Pedagogical parables. Shalva Amonashvili
Sh. A. Amonashvili
Pedagogical parables
© Amonashvili Sh. A., 2010
© Amrita LLC, 2014
* * *Dedicated to my wife Valeria Givievna Nioradze, at whose urgent request this book was created
Give life to your shores
Parables, fairy tales, stories
How Smile came to us
It was a long time ago, a very long time ago, when people did not yet know how to smile...
Yes, there was such a time.
They lived sad and dejected lives. The world was black and gray for them. They did not notice the brilliance and greatness of the Sun, starry sky were not delighted, did not know the happiness of love.
In this immemorial era, one good angel in Heaven decided to descend to Earth, that is, to be born and experience earthly life.
“But what will I come to people with?” - he thought.
He didn’t want to come to visit people without a gift.
And then he turned to the Father for help.
“Give people this,” Father told him and handed him a small spark; it glowed with all the colors of the rainbow.
- What is this? – the good angel was surprised.
“This is a Smile,” answered the Father. “Put it in your heart and bring it to people as a gift.”
- And what will she give them? – asked the good angel.
“She will fill them with a special energy of life.” If people master it, they will find a path along which the achievements of the spirit are affirmed.
The good angel put an amazing spark into his heart.
“People will understand that they were born for each other, they will discover love in themselves, they will see beauty. Only they need to be careful with the energy of love, because...
And at that very moment, a good angel descended from Heaven to Earth, that is, he was born without having heard the last word of the Father...
The newborn cried. But not because he was afraid of the dark cave, the gloomy and barely distinguishable faces of the people staring at him in bewilderment. He cried out of resentment that he did not have time to listen to the end: why people need to be careful with a Smile.
He didn’t know what to do: give people the Smile he brought for them or hide it from them.
And he decided: he took a ray of spark from his heart and planted it in the corner of his mouth. “Here’s a gift for you, people, take it!” – he mentally told them.
Instantly the cave was illuminated by an enchanting light. This was his First Smile, and gloomy people saw a Smile for the first time. They got scared and closed their eyes. Only the gloomy mother could not take her eyes off the unusual phenomenon, her heart moved, and this charm was reflected on her face. She felt good.
People opened their eyes, their gaze was drawn to a smiling woman.
Then the baby smiled at everyone again, and again, again, again.
People either closed their eyes, unable to withstand the strong radiance, or opened them. But finally they got used to it and also tried to imitate the baby.
Everyone felt good from the unusual feeling in their hearts. A smile erased the sullenness from their faces. Their eyes lit up with love, and from that moment the whole world became colorful for them: flowers, the Sun, the stars evoked in them a feeling of beauty, surprise, admiration.
The kind angel, who lived in the body of an earthly baby, mentally conveyed to people the name of his unusual gift, but it seemed to them that they had come up with the word “smile” themselves.
The baby was happy that he had brought such a miraculous gift to people. But sometimes he was sad and cried. It seemed to his mother that he was hungry, and she was in a hurry to give him the breast. And he cried because he did not have time to listen to the end of the Father’s word and convey to people the warning that they need to be careful with the energy of the Smile...
This is how Smile came to people.
It was passed on to us, the people of the present era.
And we will leave this energy to subsequent generations.
But has the knowledge come to us: how should we relate to the energy of a Smile? A smile carries power. But how to use this power only for good and not for evil?
Maybe we are already breaking some law of this energy? Let's say we smile falsely, we smile indifferently, we smile mockingly, we smile maliciously. This means we are harming ourselves and others!
We need to immediately solve this riddle, or we will have to wait until our good angel descends from Heaven, bearing the full message about the energy of the Smile.
If only it weren't too late.
A smile carries power
God once said: “I will make all the people of the Earth smile at the same time. Maybe then they will understand what kind of life energy I gave them!”
And He did this: all the people of the Earth, all of them exclusively, suddenly looked up at Heaven and, not knowing why, sent heartfelt smiles to Infinity.
At that same moment, the Music of the Spheres sounded throughout the planet, the Sky opened and everyone saw the Kingdom of Heaven with their own eyes.
Amazement, admiration and fear of the people followed.
"Ooo!" - echoed in space.
And immediately everything passed: the Music of the Spheres stopped and the Sky closed.
"What was it?!" - people were perplexed, but did not find an answer.
No one connected the miracle he witnessed with the smile he sent into Infinity. They were looking for an answer far, far from themselves, but not in themselves, in their sincere smile.
Only the baby, who also smiled along with everyone and saw the miracle, gathered all his future talents and mentally exclaimed: “My smile carries power, it opened Heaven!”
The baby began to babble, but the mother did not pay any attention to him.
But what would have happened if she had even heard what the baby was saying?
However, everyone has known for a long time that the truth speaks through the mouth of a baby, but adults don’t believe babies because they don’t understand and don’t need the truth.
If only the babies would grow up faster and not forget their truths.
I'm burning my mischief
The leper collected brushwood and lit a fire right in the square.
- What are you doing? - asked those gathered, standing at a distance from the leper.
- I'm burning my leprosy! - he answered.
He took a thorny branch from the ground, broke off one thorn and threw it into the fire.
- Turn into ashes, my smile of meanness!
So he broke off the thorns, threw them into the fire and said:
- Turn to ashes, my smile of hatred!
- Turn into ashes, my smile of envy!
- Turn to ashes, my treacherous smile!
He burned away his smiles of rudeness, indifference, gloating, and lust.
Streams of tears flowed from the leper's eyes.
Finally, throwing the last thorn into the fire, he looked up to Heaven and solemnly and with great prayer said:
– God, give me back the Smile of the Heart!
