Expansion of ideas

 Knowledge is power’

A person who has knowledge is equipped with power. Here power does not mean

the power of money or force. Rather it means the power to understand, discriminate

between what is right or wrong, and the power to make the correct choices. The

illiterate person has limited choices of opportunity and advancement for he lacks

knowledge.

Knowledge makes a man resourceful. When he is faced with a difficult situation,

he is able to tackle it better. His mind is able to come up with many ways to solve a

problem. He is not bogged down by paucity of thoughts. He can even think up new

ways of doing things.

The world is moving faster each day. No one can afford to remain illiterate.

Everyone has to keep up with the knowledge of the times.

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13. ‘Health is wealth’

What is the use of having crores in one’s bank account if we cannot enjoy good

health? A healthy man can enjoy the benefits of his Wealth. But a wealthy man, if he

is not healthy, will always be afflicted with physical complaints

In fact, if you are ever asked to choose between the two, always opt for good

health. Because health can give wealth, but wealth does not ensure good health. Very

often the desperate search for wealth takes its toll on one's health. It deprives a man of

the necessary physical exercise. It makes the person follow unhealthy food habits in

the name of saving time. It thus brings along with it stress, high cholesterol, high

blood pressure, ulcers and diabetes. As a result a person may have to spend the later

part of his life in and out of hospitals and undergo expensive operations in order to

keep himself alive. Finally he dies a stressful premature death. And all the wealth he

has accumulated is distributed amongst the heirs. Rather, this person could have

enjoyed his wealth while he had lived if only he had believed in the dictum, ‘Health is

Wealth’.

_____________________________________________________________Unity is strength’

Everyone knows the story of the bundle of sticks that could not be broken easily,

but the single stick that could be broken easily. That is what is meant by ‘unity is

strength',

Five fingers make a hand. A hand makes a handshake. A handshake extends

warmth and friendship and reaches out to the world. India is a land of diverse people,

cultures, religions, languages and geography. Yet, as long as we are united, we are

strong and no one can do us any harm. The moment we show any sign of division, we

will be vulnerable and enemies will try to take advantage of the situation.

A team in which the individual members play for their own good cannot win a

match. As long as each player plays for the good of the team, it can win. Anything that

we do should be done for the general good, not for individual glory. Then only can

victory be achieved.

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15. ‘Honesty is the best policy’

Corruption has spread through India like an epidemic. At every twist and turn

you meet people who are willing to do anything dishonest in order to earn money.

Dishonesty in words and deeds is so common now that people have almost accepted it

as a rule rather than an exception. An honest person is a bit of an oddity in present day

India. Isn.t that a rather sad state of affairs?

We all know from our experience that a lie will lead to another ten lies; a

misdeed may need another ten misdeeds to cover it up. Still we tell lies and do wrong

things.

Every religion tells us that we must be honest. No one likes dishonest people

because they cannot be trusted. The truth is always so simple. Dishonesty is like a

whirlpool from which escape is difficult. Sometimes we are punished for being

honest, but it is nothing compared to the pain and suffering that we cause to others due

to our dishonesty.

Gandhiji laid great emphasis on the need for truthfulness in words and deeds.

His life throughout was a struggle to uphold the virtue of truth. A truthful person can

speak and act with moral conviction. He commands respect and reverence in society.

Such people are necessary in the world today.

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16. ‘Work is worship’

Everyone has to work in order to earn money. However, there are some who

think of work only as a means to earn money, and nothing more. As a result they do

not perform the tasks given to them by their employers with interest. They make

excuses, point an accusing finger at others, blame their tools, criticize their employers,

complain about their colleagues while they themselves work in the most inefficient

way possible. We must remind such people that ‘Duty is divine’ and ‘Work is

worship’. Work is a dedication of one’s labour to God. Work is the use of the

inspiration given to us by God to create and carve and mend and shape.

Work should be performed with sincerity, dedication and perseverance.

This shows respect for what we do, and for the others who will benefit by our work.

When we perform a task, however simple it may be, it should be done to the best of

our ability. This shows not only our deep involvement in our actions, but also an

expression of our skills. We must not forget that the first ‘work’ ever done was by

God the ‘work’ of Creation. And look how beautiful His ‘works' are!

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17. ‘Empty vessels make the most noise’

You will always find that a person with very little knowledge loves to jabber all

the while and laugh and joke and make a lot of unnecessary noise. This is because the

person doesn’t really have any substantial matter in the head and so hides this fact

with a lot of meaningless chatter. But the person of real substance looks around,

observes and when he or she speaks, it is to say something really meaningful. That is

what is meant by this proverb.

