The story goes saying that once a beggar came along to a man who was waiting for a taxi. The man ignored him, but the beggar kept on pestering him. At last he told the beggar, “If you tell me what you want to do with the money, I will certainly help you.”“I would have bought a cup of tea,” replied the beggar. The man said, “No man. I can offer you a cigarette instead of tea.”“I don't smoke as it is injurious to health.”'The man took a bottle of whiskey with a smile and from his pocket and told the beggar, “Here, take this bottle and enjoy the day.” “Alcohol muddles the brain and damages the liver.” The man smiled again and told the beggar, “I am going to the race course. Come with me and I will arrange for some tickets and we will place bets. If we win, you take the whole amount and leave me alone.” As before, the beggar politely refused the latest offer also by saying, “Sorry sir, betting on horses is a bad habit.” Suddenly the man felt relieved!! He asked the beggar to come to his home with him. Finally, the beggar's face lit up in anticipation of receiving at least something from the man. But he still had his doubts and asked the man, “Why do you want me to go to your house with you.” The man replied,“ I always wanted to show my wife, how a man with no bad habits looks like!”
Discourses, religious rituals/codes, moral classes, exemplary teachers, enough of Scriptures, all are there around us…all meaning to help us lead a disciplined life of values. But most of us find pleasure in presenting funny examples like this, just to prove how futile it is to be totally disciplined to values. Discipline brings order to everything in life, while observance of values in life rewards us with peace and happiness every moment. Discipline, as many considers it to be, is not total submission to rules or codes; instead, disciplining is taking more and more control over once on self. Discipline is very relevant when it come to the matter of social regeneration of any kind. A society of undisciplined members is more or less like an orchestra, where each one plays his choice tunes at a time while a disciplined man is like a woodcutter who cares to sharpen his axe frequently. He cuts the tree much faster, for sure. Success might continue to be a mirage in our life, unless the focus is not on discipline and values.
