A saint was passing by a forest on his way to a pilgrim. As he was passing by the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," the trainer said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." he was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? Think for an instance what would have happened in case of a forest fire? Wouldn’t they break free to save their lives? They are going to stay there as far as they are safe, happy and secured, as far as there is no threat for their survival. Its advisable not to stay in a place where someone is not happy and satisfied. We have to make constructive efforts without any frustrations to protect freedom and justice. We have to realize the good purpose of life and thus put forth our best efforts to accomplish them. Its a mistake not to make constructive efforts to achieve the good objective. Mistakes become blunders when they are repeated knowingly with consciousness. One has to be wise enough to take the required bold step to achieve the good objective of peace and brotherhood. One must resolve the issues peacefully.
He saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," the trainer said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." he was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? Think for an instance what would have happened in case of a forest fire? Wouldn’t they break free to save their lives? They are going to stay there as far as they are safe, happy and secured, as far as there is no threat for their survival. Its advisable not to stay in a place where someone is not happy and satisfied. We have to make constructive efforts without any frustrations to protect freedom and justice. We have to realize the good purpose of life and thus put forth our best efforts to accomplish them. Its a mistake not to make constructive efforts to achieve the good objective. Mistakes become blunders when they are repeated knowingly with consciousness. One has to be wise enough to take the required bold step to achieve the good objective of peace and brotherhood. One must resolve the issues peacefully.
*[ All Stories.]
*[ Blind Men - Buddha.] [Freedom and Prison.] [Critical mass, Experiment.] [Healing affection.]
*[ Punyakoti - Truth.] [Reply to question.] [Hasty decision.] [False Cry.] [Views.]
