Continued….
…..From Part 4 – The hunter realizing that he had lost both the deer and the tortoise exclaimed, “Whoever quitting certainties, pursues uncertainties, his certainties are lost and uncertainty was anyway not with him.” He goes back home empty handed and desolate.
With this story Vishnusarman concluded the first lesson on “The Acquisition of Friends”. The Princes joyfully acknowledged the valuable lessons they had learnt from him and were in return blessed by Vishnusarman….
A few days later the Princes met with Vishnusarman again and said, “Dear Sir we have learnt about the making of friends through your wonderful tales. now please share with us your wisdom about some other aspect of life.” Vishusarman replied, “Then, I want to share with about ‘The Losing of Friends’. Let me start by telling you how the Lion and Bull lost their friendship due to a set of envious and greedy Jackals.”
The Princes were eager to hear the story and so Vishnusarman proceeded as follow –
“In the south of the country there was a town called Suvarnavati. A very rich merchant by the name of Vardhamaan lived in this town. He was extremely rich but always felt that some of his other friends and relatives had more wealth than him. So he constantly looked for opportunities to make more money.”
Vishnusarman here emphasized for the Princes that, “Many people feel very important and rich by only watching those who are lesser than them in status and wealth, similarly many with great wealth and status do not feel wealthy and important because they are constantly comparing themselves to those who are a few notches better off than them.”
Then he continued, “Vardhamaan was an active and hard working individual and through his own life experience and inner dialogues, he had come to believe that:
– wealth provided a person honor, even a person of good lineage, if penniless, would get no respect
– Prosperity does not come to the lazy, the fatalist, and one with no courage
– Laziness, sickness, excessive attachment to one’s native place, contentment, timidity are obstacles to achievement
– The one who is content with little wealth is not even helped by providence to acquire more
– One should try to achieve and own what he has not been able to achieve and owne till now, preserve what is already achieved and then try to increase further what has been preserved
– Wealth which is only preserved and not increased with time becomes a waste as it is not enjoyed and what is not enjoyed is useless for life
– Just like a pitcher can be filled gradually even if water drips only drop by drop, advancement in science, religion and wealth can be made with patience by constantly adding, even if they are small contributions, to the kitty of knowledge or wealth
These beliefs motivated him to seek another long journey in pursuit of his business and wealth.
Accordingly, he loaded a large cart with a variety of goods to trade and set out on a journey towards the distant land of Kashmir. While he knew he had set forth on a long and arduous journey to a strange land, he comforted and motivated himself with the following thoughts –
> There is no excessive burden for the one who believes he / she is powerful
> There is no distance too great for the enterprising person
> There is no strange or foreign land for an educated and knowledgeable person
> No one is a stranger for the one with kind speech
Vardhamaan had two bulls by the name of Nandak and Sanjeevak who were strong and able. He set out on the journey with his 2 bulls pulling the heavy goods-laden cart. The cart progressed slowly but surely and soon they had left behind their town of Suvarnavati. They soon entered the Sudurg forest and were steadily progressing when the bull Sanjeevak twisted its foot and was gravely injured and the cart came to a sudden halt.
Vardhamaan was immediately struck with deep concern on how to progress further. Then he said to himself, “dismay and disappointment are hindrances to enterprise and business, success is achieved only by overcoming dismay and disappointment”. These thoughts strengthened him and he quickly resolved look for a solution that would allow him to continue his journey. The only solution which seemed feasible to him, in such circumstances, was to unshackle the injured bull and leave it in the forest to manage itself and continue on his journey with the able bull Nandak. He unshackled Sanjeevak and then continued on his journey with Nandak pulling the cart.
Sanjeevak the bull was badly injured and in pain, but fate and luck seemed to be with him and he managed to survive the dangers of the jungle and also found fresh green grass to feed himself. Within a few days he gained back his health and now that he was free from his master and burdens, he started roaming the forest.
