Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and The Incense Stick

One day the topic discussed in the royal court of Krishnadevaraya was intelligence. The king kept talking about his courtiers’ intelligence. Some of the courtiers were very jealous of Tenali Raman and hence they told the king that they were very intelligent and clever but they didn’t get a chance to show their intelligence because of Tenali Raman.

King Krishnadevaraya did give a thought to this issue. He decided to do something about it in order to ensure a harmonious environment in his court. He turned to Lord Vishnu for guidance. His attention diverted to the incense stick burning in front of the god. The lighted incense stick was spreading scented smoke in the room. 

All of a sudden, the king got an idea. He said to his courtiers, “I think you are right. You don’t get to prove your superiority because of Tenali Raman but you will get a chance to prove your superiority in the court. You can participate in a content for the same and thus you can get a chance to prove your extra intelligence and cleverness.”

He further told Tenali Raman, “Tenali, you are not allowed to speak or do anything in that contest.” This made all the courtiers who were jealous of Tenali very happy. Finally, they were getting an opportunity to impress the king with their intelligence. 

The king said to all courtiers, “As you all can see the smoke coming from the incense stick. Bring me the smoke of the lighted incense stick of the length of one yard. The one who manages to do this will be declared as the most intelligent man in my court. He will also be declared as cleverer than Tenali Raman.”

The courtiers were shocked after hearing the king. They said, “What is the king saying? How is this possible? How can anyone measure smoke?” The king saw their surprised faces. He said, “You all wanted to prove your intelligence to me so this is to test your intelligence. I know some of you are capable of solving this so do it.”

The courtiers thought that somehow, they had to find some solution to this. Some tried to measure the smoke that was coming out of the lighted incense stick but in vain. Whenever they tried to measure, the smoke would disperse in wavy moments. Many of the courtiers kept trying various ways to measure the smoke till evening but nothing happened. 

King Krishnadevaraya silently smiled at their futile efforts. Finally, the courtiers got tired after numerous efforts. One of them said to the king, “Your majesty, it is impossible to measure the smoke and to bring it in one yard length. I am sure even Tenali Raman cannot do it. Tell him to do it but I am sure he will fail this task too like us and thus he shouldn’t be given more importance henceforth.” All the courtiers agreed with him.

The king said, “Okay, I will tell Tenali to accomplish this task. If he succeeds this then we have to declare him the most clever and intelligent person.” All the courtiers agreed.

King Krishnadevaraya turned to Tenali Raman, “Are you ready to accept this challenge?” Tenali Raman stood up from his seat and came forward. He bowed to the king and said, “Yes sir, I want to try doing it with your permission.”

King Krishnadevaraya smiled, “Alright, you can proceed.” Tenali Raman called one of his servants and gave him some instructions in a low voice. The servant nodded and went away. He came back in a few minutes with a glass tube in his hands. The glass tube was sealed at one end and open from another. The glass tube measured one yard. 

There was a pin drop silence in the court now. Everybody was eager to what Tenali Raman would do next. They didn’t want to miss any detail about how Tenali tried to accomplish this impossible task. 

Tenali Raman went near the lighted incense stick. He held the open end of the glass in such a way that the rising smoke started filling the glass tube. Within a few moments, the glass tube was completely filled with smoke. Tenali Raman closed the open end of the glass tube with a cloth tightly. 

Tenali then came to the king and handed him the glass tube saying, “Here is your smoke my Lord. This measures one yard. You can measure this with a ruler if you like.”

All the courtiers were shocked by what Tenali had done. King Krishnadevaraya smilingly praised Tenali Raman. He turned to the courtiers and said, “Now you all have to accept that Tenali Raman is the cleverest of all."

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and The Wicked Priest

Appalacharya was the family priest of King Krishnadevaraya.  He was also related the king and performed all the religious rituals for the king and his family. Appalacharya was a very talented scholar. He was respect by all in the court and the king would always consult him for certain issues. 

But even after all this, Appalacharya was neither happy nor satisfied. He always felt jealous of Tenali Raman. He thought he was way cleverer and more intelligent than Tenali Raman but his talent was not appreciated to that extent. After all, Appalacharya was just a priest and Tenali Raman was a minister. 

