Bengali Sonnet Star: Michael Madhusudan Dutt

Michael Madhusudan Dutta was a popular 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in “Sagordari” on the bank of Kopotaksho River, a village in Keshobpur Upozila, Jessore District, Banglad…

Source: Bengali Sonnet Star: Michael Madhusudan Dutt

ADVICE TO A FRIEND — IMPATIENCE

    Impatience shunts one from patience or endurance which is slowly the keynote to success. Life is full of wants and sufferings; but being impatient who can get rid of them? Rather, a man of…

Source: ADVICE TO A FRIEND —  IMPATIENCE

ADVICE TO A FRIEND — IMPATIENCE

    Impatience shunts one from patience or endurance which is slowly the keynote to success. Life is full of wants and sufferings; but being impatient who can get rid of them? Rather, a man of…

Source: ADVICE TO A FRIEND —  IMPATIENCE

ADVICE TO A FRIEND — IMPATIENCE

 

  Impatience shunts one from patience or endurance which is slowly the keynote to success. Life is full of wants and sufferings; but being impatient who can get rid of them? Rather, a man of patience, sober and clam by nature meets his demands more rightly and quickly, or is able to tackle a difficult situation more efficiently than a man of impatient habits. Most of us are aware that behind every achievement there is a history of patience and perseverance.

Impatience generally excites the mind at the sight of some impending dangers, difficulty, loss, wants etc.  A wise and competent man faces those unpleasant situations calmly; because he is well aware that the presence of impatience in the mind would increase the calamity actually touches him.

Impatience also drives away the peace and charm of the mind and fills it with pain or sorrow or anger. Under it influence you jump to and fro, up and down, lose your mental equilibrium. Like anger, it drives a man towards breaking rather than making, destroying than creating, losing than gaining and above all annihilating instead of saving. You had better become familiar with the unpleasant effect of impatience from an instance just given below.

Once, I happened to be present in a public entertainment in which people of about two hundred strong took part from different places. They made themselves seated in several long rows, allowing appropriate space for the free movement of the entertainers. Before the entertainment commenced, they went on cutting jokes with each other; some were engaged in loose and careless talks, while few others were requesting the designate entertainers in a low voice, to have on them special care at the time of feeding. The time approached, the meals were duly served to each of them and they were requested to ‘start’ with their meals. Instantaneously, they started like the race horses, at the sound of the warning bell and each swiftly increased his speed to finish his job earlier than others. Then from all directions, they immediately started shouting at the top of their voice, “give me more…………” They  became so much impatient for the additional supply of meals that their collective cries— though heard from miles away, yet conveyed no sense on the spot. Each began to shout louder than the other and even the beatings of drums would sink in it. Apparently the place took such a dreadful scene with the terrible noise,— that people without any previous knowledge of the affair would not be unjustified in drawing a conclusion that it was violently in the grief of some un-natural calamity.

 

The entertainers, the volunteers and other managing agents got confused with the perpetual unrest of the guests; found no solution— whom to give, where to give and what item to give! Because, even the guests with sufficient quantity of meals still in their plates, also joined the rest in shouting with the same demand. The entertainers stood amazed with their supplying cans full of varieties of food-stuff in hand, since they were unable to judge the locality of genuine demand due to excessive noise. Some guests being unable to tolerate the delay of supply any more, remained half stood to draw the immediate attention of the entertainers. An entertainer standing with a hot bowl of meat was overwhelmed with the restless atmosphere of the surroundings and lost his balance. Being unable to judge the deficit area, he in arrange, turned down the bowl on the head of a nearby guest with the remark, “Here is the supply.” The effect of such a hot thing you can yourself think of. In a word, the recipient became more restless than a fish out of water. He was sent to a nearby hospital for treatment. The entertainment came to a close and the intolerable noise which had so long been piercing the heavens and earth came to a dead stop. The huge quantity of prepared food-stuff was thrown away uneaten.