In the Sudurg forest lived a lion named Pingalak. As per the rules of jungle the mightiest is crowned the King and Pingalak had proven his might over the years and so lorded over the forest and its inmates. One day, Pingalak went to the river to drink water and suddenly heard a loud and unfamiliar bellow. This was Sanjeevak bellowing away as he enjoyed the fresh green grass on the forest floor.
However, Pingalak was alarmed by the loud and powerful bellow and perceiving danger he quickly retreated to his den from where he tried to look around and find out who was making those threatening sounds. Unknown to him he was being watched by 2 jackals – Karataka & Damanaka. These 2 were the sons of one of his ministers.
Damanaka commented to Karataka , “What has made, our Master, the lion Pingalaka retreat without drinking water? Karataka replied, “Why do you bother about the Master? How does it help to be in his service? Why do you want to take on difficult tasks for someone else? Why do you want to get wealth by serving others and losing your independence? To be in service of another is like stooping to rise. A master always sees the servant in negative light – if the servant remains silent then he is considered a fool, if he is patient then he is considered meek, if he speaks back then his is impudent and so on. So why do you wish to be in service to the lion?”
Damanaka was surprised and replied, “Karataka one should always respect the master and seek to ensure his well being.” Karataka then pointed out, “it is not our job to be taking care of the Lion. We should leave such work to our father. We should not interfere in things which are not our concern. People who wish to interfere in affairs which do not concern them can be killed like the monkey who pulled the wedge.”
Damanaka asked how that was and then Karataka told him this story – Only the Professional knows his Work, The Untrained Play with Danger –
“In the kingdom of Magadha, lived Shubhdutt, a learned writer in the court of the King. He decided to build a rest house for pilgrims on a plot of his land. The carpenter who was part of the group working on building the house was busy cutting wood for a wooden post. He had cut a piece of wood half way and inserted a wedge between the 2 pieces to keep them separate. The carpenter went to take some rest and in the meantime a few monkeys playing around came across the wooden post with the wedge in between. Being ignorant and playful they started playing with that piece. One monkey pulled out the wedge and the half cut wood pierced him, killing him instantly. Hence I tell you that interfering in things which are not our business is not a good idea.”
Damanaka then replied, “While I agree with you I still think as the servants of the master we should investigate his unusual actions.”
Karataka still insisted and said, “Let our father, his minister, do those things. As his sons we should not interfere in his work. The one who interferes in the work of others, to benefit the master, regrets it like the donkey beaten for braying loudly.”
Damanaka once again asked what the story was behind this. So Karataka shared the story “Mind your Own Business” –
“In the city of Benaras there was a washerman by the name of Karpurak. He had 2 pets, one dog and one donkey, both of whom lived in the house with him and his family. One day when Karpurak came home after a hard day’s work, he went and slept very soundly. That night a burglar entered the house and was noticed by the dog and the donkey. The donkey noticing that the dog was not alerting Karpurak by barking loudly, told the dog, “It is your business to alert your master if you see a thief entering so why are you not doing your work?” The dog replied, “You should not be bothered about such things. You have seen how I have always protected the master’s house. But with time he has become careless and no longer understands my value and sometimes even forgets to give me food. If he starts perceiving some danger he may become more attentive to me again.” The donkey rebuked him saying, “A servant or friend must make no demands in times of trouble.” But the dog insisted, “What kind of master is this who takes work from me but forgets to take care of me.” So the donkey angrily retorted, “One should always serve the master with great sincerity. If you do not bark then I shall try to wake the master.’ Saying this he started braying loudly. Karpurak awoke abruptly and felt angry with the donkey for its loud braying in the middle of the night. So he came out and beat the poor donkey.”
In this way, Karataka again made the point to Damanaka that they should not interfere with the lion. To further his argument Karataka said, “Our job brother is to get food by following the lion around, so leave the rest of the issues and be focused on that”.
