Our ego generally gets the better of us in life and we suffer when we let our ego rule us. Divinity has provided us with a speed breaker within us – the voice of conscience. This voice is clear within all of us. It warns us when we tread the wrong path. But we rarely pay heed to this voice. The clamor of our desires and our puffed up ego which says we know it all – stop us from hearing the voice. We do exactly as we please and then we suffer. Our well wishers also warn us and caution us. But we are caught in the sense of self importance and do not pay heed to right advice. When we pause and reflect on what we are about to do, we can save ourselves a lot of misery in life. We must act out of self preservation and dharma and not out of ego. Trying to prove that we are the best in everything is height of foolishness. Yet all of us indulge in such idiotic acts. This story from the Panchatantra illustrates this truth well:
Once upon a time, there lived a poor washerman in a village. He had very few possessions in life. One of them was a thin donkey. The donkey served him faithfully day and night by carrying the clothes to and fro. His master barely managed to eke out a living. So the donkey was not fed to his satisfaction and always remained thin and hungry. In order to save his life, the donkey began to wander in the fields nearby at nights and eat the crops stealthily. During one such visit, the donkey met a jackal and made friends with him. Daily both of them met at night and went out in search of food. Once they found a field full of cucumbers. They ate well of the fresh and cool cucumbers. They were both happy to have found such a treasure trove of ready food.
The donkey and jackal visited this field regularly and ate their fill. Soon the donkey began to look healthy and fat. Once after having eaten a tasty meal of fresh cucumbers, the donkey was very happy. He wanted to show the world his happiness by singing a song. He expressed his desire to sing to the jackal. The jackal warned him: Do not be foolish. If you sing, your braying will awaken the guards sleeping here as your voice is not sweet and soothing. The guards will surely use their sticks well on us and beat us black and blue. The donkey thought his friend was jealous of him. He felt that he had the right to express his happiness through a melodious song.
The donkey opened his mouth to bray. The jackal saw that the donkey was getting ready to sing his heart out. So he asked him to wait for a few minutes. He jumped over the fence and waited outside the field of cucumbers. On hearing the donkey bray in the field, the guard and the owner woke up from their sleep and rushed to the braying donkey. Seeing the fat donkey which had eaten up their crop, they were in a rage. They beat up the donkey black and blue with their heavy sticks
The donkey was physically unable to move or walk for some time. He dragged himself somehow out of the field to where the jackal was waiting. The jackal felt very sorry looking at the pathetic condition of his friend. He spoke to him lovingly and requested him to pay heed to his warnings the next time and not suffer in this way. The donkey realised that his own ego and self importance prevented him from hearing the advice of his well wisher and that he deserved the pain and suffering inflicted upon him. He decided to pay attention to the friend’s warnings.
Anytime we puff up and decide to show off our achievements or possessions, somewhere and somehow we get hit. Many around us cannot tolerate our happiness. We are mainly responsible for the pain and damage we cause ourselves as we do not pay heed to our inner wisdom and also to the warnings of family and friends. Regular japa of SitaRam Mantra and meditation helps us to calm our minds down and we are able to think and act in a rational manner.