ADVICE TO A FRIEND —-TEMPTATION

There are certainunruly feelings in of which temptation is the strongest one. It always tries to lead a man towards selfishness. When grown unmanageable it drags one’s mind from the original seat o…

Source: ADVICE TO A FRIEND —-TEMPTATION

ADVICE TO A FRIEND —-TEMPTATION

There are certainunruly feelings in of which temptation is the strongest one. It always tries to lead a man towards selfishness. When grown unmanageable it drags one’s mind from the original seat o…

Source: ADVICE TO A FRIEND —-TEMPTATION

ADVICE TO A FRIEND —-TEMPTATION

There are certainunruly feelings in of which temptation is the strongest one. It always tries to lead a man towards selfishness. When grown unmanageable it drags one’s mind from the original seat of virtue and leads one to move in wilderness —– in the region of false, illegal or uncertain hopes. Temptation in a mind acts like a piece of iron near some powerful magnet. It aims and jumps on an object from which it cannot free itself.

Temptation alone is sufficient to destroy the moral excellence of man. It misleads an individual or a nation by making the individual or the nation mad to process the belongings of others. It is also responsible for many a catastrophe, devastation, blood-shed, disaster, humiliation and danger which at times claim a heavy tool of human life and property. It also threatens the very existence of many other species — essential for maintaining nature’s balance.

In this world of good and evil, virtue and vice, greed and avarice there must be temptation; but one should not yield to it. Moreover, how can a man develop the strength of his character if he is not confronted with temptation? Man is composed of animality and rationality but he cannot root out the one for the improvement of the other. In his physical side he is equipped with hard, soft and delicate organs while the varieties of feelings such as the fierceness of a tiger, meekness of a lamb, neatness of cat, dirtiness of a pig, cleverness of a fox, foolishness of a turtle etc., wonderfully associate in him. The passions, impulses and emotions are given to him definitely for fulfilling some useful purpose provided those are allowed to work within a desirable limit. But the total killing of passions would seriously affect his growth and progress. For instance, we cannot improve our mental faculty by denying our physical side. And how can there be rationality in absence of animality? We know that fruit is the final outcome of a seed; but the fruit cannot grow without the flower and flower cannot come without the leaves and so on. Similarly, the growth of spirituality is based on morality and morality arises from passion. Do we not find that vanity gives rise to humility, hatred to love, jealousy to sympathy and enmity to friendship only when those are kept under proper control? Therefore, a man should keep a balance of his passions in order to get a good result.

The controlling of a passion increases the strength of mind. As soon as temptation vibrates the mind, it should be arrested and sent back to its prison hole so that the mind is not tossed with the waves of uneasiness. This power can be acquired by gradual steps. As for example, if you find some valuables lying on the road, never be tempted to have them. Because, those are decidedly the product of some body’s tear and toil. You will do well if you can put them under the care of some competent authority for their proper disposal. But you need not keep them and run after the owner by wasting a sufficient length of time.

On the other hand, if this feeling is allowed to play without any restriction and thus secures for itself an upper hand, it will make one not only low in the estimation of others but will lead one to misery and destruction. This fact may be well understood from the following instances mentioned below.

1. A man withtemptation was once travelling in a railway train. He was sitting in a compartment amidst the uncompromising passengers; — some of whom were enjoying a reward of lying at full length while others were paying a heavy penalty by keeping themselves standing. This particular man was rather neutral, sitting between the two extreme situations. During its journey, the train was stopping at some station to pick up new passengers and also for dropping the intending ones. This man noticed that a passenger boarded their compartment, at some intermediate station, with a new steel trunk of remarkable size, but left the train in the next station without taking back his trunk which was kept on the bunk of the carriage. The train was running on and on. People opened their trunks and suitcases to have their useful things, but this man was occupied with the thought of taking possession of the deserted trunk. He was tempted to make a good fortune out of the contents of the trunk.

At last, the trainreached a border station where some police-men boarded the compartments for checking the suspected packages. During their checking period, the man was fully absorbed in himself with deep thought, and the subject matter of his thought was, when he would find himself as the owner of the trunk — without the possession of which there would come no rest nor respite to his heart. The police-men after censoring some packages , touched the steel trunk and said in a strong voice, “Whom does this belong?” This question startled the man as he was not ready for the answer. Still; his voice automatically came out to meet the question, “Yes, that’s mine.”

Police-men, “Please open it and show us its contents.” The man replied in a feeble voice, “Sorry, the key has been lost a short time ago.”

