The Book of Life

Human beings are quick to recognize the mistakes of others, but when it comes to recognizing their own, they turn into fools. This double standard is the root of all problems. If people applied just one standard, all problems would disappear on their own. THE IMPORTANCE OF PURPOSE I n the Hassan district of Karnataka, there is a village called Thapperghatta. A man named Lachha Naik lived there. He worked as a night watchman and lived in a hut. He had four children. One day he decided to offer three of his daughters as a sacrifice to the goddess Chamundeshwari. On April 23, 1988, he brought the idol of the goddess, performed rituals, and then killed his three daughters— aged one and a half, three, and thirteen—with a sickle. When his eight-year-old son, Raj Kumar, tried to resist, he attacked him too, cutting off his right hand. After this horrific act, he fled. Four days later, his body was found hanging from a lone mango tree. His wife, Lilli Thamma (35 years old), was given five thousand rupees from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and one thousand rupees from the Indian Red Cross Society. Now she is making plans for her son’s future. She believes her son must be educated. She is ready to work all her life, if necessary, to ensure his schooling. As a widow, she expects a pension of fifty rupees a month. Her son will also