And with these words he threw himself into the fire.
“Oh-oh-oh!..” those gathered exclaimed in horror.
A moment later, a beautiful young man with a shining Heart Smile rose above the blazing flames.
- Look, God has cleansed me! – he said solemnly. – The fire will also take your vices. Cleanse yourself, whoever wants to!
But does anyone want to?
The smiles that the leper burned can be called the grin of darkness. Anyone who conquers the grin of darkness within himself is worthy of the same honors as the one who goes to people with the Smile of Feat.
Smile of enlightenment
A gray-haired teacher, wearing glasses, with a pile of notebooks for tests under her arm, absentmindedly, she stood between two pines and painfully examined every inch of the ground.
She had done this every day since she first went to school, and as she walked along the path that ran through this forest of two pines, she suddenly felt that she had lost something very important. She still didn't understand what exactly. But her heart told her: it would be difficult for her at school without him.
So this time she stopped on the way to school and continued her search.
The student walking to school following the teacher also paused. He had noticed his teacher before, squatting between the pine trees looking for something.
He had not dared to approach her before, but now he took the risk.
- What are you doing? – he asked timidly.
- Looking for! – the teacher answered gloomily, without looking at him.
- What are you looking for?
- What do you care? – the teacher was indignant. - Go to school!
– Have you lost it long ago? – the student asked timidly again.
– It’s been a long, long time since I became a teacher! Now go and don't bother me! – she ordered him.
But the student did not leave.
“Are you sure you rubbed it here?”
The teacher was on the verge of an explosion.
- Yes, yes, in this forest, where else could I lose? – she got angry, as if the student was to blame for her misfortune.
- Do you want me to help? – the student suggested carefully.
- How can you help when I myself don’t know what I’m looking for! – she angrily turned to the boy.
She wanted to cry out of frustration.
- Why? – the student did not let up. “What you are looking for must have already gone into the ground!”
He sat down at the first pine tree, dug out a hole with his fingers and took out a small chest from there.
– Is this what you were looking for? – and he handed the casket to the teacher.
The teacher stared in amazement at the unusual casket.
“Maybe...” she muttered, confused.
She glanced briefly at the smiling student. “He must be my student, he wants to please me, the cunning one!” - she thought.
She opened the casket and took out a piece of ancient parchment. Some mysterious signs were written on it. The teacher called upon all her knowledge of languages and finally read out the words in Sanskrit. I read them several times with bewilderment.
It was a long time ago, a very long time ago, when people did not yet know how to smile...
Yes, there was such a time.
They lived sad and dejected lives. The world was black and gray for them. They did not notice the brilliance and grandeur of the Sun, did not admire the starry sky, did not know the happiness of love.
In this immemorial era, one good angel in Heaven decided to descend to Earth, that is, to be born and experience earthly life.
“But what will I come to people with?” - he thought.
He didn’t want to come to visit people without a gift.
And then he turned to the Father for help.
“Give people this,” Father told him and handed him a small spark; it glowed with all the colors of the rainbow.
- What is this? – the good angel was surprised.
“This is a Smile,” answered the Father. “Put it in your heart and bring it to people as a gift.”
- And what will she give them? – asked the good angel.
“She will fill them with a special energy of life.” If people master it, they will find a path along which the achievements of the spirit are affirmed.
The good angel put an amazing spark into his heart.
“People will understand that they were born for each other, they will discover love in themselves, they will see beauty. Only they need to be careful with the energy of love, because...
And at that very moment, a good angel descended from Heaven to Earth, that is, he was born without having heard the last word of the Father...
The newborn cried. But not because he was afraid of the dark cave, the gloomy and barely distinguishable faces of the people staring at him in bewilderment. He cried out of resentment that he did not have time to listen to the end: why people need to be careful with a Smile.
He didn’t know what to do: give people the Smile he brought for them or hide it from them.
And he decided: he took a ray of spark from his heart and planted it in the corner of his mouth. “Here’s a gift for you, people, take it!” – he mentally told them.
Instantly the cave was illuminated by an enchanting light. This was his First Smile, and gloomy people saw a Smile for the first time. They got scared and closed their eyes. Only the gloomy mother could not take her eyes off the unusual phenomenon, her heart moved, and this charm was reflected on her face. She felt good.
People opened their eyes, their gaze was drawn to a smiling woman.
Then the baby smiled at everyone again, and again, again, again.
People either closed their eyes, unable to withstand the strong radiance, or opened them. But finally they got used to it and also tried to imitate the baby.
Everyone felt good from the unusual feeling in their hearts. A smile erased the sullenness from their faces. Their eyes lit up with love, and from that moment the whole world became colorful for them: flowers, the Sun, the stars evoked in them a feeling of beauty, surprise, admiration.
The kind angel, who lived in the body of an earthly baby, mentally conveyed to people the name of his unusual gift, but it seemed to them that they had come up with the word “smile” themselves.
The baby was happy that he had brought such a miraculous gift to people. But sometimes he was sad and cried. It seemed to his mother that he was hungry, and she was in a hurry to give him the breast. And he cried because he did not have time to listen to the end of the Father’s word and convey to people the warning that they need to be careful with the energy of the Smile...
This is how Smile came to people.
It was passed on to us, the people of the present era.
And we will leave this energy to subsequent generations.
But has the knowledge come to us: how should we relate to the energy of a Smile? A smile carries power. But how to use this power only for good and not for evil?
Maybe we are already breaking some law of this energy? Let's say we smile falsely, we smile indifferently, we smile mockingly, we smile maliciously. This means we are harming ourselves and others!
We need to immediately solve this riddle, or we will have to wait until our good angel descends from Heaven, bearing the full message about the energy of the Smile.
