Ability Forum

[srividyaa]

Once Emperor Akbar, in the presence of his courtiers ridiculed the Hindu belief that God adopts a physical form and descends into the world for the restoration
of Dharma or Righteousness. He made fun of the idea of the Great Nirakari Allah i.e. the formless God stooping to descend to Earth in any form. The courtiers
were unable to furnish any argument to counter the ridicule of the king. Birbal asked for a week's time to prove the Emperor wrong.

One day, the Emperor and his family were taking a joy ride in a boat in the palace lake. All of a sudden, there was a huge splash and Birbal shouted "Oh
Lord! The prince has fallen overboard! He is drowning." In an instant, the Emperor plunged into the lake to save the prince. When the Emperor reached the
drowning prince and pulled him out of the water, he realized that it was not really the prince, but lifesize rag doll that was an absolute replica of the
Prince. He turned back to look at the boat ready to spew his venom on the one who had dared to pull off such a prank. To his shock he found Birbal standing
there with folded hands saying, "Jahanpanhah! Don't worry, the Prince is safe." The angry and drenched Emperor got back into the boat fuming, but speechless!
Just then Birbal said humbly, "Jahanpanah! Forgive me, but that was the only way I could have explained to you why God comes in human form to save His
children from doom! There were so many of us on the boat; you could have ordered any one of us to plunge into the lake and rescue the Prince, but you did
not. You trusted none of us, because you loved your son, so much."

So too, God loves us so much that when He feels that we really need Him, He incarnates as an Avatar. He comes in human form to appease the hunger of those
who desire to see Him, touch Him, talk to Him, adore Him, serve Him and achieve Him. Yes! God really does come down to Earth!

Once Emperor Akbar, in the presence of his courtiers ridiculed the Hindu belief that God adopts a physical form and descends into the world for the restoration
of Dharma or Righteousness. He made fun of the idea of the Great Nirakari Allah i.e. the formless God stooping to descend to Earth in any form. The courtiers
were unable to furnish any argument to counter the ridicule of the king. Birbal asked for a week's time to prove the Emperor wrong.

One day, the Emperor and his family were taking a joy ride in a boat in the palace lake. All of a sudden, there was a huge splash and Birbal shouted "Oh
Lord! The prince has fallen overboard! He is drowning." In an instant, the Emperor plunged into the lake to save the prince. When the Emperor reached the
drowning prince and pulled him out of the water, he realized that it was not really the prince, but lifesize rag doll that was an absolute replica of the
Prince. He turned back to look at the boat ready to spew his venom on the one who had dared to pull off such a prank. To his shock he found Birbal standing
there with folded hands saying, "Jahanpanhah! Don't worry, the Prince is safe." The angry and drenched Emperor got back into the boat fuming, but speechless!
Just then Birbal said humbly, "Jahanpanah! Forgive me, but that was the only way I could have explained to you why God comes in human form to save His
children from doom! There were so many of us on the boat; you could have ordered any one of us to plunge into the lake and rescue the Prince, but you did
not. You trusted none of us, because you loved your son, so much."

So too, God loves us so much that when He feels that we really need Him, He incarnates as an Avatar. He comes in human form to appease the hunger of those
who desire to see Him, touch Him, talk to Him, adore Him, serve Him and achieve Him. Yes! God really does come down to Earth!

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[srividyaa]

HE PROMISE

'How long will you be poring over that newspaper?  Will you come here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food?'

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene.  My only daughter Sindu looked frightened.  Tears were welling up in her eyes.  In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.

Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age.  She has just turned eight.  She particularly detested Curd Rice.  My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of Curd Rice!

I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl.  "Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice?  Just for Dad's sake, dear.  And, if you don't, your Mom will shout at me'

I could sense my wife's scowl behind my back.  Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands.  'OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this.  But, you should...'  Sindu hesitated.  'Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'

'Oh sure, darling'.

'Promise?'

'Promise'.  I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.

'Ask Mom also to give a similar promise', my daughter insisted.  My wife slapped her hand on Sindu's, muttering 'Promise', without any emotion.

Now I became a bit anxious.  'Sindumma, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items.  Dad does not have that kind of money right now.  OK?'

'No, Dad.  I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly and painfully, she
finished eating the whole quantity.  I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with
expectation.  All our attention was on her.  'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand!

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'a girl child having her head shaved off?
Impossible!'.

'Never in our family!' my mother rasped.  'She has been watching too much of television.  Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!'

'Sindumma, why don't you ask for something else?  We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'

'No, Dad.  I do not want anything else', Sindu said with finality.

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried to plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'.  Sindu was in tears.  'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.  Now, you are going back on your words.  Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honour our promises no matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots.  'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her own.
Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big & beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school.  It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom.  She turned around and waved.
I waved back with a smile.  Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and
shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!'

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy.  'May be, that is the
in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!'  Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued, 'That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish.  He is suffering from ... ... leukaemia.'

