By Manju Gupta

As everyone knows, gods and demons have been constantly at war with each other. Demons hated the gods but even after every defeat in the battles that they fought, they would gather their army again and launch another attack on the gods.

Ahi, a demon, was so angry with the gods that he vowed to himself to wipe them out completely from all the three worlds. He tried to play a number of tricks on them to overpower them but failed in every battle that he fought. Ultimately he decided to change his form. He acquired the form of a huge serpent called Vritra and began to dry up all the oceans, one after another, by drinking up all the water. One day, when all the gods were busy attending a celestial sacrifice, Ahi swallowed all the cosmic water and coiled himself tightly around a mountain peak.

When the gods returned home and found not a drop of water to drink, they immediately realized that it was the doing of Vritra and no one else. They turned to Indra for help. Indra took out his white elephant Airavata and climbing upon it, he took a thunderbolt in one hand and arrows and a hook in another. He left to confront Vritra.

Indra travelled a long distance till he came to a mountain around which a giant serpent was coiled around. It immediately struck Indra that this could be no one else but Ahi who had coiled himself around the mountain. So he took aim and began shooting his arrows at the serpent. But none of the arrows hit the serpent. Instead the arrows got bent and dropped to the ground. Indra then threw the net around the mountain but that too could not dislodge the mountain or the serpent. Indra stopped for a few minutes to plan his next move. He decided to hit at the serpent’s face but the face was not visible.

Ultimately his eyes fell on the fat stomach of the serpent and deciding that the bloated stomach was due to the water that the serpent had guzzled, Indra aimed his thunderbolt at the stomach of the serpent. The stomach burst open and water gushed out with huge force. Vritra was killed and water returned to all the oceans. From that day onwards, Indra is worshipped by everyone whenever a drought strikes anyone’s land.

'Keeping kids away from crimes is one of the most difficult change.' says Ilaxi Patel.

Were you able to realize the fact that your kids are silent observers and reciprocators of the influences surrounding them? Drugs, kidnapping, stealing, bullying, abuse and violence are among the several things threatening crime. Early influences play lasting roles in lives on their lives. New light is now being shed in this regard. Addictions to cigarettes, drugs, alcohol and chewing tobacco are among the several stuffs kids are learning by just looking at their elders. This is just another testimony to the fact that they are sensitively alert to their surroundings.

Hearing, seeing, speaking and thinking capabilities play a pivotal role in nurturing their growth. Spontaneous reactions trigger the unconscious messages of body language as we observe when we see kids pumped up with emotion while watching television or playing games. They experience thrills, ecstasy, fear and even horror.

Children are prone to anxiety, fear complex, being introvert and lurk at the edge of consciousness, arousing guilt and stirring up old fears of being punished and rejected. Often such kids slowly and gradually develop a complex that makes up from small lies to bigger ones leading to crime in extreme cases. Kids grow up in a contemporary society, which calls for an ever-increasing ability to endure anxiety, overcome doubts, tolerate tension, resolve conflicts, reduce frustrations, manage stress and avoid peer and external pressures.

Most people roll their eyes at the memory of a heinous kid and his boorish parent. Setting the stage for change is imperative to build pillars of character from the very start. In a rush of new age, the busy parental influence misses the warmth of their tender touch to the kids who demand attention and motivation. Some care to nurture their potentialities sorting to enhance their creative abilities along with educational follow-ups. However, they miss out the very basics of ‘Character ethics’ and ‘value-based education’. Aspects of ethics is Commitment to do what is right, good and proper, is often overlooked. Model the ethical beliefs to cultivate in the kids with truthfulness.

Parents, who can’t accept their child as a topper, often mislead to blame only the teacher. Sometimes, instead of punishing the child for violating the school policy, they challenge the school policy!

If the parents become demanding, aggressive or rude even at the slightest provocation, the child would adopt to create wrong notions and react to situations. Parents need to be vigilant in their own speech and actions, so as not to hear the things or acts they do, performed by the kids in longer run. Rude behavior in the kids is the result of thoughtlessness than of aggressive behaviour on behalf of their guardians. Parents and elders need to stand by the kids to build their characters, eventually pull them out from committing crime – at the least. Internet media has made a ‘free way’ for crimes on the net.

The following are some of the simple ways to protect kids from crime:

Protecting kids from crime is a major issue all over the world. There are websites for missing kids, which has too many kids who have become victims of crime, being kidnapped at a tender age. As you see the innocent faces on the web, one would realize the urgency to protect the kids from the Crime. The triggered crime assault shoot up with the kidnapping, drug and alcohol kind of vices. Investing time in development of kids is a factor, which should not be overlooked.

Frank communication, being on friendly terms, caring and teaching the basic of how to say no, cautioning them while talking to strangers, safety measures at school and friends influence are the many factors to be taken care of.