If only it weren't too late.
A smile carries power
God once said: “I will make all the people of the Earth smile at the same time. Maybe then they will understand what kind of life energy I gave them!”
And He did this: all the people of the Earth, all of them exclusively, suddenly looked up at Heaven and, not knowing why, sent heartfelt smiles to Infinity.
At that same moment, the Music of the Spheres sounded throughout the planet, the Sky opened and everyone saw the Kingdom of Heaven with their own eyes.
Amazement, admiration and fear of the people followed.
"Ooo!" - echoed in space.
And immediately everything passed: the Music of the Spheres stopped and the Sky closed.
"What was it?!" - people were perplexed, but did not find an answer.
No one connected the miracle he witnessed with the smile he sent into Infinity. They were looking for an answer far, far from themselves, but not in themselves, in their sincere smile.
Only the baby, who also smiled along with everyone and saw the miracle, gathered all his future talents and mentally exclaimed: “My smile carries power, it opened Heaven!”
The baby began to babble, but the mother did not pay any attention to him.
But what would have happened if she had even heard what the baby was saying?
However, everyone has known for a long time that the truth speaks through the mouth of a baby, but adults don’t believe babies because they don’t understand and don’t need the truth.
If only the babies would grow up faster and not forget their truths.
I'm burning my mischief
The leper collected brushwood and lit a fire right in the square.
- What are you doing? - asked those gathered, standing at a distance from the leper.
- I'm burning my leprosy! - he answered.
He took a thorny branch from the ground, broke off one thorn and threw it into the fire.
- Turn into ashes, my smile of meanness!
So he broke off the thorns, threw them into the fire and said:
- Turn to ashes, my smile of hatred!
- Turn into ashes, my smile of envy!
- Turn to ashes, my treacherous smile!
He burned away his smiles of rudeness, indifference, gloating, and lust.
Streams of tears flowed from the leper's eyes.
Finally, throwing the last thorn into the fire, he looked up to Heaven and solemnly and with great prayer said:
– God, give me back the Smile of the Heart!
And with these words he threw himself into the fire.
“Oh-oh-oh!..” those gathered exclaimed in horror.
A moment later, a beautiful young man with a shining Heart Smile rose above the blazing flames.
- Look, God has cleansed me! – he said solemnly. – The fire will also take your vices. Cleanse yourself, whoever wants to!
But does anyone want to?
The smiles that the leper burned can be called the grin of darkness. Anyone who conquers the grin of darkness within himself is worthy of the same honors as the one who goes to people with the Smile of Feat.
Smile of enlightenment
A gray-haired teacher, wearing glasses, with a stack of test books under her arm, absent-minded, stood between two pine trees and painfully examined every inch of the ground.
She had done this every day since she first went to school, and as she walked along the path that ran through this forest of two pines, she suddenly felt that she had lost something very important. She still didn't understand what exactly. But her heart told her: it would be difficult for her at school without him.
So this time she stopped on the way to school and continued her search.
The student walking to school following the teacher also paused. He had noticed his teacher before, squatting between the pine trees looking for something.
He had not dared to approach her before, but now he took the risk.
- What are you doing? – he asked timidly.
- Looking for! – the teacher answered gloomily, without looking at him.
Every summer he hosts people of various professions at his home, from different countries and cities. They have one thing in common: humane pedagogy. For 9 days, Shalva Aleksandrovich shared with us his secrets in raising and teaching children, passing on a piece of his experience and wisdom.
I really liked the parables that I heard from the author and now I want to introduce you to them. Let's think about our mission as a Teacher?
Teacher and students
You won't make a man! - the teacher angrily threw his “prophecy” to the student.
- Have you already become a teacher? - the student asked sadly.
They brought a new student to school, who had already been expelled from three schools.
One teacher came into class, looked at him and thought: “Where do people like this come from…”
Another teacher came. Seeing the new student, he said irritably:
- You haven’t been enough yet...
The third teacher came to class.
- Do we have a new guy? - he rejoiced.
He approached the new guy, shook his hand, looked into his eyes, smiled and said:
- Hello!.. I was waiting for you!..
An old woman begs the teacher:
- I’m alone with my grandson, his parents abandoned him...
But he doesn’t listen to me... He will fall into bad company, and then what will happen?.. Take him under your supervision, God will thank you...
The teacher interrupts the old woman:
“I have a lot of worries even without your grandson...” and walks away.
The grandmother is looking for another teacher, begging again.
The teacher explains to her:
- Do you know how many of these there are in school?.. How can I keep up with everyone!..
Grandma is desperate. Crying.
A young teacher passes by. Stops.
- Can I help you? - asks sympathetically.
The grandmother tells the young teacher about her grief.
- Don't cry, grandma! - the young teacher tells her. - Your grandson is good... Do you want me to become his mentor?
Amonashvili Sh.A. Pedagogical parables. - M.: Amrita, 2014. - p.19
Looking for a teacher
“It’s time to enroll my little angel in school,” the angel thought.
He took it, and they flew straight out of the open window into a huge building.
“We must choose a teacher from the Heart and with angelic patience, because my little angel is not yet an angel at all, he is a restless naughty boy with an obstinate character...”
He looked into a lesson with one teacher and was horrified - he shouted at the student and scolded him:
- I would throw you, so heartless, from the fifth floor... Get out of class!
“Cruel... He is not from the Heart...”
In another classroom, the teacher sat in front of the students, crossing her legs, admiring her nails, each of which had a small heart skillfully painted on it. But at the same time, she vigilantly watched the students doing the test work, and with a peacock cry, she stopped any attempt to cheat from each other.