Whenever someone said anything good about Tenali Raman, Appalacharya got more and more jealous. He got more irritated towards Tenali. He started insulting Tenali often. 

There were two main sects during the time of Krishnadevaraya – the Smartha sect and the Vaishnava sect. Tenali Raman belonged to the Smartha sect and Appalacharya was from the Vaishnava sect. Appalacharya took advantage of this and started spreading rumors that the king was partial towards the Smartha sect and that was the reason why Tenali was made the minister. 

He gathered all the sect members and started misleading them by spreading such rumors. He also told them that Tenali hated the Vaishnava sect. He continued to spread such gossip to bring down Tenali Raman. 

The king was not aware of this jealousy and negative behavior of the priest but Tenali Raman was very much disturbed by this enmity from such a learned man. 

One early morning, Tenali went to Appalacharya’s house for some official work. Appalacharya saw him coming and once Tenali Raman came closer, Appalacharya covered his face with a cloth. Tenali Raman noticed it but did not comment. They discussed the official work and once concluding it, Tenali got up to leave. While leaving Tenali asked him, “Appalacharya, can you please tell me why did you cover your face when you saw me? Why is your face still covered?”

Appalacharya replied sarcastically, “Raman, you are very intelligent and knowledgeable so you should have understood my action. If we, Vaishnavas, see face of Smarthas first thing in the morning then we will be born as donkeys in our next birth.”

Tenali Raman was deeply hurt with this insulting reply. He had many friends from the Vaishnava sect and he knew this was not true. He decided to teach this arrogant and mean priest a lesson. 

Once, King Krishnadevaraya went on an outing with his courtiers. Tenali Raman and Appalacharya were also with him. They all saw some donkeys grazing in the nearby field. Tenali Raman went to the donkeys, knelt and bowed to the donkeys. The whole group stood in silence and looked at Tenali surprisingly. 

King knew about Tenali’s eccentric behavior and he knew there was some good reason behind his action. He asked Tenali, “Why are you bowing to the donkeys? Do they look like saint to you?”

Tenali replied, “No sir, it is nothing like that. I went to Appalacharya’s house sometime back for some official work early in the morning. Appalacharyaji covered his face when he saw me and when I asked him for the reason behind his behavior, Appalacharya kindly explained that when a Vaishnava sees Smartha’s face first thing in the morning, he becomes a donkey in his next birth. So, when I saw some donkeys here today, I thought they must be Appalcharya’s relatives so I felt it was my duty to bow down and kneel in respect and thus ask for their forgiveness on behalf of the Smarthas whose faces they had seen in their previous births.”

The king immediately realized what had happened. Some of his courtiers had disclosed the nefarious activities of Appalacharya to him. The king was appaled by Appalacharya’s behavior and Tenali Raman looked very hurt.

Before he could say anything, Tenali Raman spoke sadly, “Your majesty, I never hurt or harmed anybody. I never wish anything ill for anybody. We are what the God made us. Caste and religion are to worship God and achieve spirituality. It is not to measure one’s high or low position. I believe there is only one Supreme Power who can be called by many names so why do the learned try to hurt or harm us?”

The king felt sorry for Tenali Raman. He said, “Appalacharya, you are a scholar who is respected by everyone, even by me. You don’t have to be jealous about Tenali Raman or anyone. You have a distinctive place in my palace. You should have faith in me and my judgement. I don’t favor or discriminate anybody on the basis of their religion or language. The administration of this kingdom is based on the great Sage Vidyaranya’s principles. I am following his great teachings in all the matters of our kingdom. I can recognize merit and talent. I appoint my ministers and officers. I want my kingdom to flourish on good qualities of my ministers.”

The king further added, “I gave you many chances to prove your merit. It is not good on your part to behave in such manner. In future, if you indulge in activities unworthy of you, I shall not hesitate to send you away with punishment for your wrong actions. Consider this as a warning. Try to be a better man.”

Appalacharya took this advice in the right spirit. He begged the king for his forgiveness. He promised the king that he would behave properly and pledged his life for the betterment of the kingdom. He also assured Tenali Raman that he would only praise him in future and never ever hate him. 

The Farmer and the Donkey Story

 The Story of the farmer and his donkey

Author - Unknown

This is one story that I came across the internet and I was amazed with the positivity it set. This is how you shove out the dirt that is thrown at you and then you step up. Let's show the world what we are made of and how we never give up. 

Photo Courtesy: Google  

One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours, while the farmer tried to find something to do to get him out.

Finally, the farmer decided that the donkey was old and the well was already dry and needed to be covered anyway; and also that it really wasn't worth pulling the donkey out of the well..

He invited all his neighbors to come help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to throw dirt into the well.

The donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly loud. Then, to everyone's surprise, he quieted down after a few shovels full of dirt.

The farmer finally looked down into the well and was amazed at what he saw... with each shovel full of dirt, the donkey was doing something incredible: It was shaking off the dirt and stepping on top of the dirt.

Very soon everyone saw surprised how the donkey reached the mouth of the well, went over the edge and trotted out.

Moral Lesson from the story of the farmer and the donkey

Life is going to throw dirt at you, all kinds of dirt... the trick to getting out of the hole is to shake it off and use it to step up. Each of our problems is a step up. We can get out of the deepest holes if we don't give up...

Use the land they throw you to get ahead!!!

Remember the 5 rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hate.

2. Free your Mind of distractions.

3. Simplify your life.

4. Give more and expect less.

5. Love more and... shake the dirt, because in this life you have to be a solution, not the problem!

The Boy with a Green Cloth - Motivational Story

A building construction work was going on nearby. Lots of poor laborers were working there and their small children used to hold onto one another's shirt and play "train-train". Someone would become the engine and others would become bogies. Every day these children used to take turns becoming the engine and bogies but there was one small boy wearing only a half pant who used to hold one small green cloth in his hand and become the guard daily. 

I went to him and asked him, "Child, don't you also wish to become an engine or a bogie some time?" He softly replied, " Sir , I don't have a shirt to wear so how will the other children catch me to make the train?" I could see the slight wetness in his eyes.

But it gave me a lesson - he could have cried and sat at home and abused his parents for not affording to buy him a shirt but instead he chose another way to play and enjoy himself. In life, we don't get all things we desire and we keep complaining, "I don't have a bike,  I don't have car, I don't have this or that etc."

 Life is like that ....we need to make it beautiful and be grateful of what we have. 

Finest Example of Presence of Mind - Whistler in the Class

Presence of mind is a state of mind where one can stay calm and yet manage to deliver. Sharing one of the story from the net that relates to it. The tile of this story is 'Whistler in the Class'!

A Professor started his class on a very serious topic. The moment he turned towards the blackboard, one of the students whistled. He turned, looked at the class and asked the whistler's name. No one answered.

The Professor peacefully kept the Pen in his pocket saying: "Lecture ends here. I'll tell you a story to utilize the remaining time". Everyone became interested. "Yesterday night I tried hard to sleep, but it was miles away from my eyes, so I thought I'd better get petrol in my car, which will save my time next morning and might induce sleep. After having my tank full, I started roaming in that area, enjoying the peace of a traffic free ride. Suddenly, in the corner I saw a girl who was as young and beautiful as the clothes she was wearing. Out of courtesy, I turned my car towards her and asked if I may be of any help. She asked me if I could drop her to her home, she'll be very obliged, to which I agreed.

She sat in the front seat with me. We started talking, and to my amazement she was very intelligent, had control on many topics which many youngsters don't. When we reached her address, she admitted my courteous nature and behavior and accepted that she had fallen in love with me.I also admitted her intelligence and beauty and that I've also started liking her. I told her about my job as a professor in the university. The girl asked my number, which I gave her willingly. Then she asked me a favor, to which I couldn't have denied naturally.

She said that her brother is a student in the same university, and asked me to take care of him, since we'll be in a long relationship now. I asked the name of the student. She said that I'll recognize him with one of his very prominent quality, He whistles a lot! All eyes in the classroom turned towards the boy who had whistled.

The professor said: " Young man, I didn't buy my Ph.D in Psychology.. I earned it”.

