manhood

Gahdveen chehn ehsehr vor ayhroutzuh kheghdeh

aghek martuh khosgee vrah goukah

Mahrrt mee puhladz dheghen guh shinvee

Literally, manhood is built from a place of rubble. It can be expressed more poetically as failure is the pillar of success or, in life we make mistakes which leads to experience that results in wisdom which is the hallmark of manhood.

Hazar gah meg chee arzeh, meguh gah hazar garzeh

There was once a small army of warriors. They numbered 1000 men.
Their country was invaded by a huge army of Muslim warriors numbering at least five thousand men. The commander was very hesitant to engage the Muslim army because his men were outnumbered five to one. The commander asked his spiritual mentor, who was accompanying him, what to do. The teacher advised him that he had too many soldiers.

“What,” said the commander. “How can you say that! We are already
outnumbered five to one.”

The teacher calmly said, “Hazar gah meg chee arzeh, meguh gah hazar garzeh – There are one thousand men not worth one man. And there is one man who is worth more than a thousand men.”

The commander asked, “What should I do?”

“Order your men to march toward the desert which will take five days journey to reach. When you reach the edge of the desert, explain to your men that you will ask them to cross the desert which will take seven days. But you will only have enough water for three days. Say that any man who wants to quit the army and return home will be excused without punishment or scorn.”

The commander did as he was advised. On reaching the desert’s edge,
he addressed the teacher’s words to his soldiers. His men were already complaining about the long trek toward the desert which was far away from the Muslim army. It seemed to them that they were retreating in a dishonorable fashion and wasting their time. Now, that
they were asked to cross the scorching hot desert convinced many of the soldiers that their commander had lost his head. Five hundred men left for home.

The commander gave the order to cross the desert. After three days, the commander spoke again to his teacher.

“How can we proceed another four days without water? What should I tell my men?”

The teacher said, “Tell your men that they have a better chance of surviving by turning back now than continuing. Let anyone leave and return who so desires.”

The commander did as he was advised.

Four hundred soldiers left and returned to find water and their families.

The commander gave to signal to the remaining soldiers to march forward. After much suffering and difficulty the soldiers reached the end of the desert and finally discovered a fresh water pond. The soldiers were eager to rush to the pond to refresh their parched throats. The teacher told the commander to make his soldiers wait at attention and only let one soldier at a time walk slowly to the pond and take one cup of water. The teacher and the commander waited to refresh themselves last. The men stood at attention is the scorching sun until the last man drank water. Then the commander and his teacher also refreshed themselves.

That evening there was rejoicing. Fortunately none of the soldiers died although they were all exhausted. The commander asked his teacher what he should do now that he had tested his soldiers.
The teacher said,

“You are ready now to attack the Muslim army with your dedicated and tested soldiers.”

The commander was perplexed.

“How can a mere hundred soldiers defeat such a formidable army of Muslim warriors?”

The teacher said, “There are one thousand men not worth one man. And there is one man who is worth more than a thousand men. Your men are ready for any challenge. Now use your military wisdom the set up a surprise decoy attack to disorient the Muslim army. Then
use your best fighters to capture the Muslim commander and his closest officers. The Muslim army will fall into disarray and retreat went they see that their cadre of leaders are captured.”

The commander ordered his soldiers back to meet the Muslim army> He did exactly as he was advised and miraculously his men were able to capture the commander and many officers of the Muslim army. The Muslim army retreated in disarray.

Ehsuh inch eh, martuh inch eh?

A real Armenian story.

My Uncle Joe, a World War II sharpshooter and a real tough guy, once explained to me what is a real ass and who is a real Armenian. He said an ass is a person who doesn’t eat meat, drink alcohol, have sex, and enjoy gambling. A real Armenian relishes these four things.

I told my Uncle Joe, who I respect and love, that the truth was just the opposite. Meat, drink, sex, and gambling make a man into an ass. A real Armenian will see through the shallow poisonous pleasures of these material allurements and strive for higher spiritual values.