“Prude... She is not from the Heart...”
In the next class, the student wrote down on the board a sentence that the teacher dictated to him: “You cannot see the most important thing with your eyes - only the Heart is vigilant.”
The student made a mistake and wrote “Heart”. The teacher got angry:
- How many times should I explain to you... Give me the diary... Two!
The student began to cry.
“Ignorant... He is not from the Heart...”
An angel looked into the next class - there the teacher was teaching a math lesson.
- Count how many times the Heart beats during the day, if in one minute it
knocks 56 times...
One student, without counting, immediately shouted:
- 80,640 times... And per week - 564,480 times... And per month... And per year...
The children gasped. And the teacher rudely interrupted the student:
- How dare you shout from your seat, and even without my permission...
“Rude... He is not from the Heart...”
The next class was buzzing like a beehive: teacher and students patiently and lovingly collected knowledge, helping each other. The teacher's voice and care merged into one music and the joy of learning.
“Here is a teacher from the Heart and with angelic patience...” the angel thought and said to his little angel: “You will learn from him.” Listen to every word of the teacher."
Flying away from school, the angel sadly thought: “Everyone remembers the Heart, but they don’t want to live by the Heart... We need to take out all the “heart” buffoons so that they do not cause pain and cripple the hearts of their students.”
But the angel did not know how to do this.
Amonashvili Sh.A. Pedagogical parables. - M.: Amrita, 2014. - p.21
Four wishes
God called the angels who returned to Heaven after serving as teachers on Earth.
- Show me what you came back with.
The first angel laid orders, medals, prizes, diplomas at the feet of the Lord and said:
- I became famous.
God looked at the evidence of glory at his feet and reduced it to ashes. And he said to him:
“You became famous throughout the world, but not in the soul of a boy who was in trouble and needed your immediate help.” You, in pursuit of rewards, did not rush to become a refuge for him, and he died. Go and now reap for yourself the misfortune of a student abandoned by a teacher.
And he made him a disciple in trouble, and gave him a teacher blinded by rewards and honors.
Another angel laid a pile of programs, textbooks at the feet of the Lord, methodological manuals, a long list of scientific papers and said:
“I grew from a simple teacher to a professor.
God looked at all this science at his feet and burnt it to ashes. And he said to him:
“I did not send you as a teacher for selfishness and clouding the truth, but to take care of a talented girl whose fate has sunk into the sand of your science.” Go and reap the suffering of ruined talent.
And he endowed him with talent and made him a student of a teacher who was passionate about the creation of childless pedagogy.
The third angel listed to God on his fingers the names of former students who had become famous people: scientists, poets, artists, ministers, businessmen, athletes - and laid pride for them at his feet. God looked at his pride and incinerated it. And he said to him:
“I didn’t send you as a teacher out of pride.” Why are you not proud of the boy whom you kicked out of school as a failure and increased the army of destitute and vagabonds? Go and reap now the tragedy of a street child.
And made him a teenager who had just dropped out of school.
The fourth angel appeared before God, threw himself at his feet and prayed:
- Lord, do not expect gifts from me, for I am devastated. Fate threw me into a God-forsaken school, and I gave my students all the light that was in me from you. And I hasten to you with a prayer: give me more light and send me back, for the disciples are waiting for me, and I cannot imagine my angelic life without them.
Then God said:
- He who gives the light will multiply it in himself.
And God made him the Great Spirit and sent him back to the God-forsaken school.
Amonashvili Sh.A. Pedagogical parables. - M.: Amrita, 2014. - p.59
Wings
An old man sits by the side of the road and looks at the road. He sees a man walking, and a little boy can barely keep up with him. The man stopped and ordered the child to bring water to the old man and give him a piece of bread from the store.
- What are you doing here, old man? - asked a passerby.
- Waiting for you! - answered the old man. - They entrusted you with this child to raise, right?
- Right! - the passerby was surprised.
- So take wisdom with you:
If you want to plant a tree for a person, plant a fruit tree.
If you want to give a person a horse, give the best horse.
But if they entrusted you with a child to raise, then return him winged.
- How can I do this, old man, if I myself don’t know how to fly? - the man was surprised.
- Then don’t take the boy into your upbringing! - said the old man and directed his gaze to the sky.
...Years have passed.
The old man sits in the same place and looks at the sky.
He sees a boy flying, and behind him is his teacher.
They knelt down in front of the old man and bowed to him.
- Old man, remember, you told me to return the boy with wings. I found a way...
See how his wings have grown! - the teacher said proudly and affectionately touched the wings of his pupil.
But the old man touched the teacher’s wings, caressed them and whispered:
- And I’m more pleased with your feathers...
Amonashvili Sh.A. Pedagogical parables. - M.: Amrita, 2014. - p.26
Give me your gift
The teachers held a meeting and came to the conclusion: in order to sow goodness in their students, they need to open their Hearts to them.
But how to achieve this?
- Maybe science can help us? - they said and headed to advanced training courses.
There, the professors explained to them the principles, methods, forms of education, talked about the goals and methods of education, talked about educational standards, reforms and concepts.
Then they issued certificates of advanced training and said: “Go for it!”
The teachers applied the acquired knowledge in practice, but the students did not open their Hearts to them.
- We lack psychological knowledge! - they decided.
And they rushed to get a second specialty.
We filled our minds with a lot of psychological concepts and started practicing.
But the disciples still did not allow them to look into their Hearts.
- The West will probably help!
And they invited specialists in “new educational technologies” from overseas.
They assumed a mentoring pose and taught them some vague “interactive technologies” - ultra-modern, as they claimed, or even from the future.
But these supernova technologies also did not work.
