Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 156
! ! 156 would have kept one for himself. Continuing in this same chain of thought , he asked if four caps could be made. The t ailor again replied , “ Y es” which mad e him certain that the tailor wa s a cheat. H e then asked about six, to which t he tailor again replied, “Yes. ” This time , the customer was sure that he would not be able to make more than six , b ut out of curiosity , he asked if seven could be made ? The tailor once again gave the s ame answer, “Yes. ” He did not expect for any more to be made, but still h e asked , “Can you make eight?” T he tailor answered, “ Eight can be made. ” After this , he left to come back the following day. When he came back , he noticed eight very small caps laid out before him. Upon seeing the m , he asked the tailor, “W hat is this? ” The t ailor answered, “ Measure your fabric. You asked me to make eight caps from this fabric , so I made them. ” In this s ame way , parents believe tha t a teacher , who watch es over their children must gain something from it. Therefore, they stop assisting him. The incident narrated by Master Sahib shows that initially, both sides showed inconsistency, including Master Sahib a nd the parents. This work will not progress, un less both sides make the intention to consistently work together. Both parties s hould promise to persevere, come rain or storm, and stay on course. I have read several instances where in Europe, people who attend [sports] clubs , have been regularly going there for over twenty years. If Europeans can show such consistency in matters as trivial as sports and entertainment, why can we not show the same persistence in matters of our development and progress ? I will now discuss some key aspects of moral training. Children Should Speak in a Strong Voice Firstly, I am sorry to see that all the children who delivered their speeches here , spoke very softly. I have an aversion to weak voice s and find i t quite upsetting. In my opinion , it is every child’s bir thright that his parents encourage his voice to be loud, so he can make himself heard b y the maximum number of people. The child who speaks very softly will be like a small bird , who can not be heard amid the world’s deafening platform. Notice that there has never been a Prophet , who did not possess a clear , strong voice. It is very