Essay - Failure in Life

Encountering failure is one of the biggest challenges known to mankind. Not everyone is good at handling failure. One may overcome the biggest challenges to achieve success but when it comes to handling failure, not everyone can tackle it. Each individual has his own way of tackling failure. It is a whole different story for each one of us. Some may accept failure and learn to fight a way through it by trying again. Some take failures as graciously as they could while some miserably mess things up. Here is a story that I recently learnt which tell us about how not having the strength to handle failure could lead to serious repercussions. 

There was a very brilliant boy, who always scored 100% in Science. He got selected for IIT Madras and scored excellent in IIT. He then went to the University of California for MBA and got a high paying job in America and settled there. 

He got married a beautiful Tamil girl and bought a 5 room big house and luxury cars.

He had everything that made him successful but a few years ago he committed suicide after shooting his wife and children.

So, WHAT WENT WRONG?

California Institute of Clinical Psychology Studied his case and found “what went wrong?”  The researcher met the boy’s friends and family and found that he lost his job due to America’s economic crisis and he had to sit without a job for a long time. Even after expecting a job with less salary than his previous, he didn't get any. 

Since he couldn't manage keeping steady his house installments, the family lost the home. They survived a few months with low money and then he and his wife together decided to commit suicide. He first shot his wife and children and then shot himself.

The case concluded that the man was programmed for successes but he was not trained for handling failures. Now let's come to the actual question, 

"What are the habits of highly successful people?"

People often share their success stories but very few share their battles and struggles to success. Many fail miserably in their early attempts of success and then rise to shine.  Nothing is predictable in life. There are risks and possibilities. At any point of time, one may lose what he owns. Here is a quote that speaks the same, 

" Life is like a river, 

sometimes it sweeps you gently along and 

sometimes the rapids comes

out of nowhere."

What this means is that when we plan to start something new, nobody can predict how things would go on. We can desire success, but we should learn to accept failures too. Failures make us who we are. They help us learn things and give us experiences that we knew nothing about. Hence one of the most important success habit to share is to learn to handle failures. 

Same lesson applies to the kids. We want our children to gain success in everything they do. Seldom we teach our child that it is okay to fail. When a child fails we get disappointed which in turn disappoints the child. But instead of programming our child to be successful we should prepare them to handle failures which is one of the most important life lesson you could teach your child.

What it Means to Let Go?

When we say we want to let go of things, what does it really mean? Letting go means a lot more than one can think. The let go meaning is all about taking care of yourself and keeping oneself from getting hurt. Just came across this wonderful post and felt like sharing. Please do read...

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring.

It means I can't do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off.

It's the realization that I can't control another.

To "let go" is to admit powerlessness,

which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another.

It's to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, 

but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, 

but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, 

but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes,

but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To "let go" is not to deny, 

but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue, 

but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires,

but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to regret the past, 

but to grow and live for the future.

To "let go" is to fear less and to love more.

The Bird With Two Heads Story

The Bird With Two Heads Story

Long time ago, there lived a strange bird on a tree just near the banks of a lake. The bird was strange from the rest of the other birds because it had two heads.

Once when the bird was flying around searching for fruit, the first head saw a beautiful red colored fruit.  The bird plucked the food with the same head and started eating it. But the second head was curious and bit jealous.

So the second head of the bird grumbled,"Looks like a delicious food! Share some with me." But the first head that was enjoying the fruit replied,"You or me! What difference does it make? Whoever eats the fruit would go in the same stomach. So why share? Let me share half the fruit with our wife." This reply made the second head sad. From that day onward the second head kept to itself and didn't talk much.

One day the bird with two heads again wandered around in search of food. The second head saw some fruits and got delighted. But the fruits came from a poisonous tree. When the first head realized this, it immediately warned the other head to not eat the fruit.

But this time the second head wasn't going to miss the chance of mocking the first head by finishing the fruit himself. And so the other head finished the entire fruit. But as the fruit was poisonous, the bird with the two heads suffered and eventually died.

Moral of the story  - It is better to live in agreement or to suffer severely like the bird did.

A Deadly Frozen Night Story (A True Story) - Life Lesson For Secret to Survival In This World

A Deadly Frozen Night (A True Story)

There was a Jewish man named Yankel, who had a bakery, in a town, Crown Heights, Germany. He always said, "You know why I’m alive today?"