The teachers are saddened; they cannot find the way to the Hearts of their students in order to sow the seeds of goodness in them.
- Maybe Wisdom will save? - they said.
And they found the Sage sitting in a cave.
“Oh, Sage,” they prayed, “show us the way to the Hearts of our students in order to sow seeds of goodness in them, otherwise the generation will become cruel!”
The Sage told them:
- I will give you a way to the Hearts of your students, but give me your gift in return!
The teachers looked at each other: what gift does the Sage require from them?
Then the Sage said:
- If anyone has irritation,
Give me irritation.
If anyone has anger,
Give me anger.
If anyone has cruelty,
Give me cruelty.
If anyone has rudeness,
Give me some roughness.
If anyone has any doubt,
Give me the benefit of the doubt.
If anyone has hatred,
Give me hate.
If anyone has anger,
Give me anger.
If anyone has fear,
Give me fear.
If anyone has betrayal,
Give me betrayal.
If anyone has a superstition,
Give me a superstition.
If anyone has locust thoughts,
Give me a locust of thoughts.
And if you give me a handful of bad habits,
I'll accept these dusty rattles too.
But don't forget what he deserves
Who will take away what is once given?
So, I accepted all the vices of your Heart,
And it becomes clean.
And I reveal to you Wisdom:
There is a path to the heart of a student pure heart teachers.
Amonashvili Sh.A. Pedagogical parables. - M.: Amrita, 2014. - p.22
I recently discovered the work of an amazing person. Shalva Aleksandrovich Amonashvili- not only a teacher, doctor of psychological sciences, author of books on education and upbringing of children, founder of humane pedagogy. First of all, he is a wise, deep and very warm person. Such people are not often found in our education system, which is why there are often problems with raising a truly noble person, cultural and moral, deeply understanding and sensitive... However, we should not blame teachers and educators: for our children, the main teachers and educators are you and I, parents (we have already raised this topic in the article about and about). And in order to cultivate a worthy educator in yourself, I highly recommend reading and comprehending the book Shalva Amonashvili “Pedagogical parables”.It’s hard to remain indifferent while reading “ Pedagogical parables“. They are about our life in all its diversity - and everyone, perhaps, will respond to something different when reading it. I confess that some of the author’s parables and letters to his parents and his schoolteacher moved me to tears. To tears of admiration and compassion, to purifying tears... They open our eyes to our imperfections, but at the same time they also give us support, inspire us, and show us worthy values that we want to strive for. This book talks about faith, love, nobility, life's trials and fortitude, respect and humanity. He talks about the power of a smile, he talks about the mission of every person... And, what is important, in this book these are not just words. This is the author’s fully felt and life-tested faith, his worldview, the fruit of his spiritual search.
This is a book that every parent, and even more so every teacher and educator, should read. What will you see in these parables? What will resonate with you?
Here, for example, is one thought to ponder: “If our care for a child comes from a sense of devotion and love, we can create educational miracles.” And here is another: “What is not in the head, the tongue does not pronounce it, the hands do not create it, the legs do not rush to do it, the heart does not hurt. So it is necessary that our entire essence strives for the brightest thoughts and images, for spiritually sublime ideas. For the tongue, hands, feet and heart can also serve darkness.”
Well, I’ll leave you the opportunity to evaluate this wonderful book for yourself. For my part, I promise to publish on the blog some of the parables that touched me the most. See you soon!
P.S. A wonderful parable about a person “The only beauty” -.
Parable about parenting “Parents from a skyscraper” - .
Reflections and a parable about the role of toys in a child’s life -.
© Amonashvili Sh. A., 2010
© Amrita LLC, 2014
* * *
Dedicated to my wife Valeria Givievna Nioradze, at whose urgent request this book was created
Give life to your shores
Parables, fairy tales, stories
How Smile came to us
It was a long time ago, a very long time ago, when people did not yet know how to smile...
Yes, there was such a time.
They lived sad and dejected lives. The world was black and gray for them. They did not notice the brilliance and grandeur of the Sun, did not admire the starry sky, did not know the happiness of love.
In this immemorial era, one good angel in Heaven decided to descend to Earth, that is, to be born and experience earthly life.
“But what will I come to people with?” - he thought.
He didn’t want to come to visit people without a gift.
And then he turned to the Father for help.
“Give people this,” Father told him and handed him a small spark; it glowed with all the colors of the rainbow.
- What is this? – the good angel was surprised.
“This is a Smile,” answered the Father. “Put it in your heart and bring it to people as a gift.”
- And what will she give them? – asked the good angel.
“She will fill them with a special energy of life.” If people master it, they will find a path along which the achievements of the spirit are affirmed.
The good angel put an amazing spark into his heart.
“People will understand that they were born for each other, they will discover love in themselves, they will see beauty. Only they need to be careful with the energy of love, because...
And at that very moment, a good angel descended from Heaven to Earth, that is, he was born without having heard the last word of the Father...
The newborn cried. But not because he was afraid of the dark cave, the gloomy and barely distinguishable faces of the people staring at him in bewilderment. He cried out of resentment that he did not have time to listen to the end: why people need to be careful with a Smile.
He didn’t know what to do: give people the Smile he brought for them or hide it from them.
And he decided: he took a ray of spark from his heart and planted it in the corner of his mouth. “Here’s a gift for you, people, take it!” – he mentally told them.
Instantly the cave was illuminated by an enchanting light. This was his First Smile, and gloomy people saw a Smile for the first time. They got scared and closed their eyes. Only the gloomy mother could not take her eyes off the unusual phenomenon, her heart moved, and this charm was reflected on her face. She felt good.
People opened their eyes, their gaze was drawn to a smiling woman.
