Teaching Stories by Jamuna Rangachari

Soft cover

ISBN 978-81-216-1326-2 194 pages Publisher: Life Positive Publications

About the author

Jamuna Rangachari is the assistant editor of Life Positve magazine, India's premier body-mind-spirit magazine. She has authored two books for children. and has also been published in the Chicken Soup series.

About the Book

Teaching Stories - Small Stories, Big Truths, carry stories that have been selected and interpreted by Jamuna Rangachari.

With its different layers, a teaching story gives us new insights every time we read it.. and we begin to see the world, and even ourselves, differently.

At its heart a teaching story encapsulates the wisdom and truth of life and transmits it to the reader in the most pleasurable, palatable way. After all, spirituality itself is conveyed by stories, that are words that go beyond words to speak the language of the heart.

This collection of timeless tales will offer you hours of entertainment, but more importantly, it may well change your perception of life.

The gurus and seekers who have contributed to this volume have sieved through many wisdom traditions, Sufi, Zen, Hindu, folklore and others to carefully pick and choose those that inspire and transform all those who read them, irrespective of age, gender, creed or race.
 

Comments

Swami Chidanada Saraswati, Spiritual Head, Parmarth Niketan

"Through the use of stories and parables people are able to grasp and internalise deep, profound messages for their lives. May these stories and messages teach, touch and transform all who read them."

Mark Tully, writer and author of No Full Stops in India

"These stories remind me of the wisdom of teaching through parables. They have so much to say to all of us, whatever our age."

Swami Agnivesh, activist and president, Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (World Council of Arya Samaj)

"The collection in the story book is marvellous and the short comment by Jamuna Rangachari after each story is fabulous."

Anouradha Bakshi, social activist, story-teller, and author of Dear Popples

"Storytelling was once the best form of entertainment for young and growing children. This collection brings the forgotten art to life again."

Deepa Kodikkal, author of Teachings of the Inner Light and A Journey within the Self

'To open the eyes of the intolerant, the impatient, the greedy and the arrogant, in a light humorous way, the deeper insight of these fables can be very powerfil."

Dr. (Mrs.) Y.G.Parthasarathy, Dean and Director, Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Group of Schools, Chennai

"Like sugar-coated pills, the well narrated tales in the book, such as the squirrel and Rama, Angulimala and the Buddha, the Mullah's snippers, and others, have deep messages on values, enabling us to inculcate them in children."

Peter Mukherjee, Chief Strategy Officer & Exec Chairman, INX Media

"Stories with an in-built learning message such as those in this book make fascinating reading for young and not-so-young alike."

Table of Contents:

Mind
The monk and the lady
The monkey mind
The crucial battle

Life
Who is right?
The best solution
The value of truth
As the millet ripened
Abstract truth
Moment in time
Death, the teacher
The cracked pot
Bondage of control
The eternal quiz
The scattered leaves
The natural order
The cat on the pillar
Death’s messenger
The caterpillar and the butterfly
Positive energy field
Uneasy neighbors
The discipleship of Sri Nag the Cobra
The fox without a tail
The fall of Croesus
The imperfect king

Wisdom
Does God exist?
Nature’s wisdom
The tiger-makers
Blossom into Godhood
Where do I find the holy man?
After death, what?
The inn
Svetaketu
Just chess?
The giant, roped
The yogic goddess
The prisoner in the dark cave

Attitude
The mantra to happiness
The message of peace
Good luck, bad luck, who knows
The cycle of fear
When plague strikes
The battered fence
The bricklayers
The pretentious merchant
The golden pegs
The diamond
Spiritual exchange
Free for ever
The monk and the samurai
The long ladle
Rama setu
Zen and the prime minister
Just two words
The masterpiece
The distinctive duel
The statue that sculpted the subject
The saint and the scorpion
Stop!
The fruit of one’s actions

Who am I
Looking for the key
The tiger within

Learning
The learning curve
Filling a cup that is full
Two rabbits
The leaking basket
The first lesson

Oneness
Many saints
The funeral of the Jew
Beyond forgiveness
Dousing the fires