Hence when we are in a conversation we should only take a fair share of

the conversation and not keep prattling on as if no one else is there. This will show

that we respect other people’s opinions and wish to hear them out too. It would also

send out the message that we are not superficial people who only bore others with our

pompous talk.

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Slow and steady wins the race’

The famous fable about the tortoise and the hare brings out the singular truth

that am" and steady wins the race. Haste only makes waste, or results in shoddy work.

This is especially true for students. Daily regular study delivers good results. Those

students who want to complete their homework quickly just in order to play a match

with their friends, finally learn little or nothing. This is true even while attempting an

examination paper. If a student writes the answers hastily, he or she may make

careless mistakes, and this may result in low marks.

If a director wishes to make a film in a hurry, he will have a shoddy product in his

hand. But if he plans the script, the locations and the cast and takes rehearsals before

going to the sets for shooting, he or she is sure to come out with a quality product.

This is true for all great ventures, including the construction of a building. It is better

to draw the blueprint first. Then comes the laying of the foundation, and the rest of the

construction work in stages. If a building is constructed in haste, it might collapse and

lead to disaster.

So whatever you do in life, plan every detail carefully, collect the equipment

required for the project, and then go about performing the act. Then only will you be

able to achieve grand success.

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19. ‘Prevention is better than cure’

We sometimes handle a knife carelessly, cut our fingers, allow the cut to go

septic and when the pain is unbearable, consult a doctor. The doctor prescribes a

prolonged and costly treatment. Wouldn’t it have been better for us to have taken due

precaution while using the knife? In fact, we can always protect ourselves against

common ailments diseases by resorting to proper precautionary, preventive measures.

Very often, we are careless and do things thoughtlessly. We ignore signs that

indicate the possibility of trouble. Finally when the trouble occurs, we regret our

neglect, but by then it is too late. The proverb ‘Prevention is better than cure’ advises

us to take necessary steps to stop something unpleasant from happening.

This proverb has universal application. Proper maintenance of machines,

buildings, roads or bridges can prevent their deterioration and thus forestall disaster.

Health authorities should take prompt and effective steps during times of natural

calamities in order to prevent the outbreak of epidemics. At the national level too,

many problem that we are facing today would not have existed had the government

acted firmly, promptly and boldly at the very start. The proverb stresses the need for

foresight and precaution in dealing with every situation in our lives. If we develop

such an attitude, it would certainly be much better than facing misery and searching

for expensive remedies later on.

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Expansion of ideas

 There is no Short Cut to Success’

Success in all our endeavors is what we all want but, most of us forget that for

reaching success, the road is not strewn with roses. The walk is not a cakewalk, nor is

it a gift on a platter. Success is an achievement by constant diligence and most of us

fail to achieve because most of us lack the essential quality of diligence.

The magic of hard work and perseverance cannot be underestimated. We see in

general that people who have succeeded in life have done an immense amount of hard

work and their success is we all see, but the effort put in, we fail to measure. We do

wonder how he could achieve so much, but it is absolutely certain that achievement

has come his way after much of continued effort. Most of us do make efforts but, soon

lose heart and leave our projects and this is why we fail to reach the pinnacle of

success. It must be clear in our minds that, we never can achieve with just a simple

raising of a finger, we have got to put our heart and soul in a particular job and that

also with continued vigour in every attempt then only we can hope for any success.

Those of us who leave effort midway are obviously left midway by success also, and

then we are disheartened and broke, just to ogle jealously at those who have

succeeded. If we have the confidence in our effort, there is nothing that can deter us

from achieving.

History presents to us several examples of achievers whose achievements

were due to the single magic of the labour they put in their project. For example,

Tenzing Norgay could achieve world fame, only after making dozens of unsuccessful

efforts at conquering the Mt. Everest. India could achieve its goal of achieving

independence from British regime only because of continued effort and sacrifice of

our leaders, like Mahatma Gandhi and others of the generation. Ever since 1856,

which saw the first war of independence for India, a continued effort of more than a

century, we finally achieved our objective in the year 1947. If this century’s effort was

not there, the position of India would have been quite different and our history would

have been something else. This shows that continuous effort can even change the

course of history of a nation than what about smaller achievements of an individual.

Even after seeing that effort is the magic wand for all achievements, some people still

hold the view that, at least some people in the world do get whatever they want

without much effort. This may be true in the case of a very few who may have been

born with silver spoons in their mouths’ but, by and large, all others whom we see on

the pedestal of success are there only after hard labour. We have not seen them

working but we are able to notice them only when they reach certain heights. On the

other hand, there may be so many who might have fallen on the way, and this must

certainly have been because there was less strength in their effort. Success is mostly

not God sent it is mostly a reward God gives for hard work. Those who put in constant

labour towards an end, surely achieve a position of great advantage. It is of course

always an uphill task to improve prospects.