Then the baby smiled at everyone again, and again, again, again.
People either closed their eyes, unable to withstand the strong radiance, or opened them. But finally they got used to it and also tried to imitate the baby.
Everyone felt good from the unusual feeling in their hearts. A smile erased the sullenness from their faces. Their eyes lit up with love, and from that moment the whole world became colorful for them: flowers, the Sun, the stars evoked in them a feeling of beauty, surprise, admiration.
The kind angel, who lived in the body of an earthly baby, mentally conveyed to people the name of his unusual gift, but it seemed to them that they had come up with the word “smile” themselves.
The baby was happy that he had brought such a miraculous gift to people.
But sometimes he was sad and cried. It seemed to his mother that he was hungry, and she was in a hurry to give him the breast. And he cried because he did not have time to listen to the end of the Father’s word and convey to people the warning that they need to be careful with the energy of the Smile...
This is how Smile came to people.
It was passed on to us, the people of the present era.
And we will leave this energy to subsequent generations.
But has the knowledge come to us: how should we relate to the energy of a Smile? A smile carries power. But how to use this power only for good and not for evil?
Maybe we are already breaking some law of this energy? Let's say we smile falsely, we smile indifferently, we smile mockingly, we smile maliciously. This means we are harming ourselves and others!
We need to immediately solve this riddle, or we will have to wait until our good angel descends from Heaven, bearing the full message about the energy of the Smile.
If only it weren't too late.
A smile carries power
God once said: “I will make all the people of the Earth smile at the same time. Maybe then they will understand what kind of life energy I gave them!”
And He did this: all the people of the Earth, all of them exclusively, suddenly looked up at Heaven and, not knowing why, sent heartfelt smiles to Infinity.
At that same moment, the Music of the Spheres sounded throughout the planet, the Sky opened and everyone saw the Kingdom of Heaven with their own eyes.
Amazement, admiration and fear of the people followed.
"Ooo!" - echoed in space.
And immediately everything passed: the Music of the Spheres stopped and the Sky closed.
"What was it?!" - people were perplexed, but did not find an answer.
No one connected the miracle he witnessed with the smile he sent into Infinity. They were looking for an answer far, far from themselves, but not in themselves, in their sincere smile.
Only the baby, who also smiled along with everyone and saw the miracle, gathered all his future talents and mentally exclaimed: “My smile carries power, it opened Heaven!”
The baby began to babble, but the mother did not pay any attention to him.
But what would have happened if she had even heard what the baby was saying?
However, everyone has known for a long time that the truth speaks through the mouth of a baby, but adults don’t believe babies because they don’t understand and don’t need the truth.
If only the babies would grow up faster and not forget their truths.
I'm burning my mischief
The leper collected brushwood and lit a fire right in the square.
- What are you doing? - asked those gathered, standing at a distance from the leper.
- I'm burning my leprosy! - he answered.
He took a thorny branch from the ground, broke off one thorn and threw it into the fire.
- Turn into ashes, my smile of meanness!
So he broke off the thorns, threw them into the fire and said:
- Turn to ashes, my smile of hatred!
- Turn into ashes, my smile of envy!
- Turn to ashes, my treacherous smile!
He burned away his smiles of rudeness, indifference, gloating, and lust.
Streams of tears flowed from the leper's eyes.
Finally, throwing the last thorn into the fire, he looked up to Heaven and solemnly and with great prayer said:
– God, give me back the Smile of the Heart!
And with these words he threw himself into the fire.
“Oh-oh-oh!..” those gathered exclaimed in horror.
A moment later, a beautiful young man with a shining Heart Smile rose above the blazing flames.
- Look, God has cleansed me! – he said solemnly. – The fire will also take your vices. Cleanse yourself, whoever wants to!
But does anyone want to?
The smiles that the leper burned can be called the grin of darkness. Anyone who conquers the grin of darkness within himself is worthy of the same honors as the one who goes to people with the Smile of Feat.
Smile of enlightenment
A gray-haired teacher, wearing glasses, with a stack of test books under her arm, absent-minded, stood between two pine trees and painfully examined every inch of the ground.
She had done this every day since she first went to school, and as she walked along the path that ran through this forest of two pines, she suddenly felt that she had lost something very important. She still didn't understand what exactly. But her heart told her: it would be difficult for her at school without him.
So this time she stopped on the way to school and continued her search.
The student walking to school following the teacher also paused. He had noticed his teacher before, squatting between the pine trees looking for something.
He had not dared to approach her before, but now he took the risk.
- What are you doing? – he asked timidly.
- Looking for! – the teacher answered gloomily, without looking at him.
- What are you looking for?
- What do you care? – the teacher was indignant. - Go to school!
– Have you lost it long ago? – the student asked timidly again.
– It’s been a long, long time since I became a teacher! Now go and don't bother me! – she ordered him.
But the student did not leave.
“Are you sure you rubbed it here?”
The teacher was on the verge of an explosion.
- Yes, yes, in this forest, where else could I lose? – she got angry, as if the student was to blame for her misfortune.
- Do you want me to help? – the student suggested carefully.
- How can you help when I myself don’t know what I’m looking for! – she angrily turned to the boy.
She wanted to cry out of frustration.
- Why? – the student did not let up. “What you are looking for must have already gone into the ground!”
He sat down at the first pine tree, dug out a hole with his fingers and took out a small chest from there.
– Is this what you were looking for? – and he handed the casket to the teacher.
The teacher stared in amazement at the unusual casket.
“Maybe...” she muttered, confused.
She glanced briefly at the smiling student. “He must be my student, he wants to please me, the cunning one!” - she thought.
