The Best Policy

As they say: "Don't judge a book by its cover" .Please don't be mistaken that I am a snake oil salesman trying to sell you an insurance policy.Let the salesmen fraternity not be offended.I am writing about the best policy in life(and not life insurance).No prizes for guessing."Honesty is the best policy" the quote that you often see in children's story books in the moral of the story column after the story 'The Honest Woodcutter'

The first story  I am going to share with you is about honesty(No please don’t grump .This is not about the woodcutter who lost his axe).It is  a rather mundane one and is based on real life incidents which, in a way, transformed the life of the person who went through the incident . I hope you too find it inspiring.

This is the story of Vibhu. This Incident helped him to understand the meaning of honesty and the inexplicable  joy that one derives from an act of honesty which blossoms right from the heart(Not the heart they teach in the circulatory system ,which I could never understand).Today he is a successful working professional and a man who abides by simple ethics of life. He considers his father as his hero and his guide in the tough journey called ‘life’.

 Vibhu had a modest upbringing. His father was a Government employee. His earning was sufficient to satisfy the basic needs of his family. He was highly regarded among his colleagues as a man of principles. In his workplace(which was notoriously famous for being one of the most corrupt government departments),he never compromised with his principles. He was like a lotus in the marsh.He was a humble man who believed in the age old principle of “simple living and high thinking.”

It was the last week of march. In Northern part of India, sun had already started to shine brightly in the plains and the knocks of the sultry summers was audible as the spring was  gradually  transmuting into summers. Ten days back, The results of the final in home examinations of the school  were announced and  Vibhu had secured third rank in his class. He was happy but at the same time, he felt disappointed for having missed the second spot by 3 and first rank by 8 marks. The sixth grade student vowed to secure the first position in the next class.( we all do that!! J )

With the report card, the academic calendar for the upcoming session was also handed over to the parents. The school had set up the book  purchase stall within the premises for the convenience of the students for a duration of three days, starting April 1^st. The bookseller had a monopoly in the city as far as the business of school books was concerned. He was the official bookseller of almost every school in the town and so he charged very high prices. The books were sold at M.R.P.s with no discount and the notebooks with the school logo were priced more than double the price of similar notebooks in the market. Since, the price of the notebooks was unreasonably high(wrongly),vibhu’s father decided to buy only books from the school stall and notebooks from the market. The books were available only  at the stall so they had to get them from school.

Vibhu went to his school to purchase new books for the upcoming session with his father. As they had decided, they went to the counter and asked for a set of “only textbooks for class 7”.His father paid the amount and handed over the receipt to the person who was delivering the packed ‘sets’. He handed  over a big packet to his father and  the transaction was over. They started moving towards the gate. Father was holding the packet and Vibhu was supporting it from bottom.

As  they were moving out of the school, Vibhu felt a sudden rush of joy. He realized that the packet was heavier than what it should have actually been. It took him no time to realize that the bookseller had mistakenly handed them a set of books as well as notebooks. The small boy made some calculations in his mind and smiled thinking “A profit of Rs. 800.Wow!! “

He softly said” Papa,move fast.I think he has handed us the notebooks too by mistake”. On hearing this, his father’s face fell. He thought “This is not what I want my child to learn.”

He suddenly about turned and started moving towards the counter. Vibhu was surprised and didn’t understand what was going on. He said ”Papa!why are you going back ?”

Father didn’t reply and went straight to the counter and said “Mister, your delivery assistant has mistakenly handed us the notebooks along with books and we had paid only for a set of books. Please take the notebooks back”

Vibhu was enraged at this action of his father. He decided to stay quiet then and as they both moved out of the gate he couldn’t control his tears and started crying at this apparent loss. He scowled at his father and shouted” why did you do that? The bookseller is himself dishonest. What do you think you are doing? Trying to be the greatest of the great”. Vibhu was weeping uncontrollably and at the same time he was furiously yelling at his father. Father had a calm expression on his face. The subtle smile on his face could be noticed.

He took Vibhu to a nearby confectionary shop and bought him a Coca-Cola, Vibhu’s favourite soft drink. His tears stopped but the anger was still visible on his face. In a voice affected by the retreating tears he angrily said “What you have done cannot be compensated with this soft drink. I am not a small child”(children always think they are big enough to take on the world)

Now it was the father’s turn to speak. He said “ My dear child. It was wrong on our part to take the notebooks for which we have not paid. I have lived my life with honesty and I would not like my children going on the wrong path. Today you may think I am wrong but someday you will realize that I was right that day. At this moment you will think that I am talking about idealities and trying to be Yudhishthira, but it will take you some time to realize the importance of being truthful and honest. As far as the bookseller charging monopolistic rates is concerned, let us leave him to God and moreover,  if he is being dishonest, why should we come down to his level. If the other person does wrong, it doesn’t mean that we should also start to follow him. Somewhere in your heart, you know that you are doing wrong but you are trying to justify it by convincing yourself that if the bookseller is dishonest, there is nothing wrong in taking the notebooks(acting dishonestly).Isn’t it what you are trying to tell me?”

Vibhu nodded his head in the affirmative. He had agreed some of his father’s words but was still not convinced.

Father said” Then tell me, If you too act dishonestly, then what difference will remain between you and him?”

Vibhu had no answer.He had got his lesson. He sat silently with a calm expression and looked at the road outside. He saw a cyclist whistling and pedaling swiftly. In a minute the cyclist disappeared into the horizon.