Once a priest was going somewhere with a lamb on his shoulders. On the way, he was noticed by a gang of four swindlers. They schemed to deprive him of his lamb. One of the four swindlers came to him and said. “Oh! Priest, you seem to be really very innocent. What has led you to carry a dog on your shoulders?” The Priest glanced at his lamb and took no notice of what the swindler had said. As he proceeded a little further, another swindler came to him and said, “Priest! whence have you bought this dog today?” The priest looked at his lamb again. He felt a little suspicious about it this time. He had hardly covered fifty yards when the third swindler crossed him and said, “Priest! are you on your way to sell this dog?” The priest had a close look at his lamb. His self- confidence had been badly shaken. He felt he was being deluded by his eyes. This created a doubt in his mind-May be that there is something wrong with my own eyes and that I am carrying a dog instead of a lamb on my shoulders.’ Thus in a state of staggered confidence, he moved further. The fourth swindler who came to him from the front side spoke to him in a very sarcastic tone, “Priest ! are you going to perform ‘puja’ with this dog on your shoulders?” The priest had lost his self-con- fidence by this time. He thought to himself, “When all the people say that it is a dog, how can it be a lamb then? He threw it off with a sense of repulsion and went ahead.

 

The priest lost his lamb but it was a trifling matter. But one who loses self-confidence loses everything.

 

Once a father and a son were going to a village in connection with some work. They were going on foot. They also had a horse which they were leading. They reached a marketplace. The people who observed them remarked, “Look! how foolish they are! They have a horse even then they are going on foot.”

 

The old father who had overheard it mounted the horse. But his son continued to trot along holding the reins. The people who met them on the way remarked, “Look! how cruel the old man is! He is enjoying a ride while his son, a small lad, is dragging himself along.”

 

The old man bowed to the wishes of the people. He dismounted from the horse and instead had the boy sit on it. They went a little further. This time the peope who saw them remarked, “Look, how strange it is! This boy who is stoutly built and has strength enough to walk is riding while his father, an old and tired man, is staggering along the road.” The old man thought, “If I also ride the horse along with my son, the people will have no occasion to grumble against us.” He also joined his son. But this arrangement was also of no avail. This time when the people saw them, said, “Look! how cruel these people are. They have burdened poor feeble horse with a heavy load of two persons.”

 

This remark perplexed the old man. He was in a fix as to what he should do next.

 

One who does not have confidence in himself is likely to face with such situations daily in one’s life. Such a person will find it difficult to move ahead with his business whether he is riding or walking.

 

There is an old story. A peasant was digging a mountain with the help of a spade. Vidhata (Brahma: the maker of one’s destiny) happened to pass that way. When he saw the peasant engaged in his work, he asked him about the purpose of the work he had undertaken.

 

“I want to remove this mountain from this place,” the peasant replied in a natural tone.

 

“Why do you want to remove it?” inquired the Vidhata.

 

Peasant- The rain bearing clouds which come from this direction collide with it and discharge most of their moisture here. This prevents them from reaching up to my farm. It is a snare and stumbling block in the path of the realisation of my agricultural objecti- ves. Hence I am determined to eliminate it.

 

Vidhata-It is a Herculean task. Will you be able to accomplish it?

 

Peasant-Yes, I will?

 

Vidhata-How will you do it?

             

In reply the peasant took the spade in his hand and commenced his work with utmost confidence, Then he said, “I will do it in this way,”

 

The mountain grew uneasy. It came to Vidhata for help and said, “Lord! Save my life,”

 

Vidhata-You are such a huge creature, Why are you so frightened? What harm can such a tiny creature cause to you?

 

Mountain- Lord! the man is small in stature but he has an indomitable power of self-confidence, Vidhata smiled its fears away.

 

After some years, he passed that way again, He noted that the mountain was getting smaller and smaller day by day. There were hundreds of bullock-carts which were being loaded with the pieces of the strong and smooth stone of the mountain.

 

Only such people receive cooperation from others as are imbued with a strong sense of confi- dence. An uncertain and irresolute state of mind leads one to ruin. A man having self-confidence overcomes all difficulties however great they may be. Hence it has been rightly said, “A man’s success depends upon the degree of self-confidence he possesses.”

 

 

1. What do the short stories illustrated in the chapter teach us?

 

2. Why is a man with an uncertain mind ruined? Elucidate it by giving examples.

 

3. How does a man who loses confidence lose every thing?