He said "I was a kid, just a teenager at the time in Germany. Nazis were killing Jews with no mercy.

We were on the train being taken to Auschwitz by Nazis. Night came and it was deathly cold in that compartment.

The Germans left us on the side of the tracks overnight, sometimes for days, without any food. There were no blankets to keep us warm. Snow was falling everywhere. 

Cold winds were hitting our cheeks, every second. We were hundreds of people in that terribly cold night. No food. No water. No shelter. No blankets ".

"The blood in our bodies started freezing. It was becoming ice.

Beside me, there was a beloved elderly Jewish man from my hometown. He was shivering from head to toe, and looked terrible. So I wrapped my arms around him to warm him up. I hugged him tightly to give him some heat. I rubbed his arms, his legs, his face, his neck. 

I begged him to try to be alive. I encouraged him. All night long, I kept this man warm this way. I was tired, and freezing cold myself. My fingers were numb, but I didn’t stop rubbing heat into that old man’s body.

Hours and hours went by. Finally, morning came and the sun began to shine. I looked around to see the other people. 

To my horror, all I could see were frozen bodies. All I could hear was deathly silence.

Nobody else in that cabin were alive. That freezing night killed them all. They died from the cold. 

Only two people survived: the old man and me. The old man survived because I kept him warm... and I survived because I was warming him. 

May I tell you the secret to survival in this world?

When you warm other people’s hearts, you will remain warm yourself.

When you support, encourage and inspire others, then you will discover support, encouragement and inspiration in your own life as well. My friends, That is the secret to a happy life." "When you are good to others you are good to yourself" "When you make people happy, people will make you happy"

Moral - You know who are the happiest people in this world - the givers not the takers. Few people in this world only know to take. But then there are those who know only to give. Giving gives them immense satisfaction and happiness. Such happiness could never be compared with any other precious wealth in this world. And hence they are the happiest people in the world. 

The Man And The Bear Story - Inspirational Story

This is such a wonderful story! Hear it out..

So once a man went for hunting in a jungle. Since he couldn't find anything to hunt, the man was bit disappointed. Being tired and thirsty, he visited the small pond in the jungle to quench his thirst. He set aside the bow and arrow he was carrying and started drinking water from the pond. Suddenly a tiger appeared in front of him from the nearby bushes which scared the man. Frightened the man started running. Seeing that the tiger was following him, the man thought of climbing the nearby tree.

As he was about to climb, he saw a bear already sitting on one of the big branches of the tree. The following tiger and the bear above terrorized the man throughout. He just didn't know what to do next! That is when the bear said to him, "Do not be frighten, climb the tree. I won't hurt you. I am sitting here protecting myself from the tiger too" Trusting the bear, the man climbed the tree and sat on one of the thick branch waiting for the tiger to go away.

But the tiger wouldn't leave. He sat below the tree waiting for one of them to come down. Tired and weary the man went to sleep. Seeing the man sleeping, the tiger said to the bear, "This man doesn't mean anything to you, so why don't you push him down. I am hungry and let me eat him. I will not harm you at all."

But the bear didn't budge. The bear waited for the man to wake up and as soon as he did, it tried to catch some sleep. As soon as the bear slept, the tiger said to the man, "This bear means nothing to you, so why do you care? Just push it down and I will satiate my hunger and no harm will come to you." Without giving it a second thought, the man pushed the bear down. Fortunately the bear held on to one of the branches of the tree with its firm grip and saved itself.

The bear didn't fall, but did realize the true nature of this ungrateful human being in front of it, who could never be trusted. The bear said to the man, "I didn't betray you, but you did with the first chance you got. One can always trust an animal but one could never trust a human!"

Moral - Human being is known for his betrayal. Being unfaithful is one of his or her major traits.  But here's a wonderful quote that goes,

"A good man or woman will

be honest no matter how

painful the truth is.

A coward hides behind the lies 

and deceit." 

Making the bear's words come true is in one's own hand. You can either be faithful and not give in or just stab behind someone's back - the decision is yours and yours only! A good person know how to face difficulties and hence his difficulties don't last long. On the contrary the person who brings difficulties to others never stays happy.