There is an old Hindu story of a young man walking back to his village late at night, his path barely lit by the light of the Moon, when he saw a snake in the middle of the path. Now, being a smart man, he knew that if he made the tiniest of mistakes the snake would be startled, and in its fury bite him to death.
Ah, that such a young life would be cut down for something as miserable as a mere ‘snake bite’- not really a story of great romance and adventure ...
So he thought and thought and thought [did I say that he was a smart young man ?].
Well he realized that he had no choice but to backtrack, go the long way around to his village. Yes, it was late at night; yes, he was hungry and tired; yes, the snake was a lousy animal to force him to do this - but, well, what could he do...?
Nothing.
And so he walked back three miles until he got to the crossroads, and took the long way back home... a journey that left him not only tired, but also furious at the arrogance of that lousy snake who would treat him so !
Early the next day he gathered the villagers together and told them all of his near death experience...and how this enormous giant of a snake had nearly swallowed him whole... and, if it wasn’t for his quick thinking - and quicker feet - he would now be dead ! ...
mere food for such a lowly beast ...
And so the villagers gathered together, armed with sticks and brooms, walked back along the path to face this perilous threat.
And soon enough they came to that fateful spot... and there, quite unconcerned by the cacophony of this rebel mob, laying quite still in all its ferocity...facing them all in its inherent arrogance ... was ... a piece of rope ...
Oh, the laughter... Oh, the jeering ... Oh, what a merry day it was that such a brave young man could be bested by such a vile, monstrous, dangerous...piece of rope !
... ... ...
An interesting conundrum, would you say.
Was the young man wrong in gathering together a group of valiant men, whose only desire was to protect their village from a deadly threat ...?
Should he have ignored what he believed to be a real danger, thinking that: well, he had survived, and so others should have to face this threat on their own...?
Or should he have gone back on his own, here to test his own machismo and prove himself a valiant warrior...?
How was he to know that his own perception was false indeed... and that what he truly believed with the fullness of his heart and mind to be a deadly danger... was in fact a mere mistake...perhaps, even a fabrication of his internal fears...?
Or should he consider the easier path of denial, believing that maybe it didn’t happen...maybe if he just shut up it would be someone else’s problem to solve
...... ... ...
And so I ask you, dear reader, to seriously consider his plight, his choices, and the motivations that drove him ... for even though you do not live in a small village in India, yet there are very real dangers on each of our paths...
And yes, we may fool ourselves that they don’t exist, that they are a fabrication of a dark night ... but remember what a wise man once said: “All it takes for evil to succeed is for men and women of goodwill to do nothing.”
As always, the choice is entirely yours... and so are the consequences this creates
I am grateful to each and everyone of you, my beloved brothers and sisters, that we all walk this Path of Light together ... Namaste ...
