I once had a colleague who was an unassuming and kindly man. He was soft spoken, polite and gracious in his behaviour. Unfortunately, some people mistook his decency for weakness and took advantage of him. So, one day, I told him this parable:

A group of persons from a village went to a holy man, a Saint, who was meditating in a cave in the mountains. They were very scared and complained to the Saint about large venomous snake who was terrorizing everyone in the village.

“This terrible serpent’s hiss can be heard for miles around,” they said. “He mercilessly bites everyone – the snake does not spare anyone and attacks even our wives, our children, our cattle, our dogs, everyone. Even the bravest among us have become afraid to venture out into the fields, which are dry, parched, uncultivated. Our granaries are depleted and empty. Our numbers are dwindling from death by the snake, and by starvation. Please help us. You are a great Guru and you alone can subdue and vanquish him.”

The Saint, realizing the gravity of the situation, went to the village, to where the snake lived, and as he approached, the terrible venomous snake moved swiftly toward him with upraised hood. The terrified villagers ran away, leaving the Saint to deal with the snake.

The Saint looked at snake, slithering and undulating, his scales shimmering in the sunlight, dark and shining in his majesty, awesome in his length and his beauty.

“Come forth, O Magnificent One,” the Saint called out to the snake, and mesmerized by the aura and charismatic presence of the Saint, the snake suddenly he lost all his ferocity and glided towards the Saint and coiled up meekly at the Saint’s feet in obeisance.

“O you beautiful creature, what is it that I hear about you being the scourge of the village? Leave your destructive ways. Be good. Don’t terrorize the poor villagers needlessly. Please stop biting them. Leave them alone,” the Saint said to the snake.

The snake bowed and nodded assent. He resolved to leave his evil ways and be good and promised the Saint that henceforth he would not bite anyone.

The venomous snake turned a new leaf, scrupulously kept his promise and began to live a life of innocence, without attempting to harm anyone.

The villagers were very happy, the fields flourished, the cattle grazed and the children came out to play fearlessly.

One day, several months later, the Saint passed by the village, searched for the snake and found the snake coiled near the root of a tree, lying mangled and half dead. The snake was utterly transformed. His scales had fallen off; he looked dilapidated, emaciated, innocuous, and badly injured. He had sores all over his body. The poor snake seemed to be on the verge of death.

“O My Dear Friend, what happened to you…?” the Saint asked the snake.

“This, O Guru, is the fruit of obedience, of being good. I obeyed you, I gave up my evil ways, I let the villagers alone, I stopped biting them, I stopped attacking them, and what happened to me? Now everyone pelts me with stones, beats me with sticks, even the children tease me and drag me mercilessly by the tail. But I have kept my promise that I made to you…”

The Saint smiled and lovingly said to the snake, “I exhorted you not to attack them, but I did not prohibit you from hissing… yes, my dear friend,I told you not to bite them, but did I ever tell you not to hiss …?”

The snake learned a lesson for life and henceforth got on in life safely.

Moral of the Story:

DON'T “BITE” - BUT DON'T STOP “HISSING”

VIKRAM KARVE

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

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2 comments:

DhakkanzJanuary 26, 2012 at 9:39 PM
Very true! Even I learned this lesson the hardest way - by having it experienced myself.

It is good to be kind and good with everyone, but that should not mean anyone can take you for a ride at his / her own will.
theartandcraftgalleryJanuary 27, 2012 at 3:22 AM
Nice story, its does work everytime!
I like your writing styles and most of the time it inspires me to write ab it more :D.

Thanks. Happy writing

I Write and I Blog because I want to say something.
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Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve

Thursday, January 26, 2012

IS BEHAVING DECENTLY A MARK OF WEAKNESS ?

I once had a colleague who was an unassuming and kindly man. He was soft spoken, polite and gracious in his behaviour. Unfortunately, some people mistook his decency for weakness and took advantage of him. So, one day, I told him this parable:

2 comments: