There is a doctor who is a friend of mine. He is dedicated to his profession and is always engrossed in deep thoughts regarding diseases and medicines, He is keenly interested in the world of diseases and medicines and is fond of talking about it wherever he goes. One day he came to me and as he is accustomed to, he began to speak about infectious diseases. When he had stopped speaking, I said, “It’s not so with diseases alone but even thoughts are infectious. It has been observed that if a man harbours good thoughts, it gives rise to a sense of confidence in the other man’s heart and if he harbours evil thoughts, he is soon looked upon with suspicion.”

 

As the doctor was an expert in psychiatry, he could understand me well but some of his friends found it difficult to grasp what I saying. They showered a volley of questions upon me. One of the questions was, “How do the thoughts of one man affect the heart of another man?” I replied, “The atmosphere we live in is replete with the molecules of thought. They are said to affect even the remotest objects. They produce a quick and direct effect on the p e person concerned.” 

 

Once an old woman was going somewhere with a bundle of articles on her head. She was joined by a youth who had been walking close behind her. As both of them had to go to the same village, they were glad to be together. They had hardly gone a little further when the youth  said to the old woman, “Mother! let me share the burden of your bundle. You have been walking all along with it and I am sure you are tired.” The old woman thanked him and parted with her bundle gladly. After half an hour the old woman said to the youth-“Son! you must have been tired now. Let me have my bundle back.” The youth handed it over to her and thus they trudged along. After walking a mile or so the youth thought to himself, “There is a purse of money in the bundle. It had come to me and I had run away with it, what could the poor old woman have done?” He said to the old woman again, “Mother! bring the bundle here and give it to me.” “No son! I shall not give it to you now,” replied the old woman. “Mother, why do you not want to give it to me now?” he inquired. “Son, I have been advised against it by the very same thing that has prompted you to do it,” replied the woman.

 

The good or bad thoughts do not have their effect on man only but they also affect nature. There is an old story. Once a king roamed about the town incognito in order to acquaint himself with the actual state of affairs of his country. Wandering up and down the streets, he reached the fields. He felt thirsty. His eyes alighted on a yonder field of sugar-cane. He reached there. The wife of the farmer received him hospitably. The king expressed a desire to relish sugar-cane juice. The wife of the farmer took out a sugar-cane, crushed it and filling a glass with the fresh juice she gave it to the king. The king might have enjoyed cane juice many times in his life but never before did he find it so sweet and delicious as it was that day. The king thought to himself-oh, how sweet it is but the revenue on it is too nominal for its rich taste’. He made up his mind to double the revenue the following day. He said, “Mother, the juice of your sugar-cane is so sweet that instead of quenching my thirst added to its intensity. I one glass more”. The old would only like to have woman took another before but this sugar-cane was time it did not fill the glass. It could be filled to sugar cane and crushed it as one more used. The king was puzzled. He said, “Mother: the brim only after what has happened to the sugar-cane? A minute ago one sugar-cane filled the whole glass whereas it took two sugar-canes to fill it a minute later.” no

 

The old woman replied, “An evil thought has entered the mind of my king. Het contemplating the increase in the tax on it. He wants to double it. It is the result of the influente are of the evil thought over him.” The king was astounded. He repented of what he had thought. He thought to himself, “How hard working the poor peasants? I did not assess their labour properly. I was motivated by a wrong desire to fill my treasury. Why should I exploit their labour? I shall reduce the tax on sugar-cane to just half of what it is at present”. Thus the king determined to move a resolution to that effect in the royal council. He said to the woman, “Mother, excuse me for giving you trouble. My thirst has not been fully quenched. I want to have one glass more.” The old woman replied,”Drink as much as you want. Do not show unnecessary hesitation in it. The good crop of sugar-cane is not the result of our efforts alone but we owe a great deal to the good wishes of the travellers as well.” With these words the old woman took out a sugar-cane promptly and began crush it. The glass was full even before half of the sugar-cane was crushed.

 

The king exclaimed in great wonder, “Mother, what a miracle it is! This time just one half of the sugar-cane has filled the glass to the brim.” She replied, “Brother! there is not anything surprising in it. The thoughts of the king have been purified. Now he is thinking of reducing the tax to just half of what it is at present. The act of his good thought has transmitted good effect to the sugar-cane.

 

The king had gone out incognito many a time before, but he never learnt such a fine lesson as that of today. Now he was able to see clearly the reflection of his thoughts on the life of his people.