Such unexpected reply aroused suspicion in their mind and they compelled him to follow them along with the trunk to their H.QS. When the trunk was opened in presence of some high ranking personnel’s, a horrible sight presented itself, — the dead-body of a man sliced into several pieces were kept in it. This unexpected and awful sight attacked the man with violent fear, and he rained abundant tears which could not save him from tasting the bitter fruit of punishment, as prescribe by law.

2. One there was an animal with half a dozen mouths, each for securing food from different directions, but the stomach was only one at the centre. One pleasant afternoon, when he was wondering in quest of food, a particular mouth—the first one chanced upon a sweet fruit. “Oh, how fine and delicious it is!” said he to the remaining ones while chewing it and continued, “Never was my tongue contacted with such a sweet thing which beggars all description.”

On his such utterance, the other four mouths congratulated him for his gain; as member of the same family ought to do. But the last one, out of the sway of strong temptation, begged hard for a share of it from the first one thus, “Give me a little bit of it to taste;– my friend.” The first one smiled and said, “We are too many to share this little thing. Though we look different but are we not all same? What will be our special gain if we taste it separately when the stomach is common? He again repeated his request but when he could not prevail upon the first mouth to comply with his request, he considered himself neglected as well as insulted and said, “Alright, I will teach you a good lesson in time.”

One day, accidentally, the last mouth came across a deadly poisonous fruit, took it close to his mouth and declared his intention of swallowing it, in order to gratify his vengeance against the first mouth. On the strength of this powerful thing, he straightway threatened this rival thus, “Now suffer for your refusal, idiot; I wish I had pull your tongue out which had alone enjoyed that sweet fruit. I must kill you at, “Once by having this fruit.”

 

His such terrible utterance greatly alarmed the remaining mouths who persuaded him to excuse his rival for the safety of them all. But their joint appeal produced no effect; because his sense of revenge was more than his sense of forgiveness and he wanted to recover his lost prestige by the most vigorous measure of revenge. Thus he turned a deaf ear to their entreaties and put the fruit down to his throat. As a result, instantaneous death put an end to their unhappy career and the animal became a tale of old.

ADVICE TO A FRIEND — DISHONESTY

Chapter – ll

Dishonesty

Dishonesty is antithesis of honesty. It makes a man to think and do a work which is opposite to all sorts of moral and natural laws. As honesty opens the door for bringing nobler qualities, dishonesty shuts the door from them. Dishonesty corrupts the purity of the mind and helps the growth of vice, such as faithlessness, backbiting, cheating, hypocrisy and the likes. It casts around it a sense of suspicion and distrust.

Dishonesty arises from a sense of making oneself gainer at the cost of others. Whatever a man gains by this means is really by causing loss to others. So it is closely linked up with selfishness. The influence of dishonesty upon men and especially upon men of weak character is more than that of honesty. For man is by nature a follower of imitation and he picks up vice more quickly than virtue; because, vice is acquired mainly for feeding the low desire of instinct. But the attainment of virtue calls for a great deal of pain, effort, sacrifice and knowledge. Dishonesty however kept concealed, is sure to expose itself in the long run. And how? Well, that will be seen when you will turn over the next few pages.

Once upon a time, a rich man had a big garden in the centre of which was a small but beautiful bungalow at the outskirt of a town. Nature seemed to have lavishly bestowed her gifts on that garden. Words fail to express how many varieties of plants, some with names and some without names, bearing fruits and flowers were beautifying the garden. A grassy loan in front of the bungalow not only added beauty to the garden but offered a place of recreation too, both to visitors and the inmates of the bungalow. Tall coconut trees, heavily laden with fruits were standing round the garden in an unbroken circle, and offered scenery magnificently charming. The whole garden was surrounded by a high wall of bricks and served as a strong fence, against the excess of undesirable elements.

The owner of the garden, one day, left for a distant hilly place for a change and left the entire charge of the garden on his nephew. Just before his departure, he instructed his nephew to have special care on the coconuts, as he was very fond of them. But he permitted him to use other fruits according to his needs.