Let us see right from childhood, those children who work hard and

constantly and regularly are always the ones to stand first. We do often admire or feel

jealous of people rising, but we fail to see what extra effort they are putting in to

improve their prospects. Those who sit pretty and just complain about the success of

others are never the ones to do much in life. Those who make continuous effort in the

right direction rarely lose in the struggle of life. One important password for all of us

to follow is that, there is no short cut to success, the road to success is thorny and very

long. Those who dare to cross this road and undertake the tedious journey with a

continuous effort always find leisure at the end.

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Expansion of ideas

 Books are Our Real Friends’

We have many friends around us. However, it is difficult to find true and faithful

friends. However, it is difficult to find true and faithful friends.

Henry Ford said that “Best friends are those who bring out the best in me.” To

bring out the best in ourselves, we must have knowledge. We get knowledge from

books. We never feel lonely in the company of books. We feel as if we are one among

the characters described in a story. We live in their world while we read the book.

Books, unlike human friends, can accompany you wherever you go. You can read

them when you travel or when you are waiting on the station. They do not mislead

you. They give a lot of information on a variety of subjects. They will never fight with

you or be jealous of you. The more friendly you are with books, the wiser you will

become. Hence, it is truly said that ‘Books are our real Friends.’

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10. ‘Practice makes perfect’

You cannot become a world-class musician unless you take up your instrument

and play on it daily for hours together. You cannot become a Tendulkar merely

through inborn skill. You have to go to the nets every day for hours of practice. Meritholders in board examinations do not achieve their marks by pure inspiration. They

have studied throughout the year and revised and re-revised and made themselves

perfect in whatever they have set out to study. It is only regular practice that makes

one perfect.

If you don’t practise your work regularly, you will, at the most, he average in

your performance. You will not win prizes or medals or awards. The most difficult

task can be performed by anyone if only they take the trouble to practise daily and

regularly. In fact, you can achieve almost anything with practice.

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Expansion of ideas

 . ‘Service to man is service to God’

Charles Eliot Norton, an educator and humanitarian, said, “They serve God

well who serve His creatures.” Benjamin Franklin, a great scientist said, “Serving God

is doing good to man.”

The noblest creation of God is man. Yet, there are millions who suffer lives

of utter misery and degradation. If we wish to worship God, the best way would be to

devote our lives to the service of the poor and the destitute. Everyone recognizes the

value of this kind of noble work and acknowledges its greatness. Politicians,

statesmen and military generals are often forgotten with the passing of time. But noble

souls like Gandhiji and Mother Teresa have earned universal reverence and live

forever in the hearts of people, only because they worked selflessly for the good of

others. Whenever Mother Teresa was asked. "Why do you do this work for lepers and

the poor? She would take the five fingers of the right hand of the person, and touching

each finger would say five words: “I-do-it-for-Him!”

We find that even many rich people do not lift a finger to help an orphan, a

widow or a poor deserving student. Don't they realize that God dwells in everyone?

Whatever they have earned has been from society, so it naturally follows that they

should give back to society what they have got from it. And the best way to do that

would be by sewing their fellowmen.

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8. ‘Rumours are spread by fools and accepted by greater

fools’

Rumours have no truth in them. They are generally the result of misunderstanding

or miscommunication. Foolish people pick up some words from here and there and

build a story around them. They spread the story which is not based on facts. They

spread the rumours thoughtlessly without thinking of consequences.

People who listen to rumours are greater fools. They accept what the foolish

people say without thinking. They do not even use their common sense to decide

whether a story could be true. They never stop to verify or find evidence. They never

make enquiries to cross-check the facts. On the contrary, they help to spread the

rumours further and sometimes add something on their own!

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Expansion of ideas

 Cleanliness is next to Godliness’

An unclean environment is an insult to the Creator. Everything that God has

created, beautiful, and Mother Nature has in her the power and means to maintain the

hygiene and sanitation of the earth. It is only man who makes the environment dirty.

For reasons, pest known to himself, Very often, man is happy to keep it that way. .

When we go to a place of religious worship, don’t we bathe first? Don't we put

on our best clothes? We must remember that this world is our temple and the first

norm we must follow is that of personal hygiene. This involves keeping one's body,

clothes, belongings and home clean. This prevents diseases and enhances the quality

of life. It also keeps the mind fresh and motivates us to work better.

Cleanliness must also extend towards the neighborhood and the environment in

general. For this, it is imperative that every person develops clean social and civic

habits. It is wrong to spit on the roads, urinate in public or throw litter anywhere one

pleases. Doing such things only spoil this wonderful place that has been gifted to us

by the Almighty -our planet Earth.