This attitude angered Damanaka and he asked, “Are you working only for food for the king. Your words are not uttered with any sense of responsibility that a servant must display. Remember a master is served not only for obtaining food but also for favors for self or friends and sometimes also for attacking of enemies. So it is more profitable to have a powerful master or friends. Further, it is important for you to realize that there are different types of servants. Some will do anything for a very small amount of earnings, others will demand millions. Look at the difference between a dog and elephant. A dog when thrown a bone by his master eagerly wags his tail and runs around the master and laps up the bone even if there is hardly any flesh on it, but the elephant always looks on gravely even when food is placed in front of it and eats only when goaded several times by the master. Being associated with the powerful and learned gives life meaning else one can live like a crow which lives merely by gathering food discarded by others. One who desires solely to fill his stomach never learns to discriminate between good and evil and never has the opportunity to learn and achieve larger goals.”
But Karataka was confused and said, “But neither of us has any power or authority in the kingdom, so how can we take any action. It can take a long time to get to a position of authority, using which we can take some action.”
Damanaka was the clever one between them and so he replied, “no one in the world becomes great or lowly by others designating them high or low. People receive dignity or disgrace by their own actions. Just like the stone can be rolled uphill by great effort by a person but left to itself it rolls down without effort, this is the nature of one’s soul. Only individual effort can make a person esteemed or dignified. Without effort, no person gains anything.”
Karataka then asked, “So what is your plan?” Damanaka replied, “I notice that the lion has become scared of something when he went to drink water, and so he came back to the cave without drinking water and is now hiding there.”
Karataka asked how Damanaka could be sure that Pingalaka, the lion, had been scared by something. Damanaka smiled and said, “A wise person can know a lot even if a single word is not uttered. By noting the expressions, gestures, body language, by the way a person moves, by the words he/she utters, by a change in the eyes and mouth a lot can be gathered about the inner thoughts of a person. Having the benefit of such knowledge, I am sure I can influence him to become close to me and tell me everything that is happening with him. I know the right words to approach a powerful king and also know how to show enough affection and concern for the Lion to become open to my advances and welcome me into his den for a conversation.”
Now Karataka was still unsure of Damanaka’s skills and so replied, “Brother I think you are ignorant of what is meant by service. Anyone who enters without being called, speaks without being asked and thinks that he can gain favors from the king is surely an ignorant person. So do not try to force your way into the lion’s den.”
To this rebuke, Damanaka responded, “Brother why do you think I am ignorant of what service means? One should only know what is endearing to another and approach the person accordingly. So when the lion asks who it is I shall evoke his power traits and reply by saying – Dear Sir, command me wholly, I am in your service, I desire little from you and will always be faithful, follow you like a shadow and never hesitate to take action when commanded by you.”
Karataka thought for a minute then asked, “Suppose the lion gets irritated with you for untimely intrusion into his den, what will you do then?”
Damanaka was quick to reply, “Brother, stopping oneself from action simply due to fear of committing a mistake is the way of a coward. Also remember, a king will always favor those who are near him, even if the person is uneducated, uncouth and unsophisticated. It is said that kings and vines wrap themselves around that which is closest.”
So then Karataka asked, “So what will you say when you enter?”
Damanaka was quick to respond and said, “I will first try to understand if the master is favorable or unfavorable to me.” Karataka, “How will you do that?” Damanaka said, “The signs of interest and favor are – a look from a distance, a smile by him on enquiry from me, showing some recognition and recall of me. But if he delays replying, gives no response or does not reward me with a slight smile and recognition then I would know that he is not feeling very favorably towards me. Moreover, a master’s approach and attachment can be gauged by how he views the qualities of a servant. So the master can be of 3 types :
> Attached, when servant’s faults look like virtues
> Estranged, when the servant’s virtues become faults
> Impartial, when the servant’s faults are faults and virtues are virtues
Having understood and gained such wisdom I will be able to approach and manage the lion.”
Having convinced Karataka, Damanaka headed towards the Lion’s den.
What happens there.. Part 6…