The owner’s nephew was a clerk by profession and was confined to a routine of home to office, office to home. He felt unusually lonely and uncomfortable to see himself alone in that big garden. So he intended to engage a servant mainly to remove the deficiency of his companionship and secondly to get some assistance from him in his domestic work. After a long search he succeeded in getting a servant who was practically a mach for three servants in so far as the taking of food-stuff was concerned. The servant was engaged at the offer of a handsome wages. He attracted the mind of his master by words of honesty and flatteries. He also seized the opportunity of requesting his master to learn gymnastics from him of which he (servant) claimed to have been a champion. His master being a young and ambitious man readily agreed to his proposal and started to amuse themselves in regular exercise. The servant acquired the confidence of his master in no time on account of his words of honesty. The master used to remain absent from the garden during his office hours and so the entire charge of the garden would naturally remain with the servant.

The servant was quite matured in the art of hypocrisy and dishonesty. He was tormented with the thought of making some additional income out of the fruits garden. His violent inclination for selling coconuts led him to contact a party of businessman, whose dishonesty was not less than his own. So it was arranged that the party would receive one dozen coconuts every day, at a poor rate, at 4 P.M., just one hour before the usual time of arrival of the master. It was also agreed that the party would delivery of the fruits waiting outside the enclosure of the garden, and the payment would be made in cash on the spot, — the servant would receive the money by running his hand through the narrow holes of the brick wall. Fruits of other varieties, when ready for use, would also occasionally slip away the garden through the same channel in exchange of some additional coins. Such illicit business was going on without the knowledge of the master for a pretty long time.

One day, the master felt that the bunches of coconuts were diminishing in size, as if some coconuts were being missed. He asked the servant, “why the bunches of coconuts look reduce?”

The servant said in reply, “how can they be reduced, Sir? Not to speak of thieves, I do not allow even a goat to approach the border of your garden.” He continued, “Possibly some strong winds in the last mid-night might have dislocated the lives of the tall trees and so there might be some changes in their appearance. I can assure you that you need not throw any doubt in your mind so long as this humble self is here.”

After a couple of months, the master again asked the servant, “The coconuts seem to be decreasing day by day. Isn’t it?” The servant burst into tears and replied sadly, “Sir, if you have no faith in the honesty of my words, you had better discharge me at once. I do not like to continue in a place where I cannot win the trust of my master. It shames me much to hear such words of suspicion.” The master felt sorry for that his own question and assured him that he did not mean it seriously. He then turned the course of his talks on other subject.

One day, the master came back from office much earlier than usual with his few office friends. His friends came to the garden for enjoying a picnic and brought with them several fresh wild birds procured in their hunting. They all engaged themselves in cooking their meals with their own hands and were calling the servant every now and then to attend them. The cooking spot took a cheerful appearance especially with the delicious smell produced by the rich dishes. When everyone was fully engaged in the kitchen, a clock in the distant tower struck ‘four’ and the servant received the sound like four blows in his heart. He became too much restless and thought, “The promised hour is at hand and it cannot be kept pending. The party might be shouting and everything would be spoiled in a moment. Somehow or anyhow the promise must be fulfilled.”

Being occupied with this thought, he silently slipped away from the gathering in an unguarded moment. In no time he reached the remotest part of the garden and began to climb a coconut tree with great speed. No sooner had he reached the top of the tree than an unfavorable incident took place, — a police constable reached the spot at the sight of a cluster of people, looking suspect fully towards the top of the tree. As soon as he(police-man) reached the spot than the party took to their heels to the place of their safety. He suspected on the situation and crossed the wall of the garden with the help of his club. The servant became pale, uneasy, alarmed and almost lost himself when he found the police-man approaching the very tree he was climbing. He silently prayed to God for his deliverance from the impending danger and went on thinking how to escape from such a lofty tree. The police-man took his stand at the foot of the tree, like a cat for a mouse and asked, “Who is the owner of this tree? Should I shout for him?” The servant thought that his delay on the tree would further endanger his safety. So, he wanted to come down the tree without farther loss of time. He caught round the top of the tree by crossing the fingers of his both hands and released himself. Down he came without delay, but completely with the loss of skin on his breast and fell down just on the head of the standing police-man. The police-man was so severely wounded that he became instantaneously senseless. The servant hurriedly covered the upper part of his body with his shirt which he had kept at the foot of the tree before climbing it.