She opened the casket and took out a piece of ancient parchment. Some mysterious signs were written on it. The teacher called upon all her knowledge of languages and finally read out the words in Sanskrit. I read them several times with bewilderment.
– What is written there?.. Is it secret?.. Very, very important for you? - asked the student. But the teacher was so immersed in unraveling the meaning of the words that she forgot about the student. She didn't even notice how the student was collecting test notebooks scattered on the ground.
The teacher's face gradually changed. It seemed to the student that she was becoming beautiful and kind.
“I’m speaking in your ear, because I’m revealing a secret: A smile carries power.”
She repeated these words in her soul, in her heart, in her mind...
And finally it dawned on her.
She smiled. She smiled the way a poet smiles at his insight before creating a masterpiece.
The student, noticing the radiance of a smile on the teacher’s face, joyfully exclaimed:
“I told everyone that she knows how to smile, but no one believed me... Now they will believe me!” – and with this good news he ran to his friends.
The teacher hurried after him, wearing a Smile of Enlightenment on her face. Tears of joy, like pearls, colored her Smile.
“The Wisdom of the Smile has come to me, and today my true teaching life will begin!” She walked with these thoughts and did not notice that with her feet she was trampling the test notebooks, which were falling out of the hands of the student running ahead. They lined up on the path leading to the school.
How people lost their smiles
There was a remote village high in the mountains.
It was deaf not because the inhabitants were deaf. But because the rest of the world was deaf to him.
The people in the village lived like one family. The younger ones revered the elders, the men revered the women.
There were no words in their speech: resentment, property, hatred, grief, crying, sadness, self-interest, envy, pretense. They did not know these and similar words because they did not have anything that could be called them. They were born with a smile, and from the first day to the last, the radiant smile did not leave their faces.
Men were masculine and women were feminine.
The children helped their elders with housework, played and had fun, climbed trees, picked berries, and swam in a mountain river. Adults taught them the language of birds, animals and plants, and children learned a lot from them. Almost all the laws of Nature were known to them.
The elders and the younger lived in harmony with Nature.
In the evenings, everyone gathered around the fire, sent smiles to the stars, everyone chose their own star and talked to it. From the stars they learned about the laws of the Cosmos, about life in other worlds.
This has been the case with them since time immemorial.
One day a man showed up in the village and said:
"I'am a teacher".
People were happy to see the hallway. They entrusted their children to him - in the hope that the teacher would teach them more important knowledge than Nature and Space gave them.
People were just perplexed: why doesn’t the teacher smile, how is it possible that his face is without a smile?
The teacher began teaching the children.
Time passed, and everyone noticed that the children were clearly changing, as if they were being replaced. They became irritable, then anger appeared, the children quarreled among themselves more and more often, and took things from each other. They learned ridicule, crooked and sly smiles. The old smile, common to all residents of the village, was erased from their faces.
People didn’t know whether it was good or bad, because they didn’t have the word “bad” either.
They were trusting and believed that all this was new knowledge and skills that a teacher from the rest of the world brought to their children.
Several years have passed. The children grew up, and life in the remote village changed: people began to seize lands, pushing the weak out of them, fenced them off and called them their property. They became distrustful of each other. They forgot about the languages of birds, animals and plants. Everyone has lost their star in the sky.
But televisions, computers, cell phones appeared in houses, and garages for cars appeared.
People lost their beaming smiles, but adopted a rough laugh.
The teacher, who never learned to smile, looked at all this and was proud: in a remote mountain village he introduced people to modern civilization...
Late?
The Creator created people, gave them words for communication and thinking, settled them in a fertile valley at the foot of the mountains, endowed each with longevity and began to watch how they strive for improvement.
Time passed, but people did not develop.
That's how they grew old.
The Creator decided to find out: what’s the matter?
He became a man and came to them as a traveler.
Before sunset, people gathered in the square to talk with the traveler.
He told them what life was like beyond the horizon and suggested to them:
– Would you like me to take you there and see how people live there?
“Eh,” they answered sadly, “it’s too late, we’ve grown old...
“Then come with me to the mountains, let’s look at the world from the top!”
“Eh,” they sighed, “it’s late, we don’t have the strength...
“Look at the sky,” the traveler told them, “and I will tell you about life in the Kingdom of Heaven!”
And again they answered:
- It’s too late, our minds won’t understand your story...
The traveler was saddened. I wanted to make people laugh.
- Let's sing a song! - he said and was about to start singing first, but people noticed that the Sun had set.
“It’s already late,” they said, “it’s time to sleep...” And they scattered to their huts.
The traveler shouted after them:
– People, when life is limitless and continuous, it will not be too late for any achievement!
But they did not turn to the call.
Then the Creator said to himself:
– I’ll take away all the limiting words from people: “late”, “impossible”, “impossible”, “far”, “high”, “difficult”, “we won’t understand” - and I will instill in their hearts the joy of infinity. Perhaps they will comprehend My Law: it is never too late, for there is no end, but only the beginning!
He did so and waited until the morning: would people change and go with Him to the mountains?
Thought on the heart
Grandfather, what are you whispering? – I asked, noticing that he was muttering something to himself before going to bed.
“I put a thought on my Heart, son...” he answered.
I was surprised:
- What does it mean?
A wise grandfather told me:
“I don’t want to quarrel with a neighbor who let me down, but I don’t know what to do.” So I’ll put a thought on my Heart and fall asleep, and in the morning my Heart will tell you what to do...
- How does the Heart know, grandfather?
“The heart knows everything, son, I’ve been learning from it all my life.” And I advise you: when you are looking for an answer to a difficult question, when something is unclear, put a thought on your Heart before going to bed, and in the morning the answers will be revealed to you... Just do it with faith...
