I’m reminded of a story that has relevance to our youth. A king was looking for a wise minister (apparently there were still some alive back then); Directed by his advisor, he gave the best three candidates a small sum of money and ordered them to fill their homes completely with anything they chose. The first young man thought long and hard and finally at wits’ end, arranged to have all the garbage he could have carted from the city limits and filled his home. The second, another young man thought equally hard and considering the amount was not a whole lot, ordered hay and mud to fill his home. The third, a young woman, sat back unperturbed and waited for the king to visit as promised. On approaching the first house, the king gagged in disgust; the house was overflowing with garbage and unapproachable. Scurrying to the next house, he saw the second man still stuffing it with rotting branches, sand oozing out the windows.
The king and the advisor then trudged to the woman’s home and were surprised to find her sitting outside, having made no effort to fill it with either rubbish or junk. The advisor smiled and told the king this was the minister he was looking for. When asked why, the woman humbly spoke up,” sir, I placed and lit candles all over the house. I could have filled it with incense or music too but I thought it wasteful; being completely filled with light more than satisfies your command, and here is the remainder of the money you gave me. “
Being children of Goa young students falling into the trap of filling their “houses” with garbage like drugs, alcohol and cigarette addictions is commonplace, sinfully bordering on acceptable nowadays. The ones who spent the money on hay and sand are those who fall prey to branding ploys, spending absurd amounts on clothing fads and fast foods.
The girl who filled her home with light are the few that wisdom inspires to gravitate to steadfast sobriety, piety, dedication. The incense, that was deemed spurious here is respect for elders, teachers and the poor that brings a lifetime of blessing and longevity. The music implied here is fraternity among peers, partaking in every extracurricular activity on offer and fine tuning reservoirs of personal talents that each child in born with.
