When in doubt follow nature!

A king escaped with his defeated, depleted army with no clue on how to begin afresh.

One day as he roamed the country side with his minsters and loyal soldiers, he hit upon an idea. The king had heard of a fertile area somewhere in the vicinity of where they were currently located. On inquiring about the place from the locals there, he found out that the king of that land was no more and the land was in total chaos.

“This is an opportunity for us to capture the place and bring some peace and progress there,” he told his ministers. But the catch was that the place was on the other side of a huge mountain.

The ministers suggested that they get as close to the mountain as possible and then decide what next to do. The army marched closer to the mountain and waited. Suddenly, one of the ministers spotted a goat grazing on top of the mountain.

“Hey, look there! A goat! There must be a path that will take us to the mountain top,” he exclaimed.

Eager to begin a new life the army attempted to climb the rough terrain of the formidable mountain. But very soon they lost their way and did not know how to proceed. They decided to climb down as the sun was setting and very soon it would become dark.

As they were climbing down, they saw a few goats climbing down ahead of them. When the goats had gone past, they saw a lone boy with a stick in his hand. Relieved, the army ran towards him. As they neared him, they realised that the boy was blind!

The king quickly introduced himself as a traveller in search of a livelihood. The boy guided them down mountain. Once they reached the foothills, one of the ministers asked the boy, how he could climb the mountain without being able to see.

The boy giggled mildly and said, “I thank God for making me blind. What is obvious to a blind man is not so obvious to people with vision,” he said.

The king and the ministers had to agree with the boy.

“I feel the spots where the goats step on. It is smoother that the rest of the area. I keep feeling for the spots and follow them,” he said, amused at the ignorance of a great king.

The next day the King and his ministers were seen feeling the rocks before stepping ahead. Very soon the little army were seen marching like tiny ants on top of the mountain!

What is obvious to a blind man is not so obvious to a man who can see!

The lemon and green chilli

A young boy named Chatur came under the tutelage of a wise guru.

The boy’s parents had left him under the guidance of the guru for five years, as was the custom during those days.

The first week was quite tough on the young boy, but he quickly learned to manage his work. He befriended the senior students and started learning things.

After a month had passed, the guru called Chatur. He gave him a couple of chillies and lemons tied to a string and asked him to set out of the ashram.

“Come back when the lemons and chillies have been consumed,” said the guru, lovingly sending off his talented student.

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The senior boys were indignant with the guru for sending such a small boy alone, though they did not dare to contest the guru’s orders.

The boy set foot outside the ashram and carefully led himself along, memorizing the route as he walked along. A few days later, as the boy reached a river bed, he fell unconscious. A few villagers who happened to pass by saw the boy and quickly rushed to his aid.

They rummaged through his tiny bag which had a couple of clothes, the lemons and the chillies and a bowl.

While one of the villagers sprinkled water on the boy’s face, another filled the bowl with water. By now the boy had regained his consciousness and was sitting. The villagers quickly squeezed the lemons into the bowl of water and made the boy drink it. After he drank the lemon juice he felt energized and thanked the bystanders.

One of them asked the boy, what made him think of bringing the lemons and chillies along. The boy returned a blank look.

“My guru asked me to return to the ashram once the chillies and lemons were consumed,” he said.

Once he was fit enough, Chatur resumed his journey. A few days later he reached a place that was very cold and Chatur found it difficult to adjust to the change in the climatic condition. He sat on a porch outside a house, shivering in the cold.

An old man opened the door and Chatur stood up instantly. As he stood up, his tiny bag fell to the ground, revealing the contents.

The old man helped Chatur pick the strewn contents. As he saw the chillies and one remaining lemon, he was curious.

“Son, what makes you shiver when you could have consumed the green chilli along with your food to keep you warm?” asked the old man gently.

Chatur spent the night at the old man’s cottage. In the morning Chatur thanked the old man and began walking back towards the ashram!

Even today, when people travel, they always carry lemons and green chillies, though the reason for doing this is not known to many.

With modern living replacing the olden methods there are many other ways that have evolved to protect the travellers against the varying climatic conditions that could prevail in each of these destinations. 

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