Patience is very essential in life. It is the fortitude with which we bear the problems of life and keep moving on without giving up hope. Patience is needed to master simple tasks like eating, walking and running. Without patience, we cannot study, acquire knowledge and wisdom, cannot earn wealth, name and fame. Lack of patience makes us angry, irritable, fearful and discourages us from persevering in our work. So we fail in all the things we attempt. Patience is a virtue we should cultivate and nurture. Patience is a blessing which enables us to achieve success in any walk of life. Let us see the story of the young boy and the bear nail which drives home the importance of patience:
There was a young boy living in a village near the mountains. All day long, he dreamed of being the best warrior in the village and in the nearby land. He learnt and practiced the arts of sword fighting and archery from a wise old man who lived in the village. The wise old man was a teacher. He gave lessons in reading the stars, medicinal herbs, history, mathematics, music and use of weapons to the children in the village and in return the villagers took care of his needs. The young boy practised by night and studied by day with the wise old man.
The young boy wanted to be a master archer. He believed that in order to be a great warrior he must excel in archery. After six months of training, he had not learnt to aim well and always missed his target. He was dejected at his lack of progress. His teacher who had been observing him regularly, told him that he must get a nail from a living bear’s claw in order to achieve his ambition. If he did, he would become the best archer in the entire region. The boy sought his teacher’s blessings and left in search of the bear. Their village was at the edge of the bear region of the forest. The villagers saw bears once in a way when they passed by the forest.
After a few days of walking through the forest area, the young boy spotted a big brown bear at a distance. At the same time, the bear also saw him. The boy was scared stiff and he lay down on the ground without moving. The bear came up to him and looked at him. It sat near him and looked at him for a long time and then ambled away. Hours passed. The sun also set. Finally, the boy found the courage to move and walked back home as quickly as he could.
The next day, when the young boy returned to the same spot, he found the bear sitting there. The boy sat next to the bear quietly without making any noise. Occasionally the bear glanced at the young boy and sometimes the young boy looked at the bear. Hours passed. Both sat there without budging. In the evening, the young boy slowly rose and returned home. This went on for two months. The young boy grew bolder and starting moving closer to the bear. The bear did not mind his presence. After six months, the bear was literally eating out of his hands.
One day after he fed the bear, the young boy gently took the bear’s paw in his hands and sat caressing it. He was amazed that the bear was enjoying it. Gathering courage, he gently cut the bear’s nail. With great difficulty, he remained calm as he was sitting next to the bear. At sunset, when he left the bear, he ran all the way to the village and showed his teacher the bear’s nail. The teacher asked him how he got it. The young boy explained all that happened in the past six months with the bear and how he cultivated friendship with it.
The teacher was very happy. He told the young boy he could leave the school immediately and move on in life. The young boy was disappointed. He thought his teacher would perform some magic by which he would become a master archer. The teacher explained to him that as he had cultivated patience and achieved his goal, he could achieve any goal in life. He would definitely become a master archer.
The magic formula to any success in life is patience. Once we learn this secret, we move on steadily in our path of success in material and spiritual life. Let us be patient and do our practices of SitaRam Mantra, meditation and follow the teachings of the Guru. Surely, we will achieve grace and enlightenment in life.