He then started shouting, “Thief, Thief ………” His master and the guests rushed to the spot as fast as their legs could carry them. They hurriedly asked the servant, “What is the matter?” The servant pointed out his finger towards the senseless man and said, “Sir, he is a thief who attempted to steal our coconuts and I have given him a strong slap on his cheek, by which he has fallen down senseless.”

Master, “But his uniform suggest him to be a police-man. How do you call him a thief?”

Servant, “Now-a-days some thieves are out in the guise of police-men.”

After a while, the police-man recovered his sense slowly stood up and was about to speak something. But before he could open his lips, the servant jumped upon him furiously like a beast of prey, caught him by the neck with his left hand and went on slapping him with the other without any mercy.

Master, “No use of beating him so much; let us hand him over to the P.S.”

Servant, “All police-men might take his side. What good will it bring in our doing so?

Master, “Otherwise how will you dispose of the case?”

Servant, “Instead of lingering the case and unnecessarily depending on others we can make an end of it ourselves just now.”

Master, “How, And under what rule?”

Servant, “ By applying our local rule.”

Saying this he did not wait to be further interrogated, but went on beating the police-man as much as he could and drove him beating out of the main gate.

The master and the guests took delight at the cleverness of the servant, especially for his keeping strict watch on every secluded part of the garden, even at the busiest hours of his duty. They offered him delicious food and compelled him to it to his heart’s content by minimizing their own shares. At the time of departure, the guests said to their friend, “Thank God, you have lucky to have such a servant who is really a strange composition of rare qualities. Soon he may become a wonder of his age.”

At the time of exercise in the next morning, the servant did not take part in it, putting excuse that he was unwell. One the second day also he was absent from it on the same ground. One the third day he wrapped himself with a sheet and was sitting in the lawn, when his master asked him to join him in the amusement. But as soon as the servant expressed his inability to do so, his master remarked, “You are consuming about quarter dozen persons’ food-stuff daily and if you remain idle, you will become more sick.” Saying this, he took away the cloth which wrapped the body of the servant at a lightning speed but only to discover his breast being stripped of skin. He asked in astonishment, “Where is the skin of your breast? Who has snatched it away?” The servant remains silent. He again asked, “Had you fall from the tree?” The servant was still silent, as if he was dumb and heard of hearing. Being fed with suspicion at such unexpected silence, the master threatened him at a thundering voice thus, “The servant had to narrate the whole story with which he was entangled. His master drove him out of the garden in the same manner as he (servant) had driven the innocent police-man. The master had to refrain from taking exercise on that morning, as his bodily exertion was already too much while beating his dishonest servant.

(Written by S.A Rouf)

ADVICE TO A FRIEND — THE RIGHT USE OF MONEY

Chapter – ll

Money has often been condemned as an evil by various people of every country and every age. Such advice may be applicable and followed only by those who can live and isolated life, being totally detached from a society. But this advice is quite impracticable for men living in a society and having various transactions with one another. So close it the connection of man with money that it may be called as a part of his limb, –limb of that type the necessity of which is constantly felt.

Actually money by itself is not necessarily an evil thing which is often spoken to be; its goodness or badness depends on the use we make of it. Money confers a great blessing in the right hand while its wrong use brings suffering, anguish, fear and implements which themselves are neither good nor bad; but are, what they are made of by the people who use them. Hence, one should learn to use it in a right direction from an early age.

The aim of every earning is to get benefit, pleasure, happiness and comfort and so should be the aim of spending. A large number of people make some earnings in various ways; but how only few can invest them in the right and better cause! Life is a field of continuous struggle against pain, suffering, disease and death; and money if rightly spent, is the most competent weapon to fight against these enemies.

The art of spending is by far more difficult than that of earning. People rather get some vocational training for earning; but do seldom receive and systematic course of training in spending. As a result, the art of spending is sadly lacking with our people. So, the earning people can broadly be divided into two classes; — miser and extravagant. The general deficiency in the art of spending plus a sense of horridness in every walk of our modern life, further deteriorate our power of sound judgment while spending. We like to have short cuts in our life; we like to say early, do early, begin early, end early and also spend early. We altogether forget that rash or thoughtless expenditure brings tear, misery and repentance while cool or calculated one yields benefit and prolonged satisfaction.