It is our moral duty to keep ourselves, our homes, our environment, our nation

and this earth clean. That is what is meant by the proverb ‘Cleanliness is next to

Godliness’.

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6. ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’

If a farmer desires to reap a harvest of wheat, he sows wheat; if he wants rice, he

sows rice. What should we think of him if he planted wheat and expected to harvest

rice; or the other way round? The law of nature tells us that we must 30w what we

wish to reap. If we sow nothing, we shall reap nothing. “

So it is with life. We have always to hear the consequences of our actions. lf’

we perform good deeds, we shall be rewarded with good. If we perform bad deeds, we

shall never enjoy peace of mind. Our lives will be wretched and miserable. We cannot

achieve fair ends by using foul means. Even if we do, it will be short-lived.

Man can decide his own future by his present deeds. If he sows the seeds of vice,

corruption and sin, he reaps the harvest of misery and ruin. If he plants virtue, purity

and goodness, he plucks the golden fruit of success and happiness. If we want to

achieve good we should do well, for as we sow, so shall we reap.

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Expansion of ideas

 3. ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’

Once it was raining very heavily. It didn’t seem that it would stop. There was no

means of transport and I wondered how I would reach home. Then as if from

nowhere, a classmate happened by in a car. He asked me to get in and reached me to

my home. From that day onwards he became one of my best friends. Later on I was

able to help him out in mathematics, a subject in which he was very weak. Indeed, a

friend in need is a friend indeed!

I have found that many people talk about friendship, but when you .need them

during the time of crisis, somehow they are not to be seen anywhere. Those who stand

by you when you are really in trouble are your true friends. Isn’t that what friends are

for? To help each other in times of need?

Life is all about being there for others. Life is all about caring and sharing.

There are plenty of fair-weather friends. They desert you in your time of need. True

friends are steadfast. True friends are forever.

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4. ‘Cut your coat according to your cloth’

If you give a piece of cloth to a tailor to make a coat, the tailor will first

measure cloth and then decide what kind of coat has to be made out of it. He will not

be able to make a coat that requires more material than the cloth provided. The same

is the case with our income and expenditure. Our expenses should always be within

the limits of our income. Otherwise, we are sure to land in debt and difficulties. The

proverb thus tells us not to spend more than what we earn i.e., to live within our

means.

This proverb applies not only to individuals but also to business

establishments. Of course, a company may raise a loan to expand or diversify its

business. But it must do judiciously; otherwise it can even go bankrupt. Even the

government of a country has to keep in mind its total resources while spending. If it

does not do so and goes on borrowing recklessly from banks and foreign countries. It

could result in severe economic problems for the country.

Hence the saying is of great practical value. Applying it in life makes one

happy.

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Expansion of ideas

 ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’

What is special about the fruit, the apple? Why is it said that the apple keeps

the doctor away? Why is no other fruit mentioned in a proverb? The answers are very

simple. The apple has, perhaps, the most nutritional value amongst all fruits.

A medium-sized apple gives 85 calories and makes a good snack. It contains

absolutely no fat. It also helps reduce the risk of some cancers. Because it is low in

sodium content; madness the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. The apple

has a substance that can reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol in our

body. It is rich in Vitamin A, which strengthens our vision. Apples also contain

Vitamin C that boosts the immune system in the body. Research shows that people

who eat five apples or more per week have fewer respiratory problems, including

asthma.

After eating any kind of food, eat an apple. An apple is a natural toothbrush. It

prevents tooth decay by killing 80% of the bacteria in the teeth. Thus, this proverb

reminds us of the role of diet in warding off diseases and how it saves us the trouble of

visiting the doctor.

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2. ‘Where there is a will there is a way’

If we read the biographies of great men and women like Albert Einstein,

Mother Teresa’ Edmund Hillary, Marie Curie and Abraham Lincoln, we will find that

it is their strong will which has helped them overcome great difficulties and setbacks

and helped them find a way to achieve their goals.

Every student thinks that securing a first class in an examination is beyond his

or her capacity. But if a student resolves firmly to achieve his or her goal and works

towards it sincerely and wholeheartedly, he or she is certain to achieve success.

There was a time when flying in the air, travelling in space and sending

messages and pictures instantly were all regarded as nights of fancy. But the persistent

efforts of some strong-willed people have turned all these dreams into reality.

Man’s will-power, determination and dedication are wonderful qualities. They

endow the doer with the will to achieve and the means to find out ways to achieve the

impossible. All we have to do is to set a goal, have a strong will and make persistent

efforts. If we come across an obstacle and can’t climb over it, we must walk around it.

There is always a way! There is always a solution!

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