The Saint brought the man to see what Hell and Heaven were like. In Hell, people were starving and unable to feed themselves with long-handled spoons, causing great suffering. In Heaven, people used their long spoons to feed each other, and were happy and well-fed as a result. The man learned that caring for others prevents suffering, while selfishness and lack of concern for others leads to misery.

1. Story To
Reflect
Upon 163
What is Hell?
A man once had a dream where a Saint appeared and spoke to him.
“Friend, is there anything you want to know?” the Saint said in
his dream. The man replied, “Can I very humbly ask you this
question: “What is Hell?”
“I will show you what Hell is like,” the Saint said. The Saint then
brought the man into a large room and there was a large pot of stew
in the middle. The aroma of the stew was delicious. Around the pot
sat people who were famished and miserably desperate. They were
all holding spoons with very long handles which reached to the pot
but because the handles of the spoons were longer than their arms,
it was impossible to get the stew into their mouths. The suffering of
these hungry people was terrible.
“And now I will show you Heaven,” the Saint announced. He
brought the man into an identical room. There was a similar pot of
stew and the people who sat round the pot had the same identical
spoons. But these people were well famished, happily chit-chatting
with one another. All had wide smiles on their faces. At first the
man did not understand the spiritual message.
“It is simple,” explained the Saint. “You see, the people here have
learned to care and feed each other using the spoons with long
handles.
The man awoke from his dream. H e had learnt valuable LIFE
lessons.
Reflection
* Selfishness, self-centredness, ego-gratification, greed, a
lack of care, love and concern for others will lead to
suffering of the mind.
* True happiness, peace and joy can only be experienced
when one is able to let go more and more of the self and
reach out to all others who are in need.

2. Story To
Reflect Upon
164
A Little Mouse Story
One day a mouse looked through a crack in the wall of a farm house.
He was shocked to see the farmer’s wife setting up a mouse trap. He
went round the farm yard to proclaim the warning to the other animals.
The chicken clucked and scratched and then told the mouse, “This is
really serious for you, Mr. Mouse but it does not affect me. I cannot be
bothered by it. The mouse then went to tell the pig, “There is a mouse
trap in the house.” The pig said, “I am very sorry for you, Mr. Mouse
but I can do nothing. Perhaps I can pray for you.” The mouse turned to
the cow and broke the news about the mouse trap. The cow said, “A
mouse trap? I am NOT in any danger. You are Mr. Mouse. It’s your
business. Leave
me alone!
So the mouse returned to the house, disappointed and dejected. He had
to take care of himself to avoid the trap. That very night there was a
very loud sound as if something happened at the mouse trap. The
farmer’s wife rushed to investigate. In the darkness, she did not see
that a venomous snake was caught in the mouse trap. The snake bit the
farmer’s wife; she screamed and the farmer came and brought her to
the hospital. She returned home after the treatment. Unfortunately, she
developed a fever. The farmer killed the chicken to prepare chicken
soup for his wife. However, the condition of the wife worsened.
Friends and neighbors came to visit the patient. The pig was killed to
prepare food for the guests.
A few days later, the farmer’s wife died. Many people came for the
funeral. The farmer slaughtered the cow to provide meat for all the
people who came.
Reflection
* We are all interconnected and interdependent. What happens to
others or the environment can have a bearing on us.
* Working as a team to resolve a problem is important.
* Apathy, selfishness, self-centeredness and cold-heartedness
are
negative traits and can bring negative effects.