As health is the root of all success, anything spent for the preservation of our health is rightly spent. Expenditure incurred on good food, clean clothes and sanitary dwelling houses is legitimate. So also money spent in keeping the mind healthy and enlightened is justly spent. Good books, libraries, laboratories, debating societies, places of rest and recreation etc., are all necessary for the development of healthy mind and expenditure thus incurred is spent for right cause. In a word, when money is spent in extending the bounds of human knowledge, in bringing joy and peace in human hearts, in driving away of darkness of ignorance and superstition, in achieving freedom, removing pain, misery, poverty and danger is rightly spent. In short, every expenditure should be imbued with a good sense of producing useful results.

But unfortunately, some people hoard money and go to the length of disregarding their own genuine needs. They inflict cruelty on their incomes by casting them in imprisonment and stopping their movement. Accumulated wealth is no better than piles of unused books – the mere stock of which has no helping power. The idea of hoarding arises in the mind for fear of future loss or insecurity. But the man who hoards and hoards, ultimately forgets the purpose for which he is hoarding. Hoarding has not the power to impart comfort or security but can only produce either a miser or a reckless vagabond. The Holy Quran forbids hoarding in the strongest term, “Accursed are those who accumulate wealth and count it.” Therefore, within the boundary of your income keep only such amount which is consistent with your needs for rainy days, and spend something to meet your genuine needs and thereafter give something to the poor, men in distress and invest something for the social and national welfare. Rock fellow has rightly said, “Earn as much as you can, keep as much as you can, give as much as you can.”

On the other hand, extravagance arises out of indulgence of some bad habits. A man addicted to drinking, racing, involved in some other gambling’s or accustomed to some luxurious hobbies can hardly keep his balance and spends more than he earns. Some rich men often forget the nobler aim of life and squander their money as they please on luxury and pleasure even of low desire. But the world is grateful to the money of the few noble hearted rich men who have spend their money in establishing hospitals, educational institutions, almshouses, roads and places of rest and recreation. Such persons are the blessings to mankind and improve the destiny of the country they belong. In fact, each man who stands above the common level has a greater responsibility to discharge than an ordinary citizen. As the duty of an efficient doctor is expected to look after the health of the people, of scholars and wise men to enlighten and educate the people, of a patriot to liberate his people from bondage, so it is the duty of a rich man to help the poor and the needy so that they might not beg or steal. Let me cite here two instances, by way of illustration – one of an extravagant rich man and the other of a hoarder (miser), so that their nature may be more convincing to you.

1. Recently, I happened to see an extravagant rich man whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, came to see a factory of which he was the owner. He was followed by the following types of attendants to cope with his various wants during his short tour. (i) A servant was carrying a golden pot containing several dozen of betel leaves impregnated with various kinds of scented spices. (ii) A second man was constantly moving a hand fan while his master was sitting, standing or walking. (iii) The third man was following him with a coat hanger containing his various dresses which he might like to put on at any moment. (iv)The forth man was readily available to put the dress on his person. (v)The fifth man was carrying his numerous foot wears. (vi)The sixth man was moving very close to him with a fine mirror pointed towards his eyes. (vii)The seventh man was with tobacco mixtures and some packets of leaves. (viii)The eighth man was carrying some bunches of sweet-scented flowers close to his nose. (ix)The ninth man who accidentally lagged behind ran breathlessly with a chair for him to sit on. Besides the persons mentioned above, a man of superior rank was closely attending him to receive his orders and to convey them to the proper attendance for their quick execution. In short, it is no exaggeration to say that a small market was moving with him from place to place for gratifying his needs immediately.
2. One day, a friend of mine whose name I need not mention, ask me to lend him some money for meeting on of his urgent needs. Unfortunately, I had no money ready at hand to meet his request on the spot and so I requested to him to wait for a day more. On the next day, I had withdrawn the requisite amount from the bank and gave it to him. While receiving the amount he become pleased and said, “Thanks’ for your help, I have sufficient money at my credit in the bank, but it is not my principal to disturb my account under any circumstance and so I had to borrow it from you for paying my insurance premium.” I silently thought what help can such people render to the society or country they live in?

