Tolerance!

 

As Arjun came to the lake, he saw his twin brothers lying dead. He quickly strung his bow & looked around intently. Unable to see any enemy & being terribly thirsty, he went to take a drink. Once again, the voice declared: You cannot touch this water, for this lake belongs to me! Only if you answer my questions will I give you permission to drink

 

In response, Arjun challenged: I dare you to visibly come here & forbid me. Do so & I’ll give you my answers in the form of deadly arrows. He then picked up his bow & sent torrents of arrows into sky, towards the place from where voice seemed to come. He then paused & the voice said: You shouldn’t waster your time & energy in this way. You can only drink water after answering my questions. If you don’t comply, you’ll die like your brothers

 

Still Arjun disregarded the warning & as soon as he drank some water, he fell dead on the shore

 

Meanwhile, when Arjun did not return, Yudhisthira sent Bhima to search for his 3 brothers. When Bhima came to the lake & saw his 3 brothers dead, he became exceedingly distressed, considering this to have been work of a Yaksa or Rāksasa. While preparing himself to fight, Bhima first approached the lake to quench his burning thirst. Again, the voice ordered the same. But without bothering about it, Bhima drank some water & lay dead

 

Yudhisthira waited for a long time in great anxiety & then set out, his heart burning with grief. As he came to the shore of lake, he saw his brothers lying dead. His worst fears confirmed, he began to wail aloud shedding profuse tears & tried to ascertain cause of his brothers’ death. He decided to quench his thirst first before continuing his investigation

 

As he was about to enter water to refresh himself, a voice once again commanded: This lake belongs to me & you can’t drink water without first answering my questions. If you ignore my warning & try to drink water, you’ll become the 5th corpse lying on ground. I’m a crane living at this lake & it is I who killed your brothers

 

Yudhisthira said: Pls disclose your real identity, for I can’t believe that my heroic brothers can be killed by a mere bird. The voice said: I’m a Yaksa, taking the form of a crane. Yudhisthira saw a huge crane standing on one leg in the middle of water. Effulgent crane roared like thunder & said, you can only drink water after answering my questions

 

Yudhisthira said: I don’t covet this water, since it is the property of another. Still, if you so desire, I’ll answer your questions of my own volition. Yaksa then posed numerous questions & Yudhisthira answered them all very concisely

 

Wisdom wins where strength fails. Strategic submissiveness minimizes the impact of retribution from others. Acceptance of what truly belongs to us & what not saves us from misplaced behavior of appropriation. Blessings come in different forms and same applies to misfortune

 

Let’s not fall to the plot. Tolerance means to accept the dualities of this world without being affected by its joys & sorrows

 

Thoughts? #gameoflife


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