Yudhisthira said: There are many persons who externally appear to be very tranquil while internally they are in turmoil. Similarly, there are others that don’t appear to be peaceful externally & yet internally they are quite self-satisfied. Considering this, how can one distinguish between one who has attained peace of mind & one who has not?
Bhisma said: I’ll tell you a story to understand the answer to your question. Long ago there was a wicked king named Paurika, who ruled from his capital city, Purika. As a result of his very sinful & cruel acts, this king had to accept the body of a jackal in his next life, although by the mercy of the Lord, he was able to remember his past prosperity. Because of this, Paurika felt very morose at having become so degraded
Being directly able to see how suffering is caused by a sinful life, he became repentant. Indeed, the jackal decided to completely abstain from meat & also made up his mind to be truthful in speech & compassionate towards others. The jackal remained living at the place of his birth, a large crematorium & subsisted upon whatever fruit happened to fall from the trees
The other jackals couldn’t bear the sight of their brother’s pure behaviour & so they tried to preach to him, saying: Dear brother, your mode of behaviour is perverse, for jackals are by nature meat eaters. Act like the rest of us & as a reward we will supply all your food
The pious jackal replied with sweet words: Even though I have taken such a low birth, I don’t wish to act in a lowly manner. I aspire to act piously & then spread my good fame. The particular species in which one is born, or the occupational duty that he has acquired, does not determine one’s true merit. It is his understanding & behaviour that qualifies a person as either elevated or degraded. For this reason, I do not want to live like other jackals who exist simply for the purpose of filling their bellies
A tiger happened to overhear this conversation. Considering the jackal to be a very pious & learned person, he approached him. After worshipping him respectfully, he humbly requested the jackal to become his minister
The Jackal said: I’m very pleased by your noble words & the honour shown to me., but I feel that I may not be properly suited for such a political post. I’ve no desire to alter my position for economic gain. In fact, I prefer a simple & anxiety-free forest life to the life of intrigue that invariably thrives in the royal palace
O King! You may highly respect me now, but there is no doubt that with time your wicked ministers will sow seeds of dissension between us. Still, I’ll agree to become your minister if you accept following condition-My consultation with you should always be private, I must never be called upon to advice for your family members & you must never punish me or any of my dependants without a sufficient cause
Despite the conditions, the tiger happily accepted the jackal as his minister. Later on, however, when the other servants of the King saw how much honour & respect was being given to the jackal, they became envious, so much so that while talking amongst themselves, they openly expressed their hatred for the new minister. Because these other servants of the king lived by misappropriating the wealth of others, they saw the jackal as a threat to their existence
Story to be continued…..
#gameoflife
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