 

                               (Written by S.A Rouf)

ADVICE TO A FRIEND — RIGHT USE OF TIME

Chapter – ll

The right use of time is more important than the right use of money; for time is more precious than money. If anything is passing swiftest in this world it is time and that is why it is said, ”One cannot take a second plunge in the same river.” Like a rapid river time passes on, – this is the law of nature and no one can alter or amend the law of nature.

The vast field of work is lying before us and time come to our doors inviting everyone to seize itself to perform his duties. The wise and the active men arrest it and put it to their service and reap a rich harvest, while the foolish and idle people set it free without acquiring any gain out of it. Though life is short, but is enough for an active one. A study of the lives of great men reveals that unnecessarily long lives are not essential for the attainment of eminence. Their achievements and success were not the outcome of long lives but of their right use of time.

The more we work the more we gain; – this is the law of nature. Work done by any hand will produce some result. A bad man plants a seed and enjoys the fruits of the tree, but a good man who does not do so cannot claim any tree or a fruit. A man in work finds enjoyment, gains, experience and with the progress of work his pleasure or satisfaction increases. But the time of an idle man slips away in idle and unproductive pursuits and throws him to repent in the long run.

In every walk in life, you are to make good use of time. Even while you walk on a road and specially through a busy road of a town, don’t stop for nothing, as the people behind you will get obstruction and will lose their precious time. This will also cause inconvenience and confusion in the movement of others. It is noticed that if any accident occurs in a town where there are different problems, the people without any skill or who are not at all concerned with the situation, madly run to the place or occurrence only to have a close view of the situation. The other people from far and near give up their work in hand with a view to gathering information and instantaneously they encircle the place by making a strong fence like a well-guarded fort of olden days. The appropriate authorities on reaching the spot waste the greater portion of their time and energy in clearing the fence. Is not such a habit on the part of the unconcerned people an act of putting obstructions in the swift handling of the situation? The persons, who rush to the place only for information, need not give up their work; but may patiently wait for some time more as the news itself will reach them through newspaper, radio or other channels.     

People are also seen to spend their precious time in seeing trifling things such as magic, monkey jumps, bear dance or bull fight etc. They forget that they throng the crowd at the risk of their purse and even life in seeing displays which are mainly full of tricks. On the other hand, they can get abundant pleasure and amusement, knowledge and wisdom, peace and comfort if they observe the wonders and displays of nature are true, durable and instructive while that of artificial ones are false and temporary. The study of nature – a minute study compels to lift her veils and the more one observes, the more one is amazed at the truth, beauty and knowledge contained therein.

The more we advance in age, the more we come close to death. Let us acknowledge with the poet –

                       “The wing of life keeps oozing drop by drop,

                         The leaves of life keep falling one by one.”

So, we should not indulge in idleness or in trifling things at the cost of our time, but should accomplish that for which we were sent to this world. When you are awoken from sleep, don’t lie down on bed for the sake of idleness. If I lie down one hour more than you every day (due to laziness), it will be seen at the end of our lives that you have surpassed me far away, either in walking or in reading and thus with an enormous gain on your side.

There are men who fully knowing the value of time still indulge themselves in misusing it in fleeting enjoyment. Once, I found such a group of persons who took part in playing flush. They started their game at above 4 P.M in one pleasant afternoon. The shadow of night became thicker and thicker and they went deeper and deeper in their game. Their servants waited long with their supper but finding no chance of their immediately stopping the game, placed their meals in front of them and went to bed. In the next morning the servant came, but to their astonishment found that their masters were utterly lost in the games, where their meals were lying untouched as before. The uneaten meals were served in the next noon. But still finding them quite reluctant to leave their positions, the servant approached them out of the pity and began to put the meals in the mouths of their masters with spoons. They open their mouths to receive the morsels of food, but their hands, eyes and mind were centered in their respective cards in hand. The servants almost forced some quantity of food in their mouths, just as a mother forcibly compels her infant to swallow some unpalatable medicines during its ailment. One should understand that such unfortunate people not only run after some time-wasting pursuits and bring their own happiness to bankruptcy but decidedly encourage the growth of idlers and worthless fellows in the society by making them forget their own good.

                               (Written by S.A Rouf)