26 - Affection More Effective Than Punishment

Once Bhai was standing in the school passage. A teacher was beating one boy with a scale. Bhai couldn’t tolerate this. He went to the teacher and asked him, ‘Why are you beating him?’ The teacher replied, ‘Sir, he is a very naughty boy.’ Bhai said, ‘Children are obviously mischievious. We should not beat them.’ The teacher said, ‘He is not an ordinary child. Every day he invents new forms of mischief. Every few days, he is beaten up by me. But he refuses to improve.’ Bhai looked at the boy. The boy asked, ‘Now would you also beat me up? Everybody beats me up first and then talks to me.' Bhai said, ‘I will not beat you up. Will you listen to me?’ The boy asked, ‘You will not beat me. I will listen to you then.'

Bhai asked, ‘Why do you come to school?’ The boy replied, ‘To study.’ Bhai explained, ‘Work while you work and play while you play. If you follow this principle you can do both the things efficiently.’ The boy confessed, ‘I cannot understand anything during class. Therefore, I find studies boring.’ Bhai explained, ‘You think about playing games while studying. You do not study attentively. Therefore, you do not follow. Do you invent new methods of mischieves?’ The boy replied, ‘Yes.’ Bhai said, ‘Do you have to think to find new ways? The way you use your brains to invent new ways of mischief, similarly, if you could use your brains to study, you can study very well. You must pay attention while your teacher is teaching. You should not think about anything else. If you will pay proper attention, you will understand the topic. And if you are not able to understand, you must ask your teacher.’ The boy inquired, ‘Then I will also get good marks like others?’ Bhai assured him, ‘Why not? If you will really work hard, then you will certainly get good marks. Your parents spend money to send you to school. How disappointed they would be if you will not get good marks? You will also not progress in life. If you study properly, you will be successful in life, isn’t it?’ The boy replied, ‘Sir, you have explained me so nicely without beating me up. I liked it very much. Nobody spoke to me lovingly like you. Everyone used to beat me up saying naughty. Sir, now I will pay full attention to studies.’

The boy went to his class. Bhai advised the teacher, ‘You should not beat the students like this. It would affect them adversely.’ The teacher argued. ‘Sir, he is very mischievious. He has been beaten up so many times, but there is no improvement.' Bhai said, ‘So, you agree that he has been beaten up many times. That means students do not improve their ways by beating them up. They should be convinced affectionately. They are like tender plants. They can be moulded either way. On frequent beating, they become stubborn. Then they do more mischieves. They could adopt wrong course of action. Punishment is not the solution of a problem. We must try to find out their difficulties and problems and then if we explain them lovingly, they would certainly understand.’ The teacher said, ‘Sir, today you have corrected my mistake. I am grateful to you. Now, I will not beat up children. I will try to explain them lovingly.'

Difficult words:
To invent - To think up
Efficiently - Effectively
Disappointed - To give up hopes
To mould - To shape up

Points to ponder:
- Bhai teaches us that we must study attentively while studying and we must play during the break time.
- Affection and explanation, these two are the most powerful tools to remove the drawbacks of a person.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:
1. Why was the teacher beating up a boy? With what was he beating?
2. How did Bhai explain to the boy?
3. Which mistake did Bhai point out to the teacher?

Fill in the blanks:
1. Children are obviously _____________. We should not _____________ them.
2. I can not ___________ anything during class.
3. If you study properly, you will be ___________ in life.
4. On frequent beating, they become ________.
5. Today you have _____________ my mistake. I am grateful to you.

Complete the following sentences:
1. How disappointed they_________ successful in life.
2. They should be convinced _____________ they do more mischieves.
3. Today you have corrected _____________ them lovingly.