She paused to muffle her sobs.  'Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month.  He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy.  He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates.  Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.
But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!  Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'

I stood transfixed.  And then, I wept.  'My little Angel, will you grant me a boon?  Should there be another birth for me, will you be my mother, and teach me what Love is?'

HE PROMISE

'How long will you be poring over that newspaper?  Will you come here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food?'

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene.  My only daughter Sindu looked frightened.  Tears were welling up in her eyes.  In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.

Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age.  She has just turned eight.  She particularly detested Curd Rice.  My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of Curd Rice!

I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl.  "Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice?  Just for Dad's sake, dear.  And, if you don't, your Mom will shout at me'

I could sense my wife's scowl behind my back.  Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands.  'OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this.  But, you should...'  Sindu hesitated.  'Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'

'Oh sure, darling'.

'Promise?'

'Promise'.  I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.

'Ask Mom also to give a similar promise', my daughter insisted.  My wife slapped her hand on Sindu's, muttering 'Promise', without any emotion.

Now I became a bit anxious.  'Sindumma, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items.  Dad does not have that kind of money right now.  OK?'

'No, Dad.  I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly and painfully, she
finished eating the whole quantity.  I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with
expectation.  All our attention was on her.  'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand!

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'a girl child having her head shaved off?
Impossible!'.

'Never in our family!' my mother rasped.  'She has been watching too much of television.  Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!'

'Sindumma, why don't you ask for something else?  We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'

'No, Dad.  I do not want anything else', Sindu said with finality.

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried to plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'.  Sindu was in tears.  'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.  Now, you are going back on your words.  Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honour our promises no matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots.  'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her own.
Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big & beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school.  It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom.  She turned around and waved.
I waved back with a smile.  Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and
shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!'

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy.  'May be, that is the
in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!'  Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued, 'That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish.  He is suffering from ... ... leukaemia.'

She paused to muffle her sobs.  'Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month.  He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy.  He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates.  Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.
But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!  Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'

I stood transfixed.  And then, I wept.  'My little Angel, will you grant me a boon?  Should there be another birth for me, will you be my mother, and teach me what Love is?'

[srividyaa]

“I am not disabled, I am just a double amputee,” says New Zealander Mark Inglis, who reached the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, after 40 days of climbing in May 2006.

Many people have scaled Everest, but what makes Inglis's feat exceptional is that both his legs were amputated because of a frost-bite while climbing Mount Cook in New Zealand in 1982, when he was 23.

He is the first ‘double amputee' to reach the Everest's summit. He trekked the Everest on a pair of prosthetic legs.

“The advantage of being a double amputee is that it takes me six hours to fix my leg in case of a fall, instead of six weeks like you guys,” he said.

He was addressing the 10th “Giri-Mitra Sammelan” (mountain-lovers' meet) here on Sunday.

Inglis, who now runs an NGO called ‘Limbs 4 All,' which facilitates artificial legs for those who cannot afford them, said he took to mountaineering when he was 11-years-old, “because I was not so good at rugby.”

Talking about how he lost his legs, he said: “In November 1982, I got stuck in an ice storm [on Mount Cook] and had to spend 13-and-half-days in an ice cave, which led to both the limbs getting amputated and my weight falling to 39 kg from 70 kg. We called that ice cave ‘hotel Middle Peak' terrible room service, but a great check-out. We checked out in a helicopter!”

Inglis, wearing a pair of three-quarters showing his artificial limbs, spoke standing and occasionally moving around the stage. He got a standing ovation when he finished.

Source http://www.thehindu.com/news/article2236452.ece#.TiXSTQK4SXg.facebook

“I am not disabled, I am just a double amputee,” says New Zealander Mark Inglis, who reached the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, after 40 days of climbing in May 2006.

Many people have scaled Everest, but what makes Inglis's feat exceptional is that both his legs were amputated because of a frost-bite while climbing Mount Cook in New Zealand in 1982, when he was 23.

He is the first ‘double amputee' to reach the Everest's summit. He trekked the Everest on a pair of prosthetic legs.

“The advantage of being a double amputee is that it takes me six hours to fix my leg in case of a fall, instead of six weeks like you guys,” he said.

He was addressing the 10th “Giri-Mitra Sammelan” (mountain-lovers' meet) here on Sunday.

Inglis, who now runs an NGO called ‘Limbs 4 All,' which facilitates artificial legs for those who cannot afford them, said he took to mountaineering when he was 11-years-old, “because I was not so good at rugby.”

Talking about how he lost his legs, he said: “In November 1982, I got stuck in an ice storm [on Mount Cook] and had to spend 13-and-half-days in an ice cave, which led to both the limbs getting amputated and my weight falling to 39 kg from 70 kg. We called that ice cave ‘hotel Middle Peak' terrible room service, but a great check-out. We checked out in a helicopter!”

Inglis, wearing a pair of three-quarters showing his artificial limbs, spoke standing and occasionally moving around the stage. He got a standing ovation when he finished.

Source http://www.thehindu.com/news/article2236452.ece#.TiXSTQK4SXg.facebook