That's what my grandfather said when I was nine years old. And I learned a lot in life about my teaching art, putting a thought on my Heart before going to bed.
I was lucky with my grandfather.
Kingdom of Desires
The young king, who had just ascended the throne, saw in a dream an angel who said to him:
- I will fulfill one of your wishes.
In the morning the king called his three advisers:
– The angel promised me to fulfill one request. I want my subjects to live happily. Tell me, what kind of kingdom do they need?
“The kingdom of desires!” one adviser immediately exclaimed.
The second and third also wanted to say something, but did not have time: the young king closed his eyes and summoned an angel in his imagination.
“I want any wishes of all my subjects to be fulfilled.” Let my kingdom be the kingdom of desires...
From that moment strange events began throughout the kingdom. Many instantly became rich, some huts were transformed into palaces, some grew wings and began to fly; others are younger.
People became convinced that their desires were immediately fulfilled, and each began to desire more than the other. But they soon discovered that the desires themselves were lacking, and they began to envy those who still had desires.
That’s why they greedily stole desires from neighbors, friends, children...
Many were overcome by anger, and they wished something bad for others. Palaces collapsed before our eyes and were erected again; someone became a beggar and immediately sent disaster to another. Someone groaned in pain and immediately gloated that he was sending more painful suffering to other people. In the Kingdom of Desires, peace and harmony have disappeared. People were at enmity, sending arrows of anger and ill will at each other. One surpassed the others with his cunning: he wished for himself a dangerous disease and hastened to infect as many people as possible with his hugs, kisses, and handshakes.
The first adviser immediately overthrew the young king from the throne and declared himself king. But soon he was overthrown by another, and then by another, and a fight of a thousand merciless desires began around the throne.
The young king fled from the city and met an old man on the outskirts of the kingdom.
He plowed the land and sang a song.
– Don’t you have any desires? – he asked the old man in surprise.
“Yes, of course...” he answered.
– Why don’t you do them right away, like others?
- So as not to lose happiness, as all your subjects lost it.
- But you are poor, but you can become rich, you are old, but you can become younger!
“I am the richest,” answered the old man. – I plow the land, I sow, and so I build a pearly path from my Heart to my God... I am younger than you, for my soul is like that of a child.
The king said with regret:
– If you were my adviser, I would not make a mistake...
“I am your adviser, whom you did not listen to,” said the old man without a feeling of reproach and continued to plow the land.
Kingdom of Mind
Another young king also had a dream, and the same angel promised to fulfill one of his requests.
The next morning the king called his three advisers and asked:
The third also wanted to advise the young king something, but he hurried to the angel, closed his eyes and called upon him in his imagination:
– Make my kingdom the Kingdom of reason...
From that very moment strange phenomena began throughout the kingdom. All subjects, children and adults, at once transformed into philosophers and began to discuss every trifle. They doubted everything, argued, criticized everything around them, looked for explanations and evidence, scientific justification for everything. Scientists held endless discussions with the goal that no one would agree with anyone. They speculated about whether it was possible to extinguish the Sun if all people blew on it together. Or what would happen if all the grains of sand in the desert suddenly turned into ants. Or if all the wells, rivers and rivers, seas and oceans suddenly dry up...
In everything people looked for iron logic, evidence, facts. Disbelief has become the norm. The mind became cold, suspicious, distrustful, calculating and, finally, unreasonable.
People meticulously weighed everything, measured, assessed, re-evaluated, compared and started all over again. Even love, even kindness, even joy, even evil, and even birth and death were weighed and assessed.
They looked at everything with glassy eyes, and everyone put a selling price on everything.
Life in the kingdom slowed down, it became gloomy, sad, and anxious. Faith has disappeared, trust has disappeared. But suspicion was everywhere. Unity fell apart, and selfishness and disunity triumphed.
No matter how much the king called on the people to come to their senses, nothing worked.
In despair, he left the palace and met an old man on the outskirts of the kingdom. He sowed bread in a plowed field and sang a song.
– God didn’t gift you with intelligence? - asked the king.
- Why? “My mind has always lived and lives to this day in my Heart,” he answered.
– What does Heart have to do with it?! – the king was surprised.
– Mind without Heart degenerates into dullness and recklessness.
- How do you live wisely when all you know is to plow and sow and not renew yourself?
“I plow and sow for God, and I will give you the grain.” So every day I build steps from the mind of the Heart to God, and each step in me is a renewal of life.
The young king became sad.
“Oh, if only you were my advisor, I wouldn’t have made a mistake...” he said with a feeling of remorse.
“I am your adviser, whom you did not listen to,” said the old man and continued to sow grain.
Kingdom of Heart
And now about the third young king.
He also had a dream, and the angel promised him to fulfill one of his requests.
In the morning the king summoned his three advisers.
– What kind of kingdom do my subjects need in order for them to live happily?
- Kingdom of desires! – one exclaimed without thinking.
- Kingdom of the mind! - said the other, scratching the back of his head.
The young king was smart and patient, so he turned to the third adviser:
- What do you think?
– Kingdom of the Heart! - he said.
The young king closed his eyes and summoned the angel.
– Make my kingdom the Kingdom of the Heart...
The angel hesitated.
– God has already given everyone his Heart, we need to ignite it...
- So light it up...
The angel was saddened.
- I can not. God tells people to kindle their own Hearts and help each other!
- Then tell me how to light it?
“Upbringing...” and the angel disappeared.
The king opened his eyes.
The advisers were waiting for what he would say.
– Let’s start educating the Heart! - said the king and appointed the third adviser as the trustee of the education of the Heart - the Teacher!