Kids get attracted to rosy things and the hard way of earning bread-butter should be taught to them to stop them from stealing. If some kid buys a costly pair of shoes or shows off having money on hand, the influence should not flicker the other kid demanding the same.

A child should be taught to realize his way of living. Some kids who are deprived of love, as they grow to be teenagers, out of deprival or due to adolescent instincts indulge in sexual crimes. These situations pose for calling attention and early influential attitude of parents and elders make kids to overcome criminal situations.

Stop the Crime – It’s in our hands. The Mob frenzy recently in Gujarat has directly or indirectly made many kids the victims of Crime. Let the Community flare influence last no long as they tremble in fear, shatter their faith and live in a state of anxiety with the environmental influence upon them. Let there be the right Parental influence, after all!

BUILD THE PILLARS OF CHARACTER

• Trust-worthiness: Teach the core values of trustworthiness. Cheating, deceiving should be scratched words from action dictionary. Build a reputation – ‘Do right, treat right’ Stand by principles. Be loyal and sympathetic.
• Respect: Show love and respect for all. Make them use manners, proper language and tolerant to differences. Make the kids respect the faith of others. Scratch off anger, insult and disagreements.
• Caring: Express gratitude and urge to forgiveness. Be kind, compassionate and helping nature.
• Be Fair and neutral: Teach kids to be open and broad minded. Blaming or criticizing should be avoided. Teach to share.
• Responsibility: Teach kids to be responsible for the acts they do. Let them understand their role in society, home and their life. Self control, perseverance, self-disciplined and dutiful. Be watchful of consequences of the acts they perform.

On the way to the great Ujjain city, there was a Pippala tree. On it dwelled a crow and a crane. One afternoon, when Sun was shining bright, there arrived a traveller. He was not able to bear the heat, thought of taking rest in the shade of the tree. When he was taking rest, the Crane saw through the gaps between leaves of tree sun-light was directly falling on the face of the traveller.

Crane, who was kind hearted, couldn’t see this and spread out his wings to give shade to the person sleeping under the tree. Seeing the traveller sleeping in peace, the Crow got jealous and put his dropping on the travellers face and flew away.

The traveller who was sleeping in peace got no later and found only the crane. Mistaking crane to be the culprit the traveller shot an arrow and killed the crane. For no fault of its own the Crane was dead.

There are a few morals to be learnt from this story:

• The kindness of Crane was great. Not able to see the difficulty of the traveller, it spread its wings, took all the heat and protected the traveller. There is no greater service than helping the needful.
• Even though the Crane was a good being, just because it stayed with the evil, it got entangled in difficulties. One must never be in the company of bad. Evil ones not only destroy themselves, but also others with them.
• Anger is one’s greatest enemy. Because of his anger, the traveller, without thinking what actually happened, killed the innocent Crane. Under the clutches of anger one can do any great evil, hence one must always shun it.

Lord Rama was, of course, the greatest warrior ever. Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita remarks ‘I am Rama among warriors’. He learnt all the Shastras and unparalleled Dhanurvidya under the guidance of the great sage Vasishtha. He was also given super-human powers like bala, ati bala by the yet another great sage Vishwamithra, who also taught him all the secret Astras that ever existed, which only he in this whole universe knew (he originally learnt it from Lord Shiva). In addition to these, sage Agasthya gave him many additional powers.

Despite being such a great warrior, he never displayed in strength on his own to show-off. The anger on the Samudra stands as a good example for this quality of Rama:

Ravana gives 30 days time to Sita to decide if she will marry him, else will kill her. Bharata took word from Rama saying that if he doesn’t return on the next moment of 14 yrs of Aranyavaas, then he will sacrifice himself. Rama and his army reach the shores of ocean with barely 30 days in hand. They have to cross the ocean, defeat Ravana & his army, take Sita back to Ayodhya in around 30 days time. With such a press for time and given the strength of Rama, Lakshmana suggests Rama not to spend time asking ocean God for way, but to order him.

What Rama does is unbelievable. Though he had the strength and power to control the Ocean, he did not do it. He did penance on the shores of the ocean for 3 long days to give them a way. Finally after 3 days Rama gets angry on the ocean and to make remember his duty, aims an Astra at him and immediately Ocean deity appears and suggests a way of crossing him

There are a few morals in this story:

• We, for our small petty achievements in life, are very proud (Ahankaar) and given a chance, display our strengths. The way of great people is quite different as shown by Lord Rama.
• One must never use the strength or powers just because they exist with him, but judiciously use them for the benefit of everyone, uplifting of Dharma.

Once upon a time a warrior named Viravara came to king Supraka and asked him for a service. He demanded from the king five hundred golden coins a day by way of salary. King Sudraka, perceiving that his appearance indicated great courage, gave him the salary he desired.

