March 1, 2023

Notes by Ambika Mishra

Review

Last class Sumaji told us a story about 2 ants who found cookies. To them, the cookies were huge, and would feed their families for months. The first ant took the cookie in bits and pisces, and slowly, through small chunks, managed to get the whole cookie. The second ant decided that they would take the whole cookie in one go, but in the end, it was simply too heavy for him and he gave up. This story represents our goals, and like the first ant, we should break up our goals and handle them in smaller pieces so they are easier to do. Shankarji also said how our goals should focus on letting go of desires, because if we do not let go of our desires right now, life will forcefully take them away from us anyway. Giving up the things we like -but don’t need- is a good way to actively grow. 

Story

This week Sumanji told us a story about an old man who loved to travel. One day he went to a small village to visit, and he went to the villagers houses and asks for a meal and.a place to stay for one night The villagers offer to give him a place to sleep, but one by one, all the villagers say there is no meal they would have to give, due to the bad harvest. This village was a village of farmers, and this year, they had a very small harvest. The man said not to worry, he can make food, and he can make it for the WHOLE village. He pulls out a small stone from an ornate silk pouch, and announces that he will make stone soup. He says that all he needs is a pot, water, and some fire. The villagers are doubtful at first, but eventually one of them gets a pot and some wood. The man puts a fire under the pot, and then drops the stone into the water. As the water is boiling, the man casually says “You know, cabbage with stone soup is amazing! With cabbage, stone soup becomes even more amazing!” Soon, a villager goes to his home and brings a cabbage, which is sliced up and put in the pot. Soon, the man again says how with salt, stone soup is fit for a king. Soon enough, another villager gets salt and puts it in the pot. This goes on until all of the villagers have contributed something to the soup. The baker brought bread, and many other villagers get vegetables from their house as well. Then, finally, the soup is ready. There’s A surplus of food, and the stone soup is delicious. All of the villagers eat everything they can and still there is leftover soup in the pot. After the villagers eat, the mayor of the village comes and offers lots of money for the stone. The man says that all the villagers have to do is work together and do this again, and the man would give them the stone for free, someday when he comes back. Later, a the man is leaving, he casually hands the silk pouch the stone came in to a kid playing outside, and says “It wasn’t the stone that created the food, it was the villagers”. 

Moral

This story shows the importance of teamwork. People are always claiming to be independent and completely self-sustaining, but the truth is people are always helping us, whether indirect or direct. We are always in. team, whether you believe it or not. If you want to eat a single carrot, the farmers who farmed it, the people who drove it, the cashiers. the people who built the store, and many more all contributed to you being able to get that carrot. This story shows two things. It shows the importance of teamwork, and how putting the goals of your team in front of yourself not only helps you achieve your team’s goals, but also your own, just like how all the villagers sacrificed their food for a common goal, and in the end both goals were achieved; The villagers got food to eat, and the stone soup was created. The second value it shows is the importance of good leadership. Leadership is the ability to motivate others dns capture their attention so that you can all work together to complete a goal, just like how the old wise man was able to bring the whole village together. 

RAW

Help your family every day in any way you can, to help improve the teamwork of your family.