Sadhu And The Snake

Our elders --- parents or spiritual teachers---through short stories and anecdotes try to mould us and make us strong enough to live in this deceitful world peacefully without harming anyone. Everyone wants to live with dignity and self-respect. But for this it is also essential that we should respect the rights of others, be they human, animals or birds. Our spiritual teachers make us love one and all. Christ says ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’ and the saints remind us that all those living around us are our neighbors. But still for living in this wild world some tacts are required. The following story gives us some hints.

In a village there entered a poisonous snake. Whenever it got an opportunity or felt danger of someone, it would attack and bite. Many were bitten and some of them died also. The villagers were upset about it. But none dared to come near the snake for the sake of his own life. Once a Sadhu visited the village. The villagers approached the Sadhu and told him that how badly they were scared of the poisonous snake that had entered their village and bitten many and is now hiding somewhere in the village itself.

Sadhu possessed certain supernatural powers. He could even talk to the beasts and reptiles. Through his inner vision, he came to know where the snake was hiding. He approached the snake and commandingly advised him that he should not bite anyone in the village henceforth. The snake obeyed. The Sadhu told the villagers that they should not worry anymore. The snake will never bite them hereafter.

Exactly as the Sadhu had assured them, the snake stopped biting them. The fear that the villagers had of the snake, was gone. Now nobody bothered about the snake anymore. The children were playing and hitting it with the stones. Though the snake was wounded badly, yet it did not bite anyone.

After sometime, the same Sadhu visited the village again. He saw that the snake was badly wounded. The Sadhu approached it and asked how is it that you in such a pitiable condition. The snake replied, Sir this is all due to your command. Ever since I stopped biting they have started treating me like this. The Sadhu at-once remarked, ‘You fool, I stopped you for biting but not for hissing.’ Had you been hissing at them, they wouldn’t have harmed you in this manner.’

There is a common saying ‘If you want peace, be prepared for war.’ But it does not mean you harm anyone. It only means that you always remain prepared to safeguard your ownself, your own nation.