Every day Viravara stood at his palace gate in the middle of the day, sword in hand; and then he went home and put into the hand of his wife a hundred coins of his salary for food, and with a hundred he bought clothes, unguents and betel, and put hundred in the temple, and he gave two hundred to poor Brahmans.

One day it was raining heavily. King thought let me check whether Viravara is at his place or not. So he shouted for him. When Viravara heard that, he answered: ‘I am here, Majesty.’

Then King Sudraka thought to himself: ‘Viravara is a man of intrepid courage and devotedly attached to me. So I must certainly promote him to an important post.’

One night the king suddenly heard a woman weeping in the distance, distracted in despair, uttering only the piteous sound of wailing. When the king heard that, pity arose is his mind, and he said to himself ‘There is no oppressed person in my kingdom, no poor or afflicted person, so who is this woman, that is thus weeping alone at night?’

Then he gave this order to Viravara, who was alone below, ‘There is some woman weeping in the distance, go and find out who she is and why she is weeping.’

King Sudraka, seeing him starting alone on such a night, and being penetrated with pity and curiosity, came down from the top of the palace, and taking his sword, set out close behind him, along and unobserved.

Viravara went on persistently in the direction of the weeping, and reached a tank outside the city, and saw there that woman in the middle of the water saying ‘How can I live without you my king?’

And Viravara, said with astonishment, ‘Who are you, and why do you weep like this?’

She answered him, ‘I am this Earth, and King Sudraka is now my righteous lord, but on the third day from this day his death will take place, so I am grieved.’

When Viravara heard this, he said ‘Goddess, any expedient to prevent the death of the king?’

When Earth heard this, she answered, ‘Yes’

Viravara said: ‘Then, tell it me at once.’

Earth said ‘Who is as brave as you, and as devoted to his master? If you offer up your child Sattvavara to his glorious goddess Chandi, famous for her exceeding readiness to manifest herself to her votaries, the king will not die. And if you do it at once, his safety will be ensured’

Viravara said ‘I will go and do it this.’

The king heard all these.

Viravara went quickly in the darkness to his own house, and King Sudraka, out of curiosity, followed him unobserved. There he woke up his wife Dharmavati, and told her how the goddess Earth had directed him to offer up his son for the sake of the king.

When she heard it, she said: ‘We must ensure the prosperity of the king.’

Viravara woke up his young son Sattvavara, who was asleep, and told him all that had occurred and said to him: ‘The king will live if you are offered up to the goddess Chandi.’

When Sattvavara heard it, he said ‘I would sacrifice of my life saves that of the king.’ When Sattvavara said this, Viravara answered; ‘You are my real son.’

The king, who had followed them, and heard all this conversation from outside, said to his self ‘They are all equal in courage.’

Viravara took his son Sattvavara on his shoulder, and they both went that very night to the temple of Chandi, and King Sudraka followed them unobserved.

Sattvavara was taken down by his father from his shoulder and placed in front of the idol, and the boy, who was full of courage, bowed before the goddess.

When the boy Sattvavara said this, Viravara drew his sword and cut off his son’s head.

Viravara’s wife Dharmavati said to him ‘We have ensured the prosperity of the king, so now I have something to say to you. What is the use of life to me? Since I have lost my son, give me leave to enter the fire with my child’s body.’

Viravara made a funeral pyre with the timber, and placed on it the body of his child, and lighted it, and the woman threw herself into the burning pyre.

Viravara had praised the goddess in these words; he cut off his head with a sudden stroke of his sword.

When the king saw this, he drew his sword from the sheath, and When the king Sudraka was preparing to cut off his head with his sword, at that moment a voice was heard from the air, ‘I am pleased with your courage let the Viravara be restored to life, together with his wife and his child’

Having uttered this, the voice ceased, and Viravara rose up alive and unwounded, with his son, and his wife.

After he had left his son, wife and daughter there, he returned that very night to the palace gate of the king, and stood there as before.

King Sudraka, for his part, who had beheld all unobserved, again went up to the roof of his palace. He cried out from the roof ‘Who is in attendance at the palace gate?’

Then Viravara said: ‘I myself am in waiting here, your Majesty. And in accordance with your orders I went in search of that woman, but she disappeared somewhere.’

The next morning Viravara came to present himself at the time of audience, and then the king related to the ministers all that Viravara had gone through during the night.

Betaal stopped the story and asked ‘Tell me Vikram who was the bravest of all these?’

The king said “King Sudraka was the greatest hero of them all. Viravara was a man of high birth, one in whose family it was a tradition that life, son and wife must be sacrificed to protect the sovereign. And his wife also was of same caste, worshipping her husband only, and her chief duty was to follow the path traced out for her by her husband. And Sattvavara was like them being their son. Assuredly, such as are the threads, such is the web produced from them. But Sudraka excelled them all, because he was ready to lay down his life for those servants.”