying plant. He reasoned that the shadow of a dying plant would bring ill luck on which it falls. He listed several instances in his family’s and friends’ circle upon whom such disasters had fallen.
It requires the knowledge of a scientist or the conviction of saints to pay no heed to such lunatic suggestions. We, the ordinary mortals, successfully establish a strong connection between the small problems in our lives and superstitions. Thereafter, we live through nightmares.
So did Ganesh. He was happy to hear the reasons for his problems through his neighbor who traced his problem to a dying tree. Ganesh was confident that his problems would cease to exist after the tree was razed to the ground.
His neighbor came along with a woodcutter and cut the tree into small pieces. Ganesh paid the fees and Amar took the cut wood to his home.
Amar’s wife was too proud of her husband who with a few words had managed to get fire wood that would meet their need for several months to come.
It took Ganesh a few months and a few friends to understand that his neighbor had exploited his foolishness.
Years rolled by. Ganesh planted a sapling in the place where they had uprooted the tree.
A NEW version of this story.40 years had passed, quickly. In both the houses, their sons lived happily with their children and grand children. Ganesh and Amar passed into the past.
The tree planted by Ganesh grew. That mango tree gave fruits for two generations of Ganesh’s and Amar’s family.
The Tree became old and was wilting and stood with all its leaves fallen.Amar must have explained his son the way he fooled his neighbor and met his fire wood needs from his neighbor’s tree.
History repeats. Like his father Amar, the son now asked the neighbor, Ganesh’s son to cut down the tree. He explained in detail the problems his friends and relatives had undergone due to the shadow of a dying tree falling on humans.
On hearing this from his neighbor, a thought flashed through his mind. (He recalled some instances from his life when he lost out to others due to ignorance). It must have been his father who cheated my father. The smart son became alert instantly.
He replied to his neighbor that he was very well aware of the problem but he did not have sufficient money for doing that.
The neighbor was disappointed. He quickly calculated the cost of cutting and cost of the firewood the tree could fetch. The cost of cutting is an insignificant portion of the firewood he would get.
He informed his neighbor that he would finance the cutting of the tree. He reasoned that they were good neighbors for generations. The price he would pay for the wellbeing of his neighbor, he observed is too little.
Next day, the woodcutters came and cut down the tree, the neighbor waited for the tree to be cut into small pieces.
When the wood cutters completed the job, the son Ganesh, the owner of the tree profusely thanked his neighbor for both arranging to cut the tree and bearing the expense. He observed that it is rare to find such neighbors.
The evil neighbor attempted to shift the cut wood to his house. The owner stopped him. He reasoned that, even the firewood from an inauspicious tree could cause insurmountable problems to one who comes under its influence. He, as a good neighbor would not allow that to happen.
The evil neighbor had no other rhyme or reason to take away the cut wood. Ganesh’s family enjoyed the fire wood for the next several months.
Good parents share the success and failures they experienced with the generation next, This guards the younger generation against exploitations that their parents went through.
Theme: Don’t cheat others and don’t be cheated.Short Story 13
High returns (Greed & ignorance).
Greed alone is sufficient for a person to embrace poverty. If greed accompanies ignorance, poverty never leaves a person.
Mrs. Anthony was jubilant today. She shared her joy with her children who returned from school by presenting them sweets. She was awaiting Mr. Anthony to return so that she could share her achievement with him.
Why was Mrs. Anthoni very happy today?She used to save some money from the budgeted amount for monthly expenses for quite some time now.
Her neighbor, Mrs. Suma Reddy took her to a shop started within their colony. It consisted mostly of State government employees, teachers who owned a small house in that middle class colony. Invariably,every one in that colony, the house wives included, was a graduate. They owned Color TVs, read newspapers, discussed politics and happenings all over the country.
The shop was started in one of the houses in the colony. The owners, strangers to the city, wore expensive gold ornaments, displaying their affluence.
“They have an interesting scheme”, Mrs. Suma Reddy observed, “You pay a third of the show room price of any electronic or electrical gadget used at home. Wait for three months. Take home the piece without paying a Rupee more”.
Mrs. Anthoni was curious, how was it possible? Mrs. Suma Reddy replied, “Well, I also got the same thought and asked the owners”. Their answer was convincing.
They don’t incur any establishment expense of such large show rooms in busy business centers. The show rooms have flashy interiors, heavy lighting and uniformed graduate shop assistants. All cost a lot of money. Who pays all the expense? Mrs. Anthoni said, “It is we”.
Together, they invested some Rs 3000 for a refrigerator each. Both had an old, noisy refrigerator in their homes.
They did not inform their respective husbands till they got the piece delivered.
Today Mrs. Suma Reddy and Mrs. Anthoni got their brand new refrigerator.It is now, six months since the new shop was opened. Both Mrs. Suma Reddy and Mrs. Anthoni bought quite a few things, this time with their husband’s knowledge.
Now several relatives in distant districts were informed. Some had kept their money for their ward’s education and some others for their daughter’s marriage.
The promoters offered a new deal. In the event that they do not want to buy a gadget, he would return three times the amount by the turn of the fourth month.
It is now nine months since the shop was opened. Now there is a queue to pay the deposits. In month eleven, the shop was found closed.
The initial news was that the promoters have gone home due to some emergency situation at home. That was what the watchman cum helper in the shop was told to inform who so ever enquiries.
Now it is the start of the thirteenth month. Nearly four hundred people stand before the police station and demand action to bring the promoters to task.
News papers and TV channel crews are busy interviewing those who lost their money.
Top brass of police assures immediate action. The sketches of the promoters are made by the artist from the police department.
An estimated Rupees 10 Crore were made good by the twosome in less than a year.
(1) No one ever thought what kind of investment would fetch such a huge profit to give 300% returns to the investors!
(2) This is not the first such incidence. It happened before and it would happen again.
(3) Private finance companies, chit fund companies, employment agencies take huge money from people round the year. Print and visual media flashes this news day in and day out.
Still year after year people get deceived. I don’t know if such events take place in any other part of the globe.
If some one offer returns much more than Government banks, stop and think. Do not rush to throw your life’s savings into such impossible schemes. Talk to a bank manager, a chartered accountant or finance professional.
Ultimately do not become a victim of cheating by succumbing to silly tricks of the crooks.