Greed and Carelessness: Story of a Jackal and a Sanyasi’s Downfall
Once upon a time, in a lonely ashram, lived a sanyasi named Dev Sharma.
Every day, clang-clang! went his little prayer bell. Being a well-known sanyasi, many people visited him to seek advice.
They gave him finely woven garments rustle-rustle! swish-swish! to show their respect and express gratitude.
Since he had no use for such fine clothes in his simple life, the sanyasi sold them at the market, exchanging them for shiny coins.
He then carefully tied these coins clink-clink! into a neat cloth bundle rustle-fold-flap! and tucked it securely under his arm.
Day and night he would guard his bundle of treasure, never letting the bundle leave his side.
Now, in a nearby town lived a swindler, Ashadhbhuti. He heard about Dev Sharma and his treasure. He visited his ashram. His eyes fell on the sanyasi’s treasure purse Glint-Glint!
He thought, “The holy man always carries treasure with him. I cannot rob him by force. I must use trickery.”
Next morning, he approached the sanyasi.
Shuffle-Shuffle… bow-bow…. He threw himself humbly on the ground in front of the sanyasi.
“Revered sir,” he said sweetly, “Life is hard and tricky. Guide me by taking me as your disciple.”
The kind-hearted sanyasi welcomed him warmly. Hmmm..
He said, “You can come to the ashram during the day to learn from me, but you must never stay here at night.”
Ashadhbhuti felt a thump of disappointment in his chest. He had hoped to steal the treasure while the sanyasi was asleep, but now he couldn’t.
Still, he obeyed. He followed the sanyasi, Dev Sharma faithfully wherever he went.
He fanned him – whoosh-whoosh and massaged his feet – press-press.
Days passed, but no matter how hard he tried, Ashadhbudhi could never get him hands on the sanyasi’s bundle of treasure.
One day, a man came to the ashram and invited the sanyasi to his home. The sanyasi, along with Ashadhbhuti, set off toward the town. Tap-tap… step-step…
On the way, they reached a river. Gurgle-gurgle..rush-rush…
The sanyasi said to Ashadhbhuti, “Wait here, my friend. I will drink some water and wash my face in the river.” He gave his treasure bundle to Ashadhbhuti, asking him to keep it safe, and then walked toward the river.
Splash-splash… sip-sip…
Now, across the river, an interesting scene was unfolding. Two strong and powerful rams were fighting each other.
Snort! Snort!Paw-paw! went their hooves against the dusty ground.
They lowered their heads.
Thuddd! Their horns crashed.
Again, they stepped back and ran towards each other and Bhaaaam!
Dust rose whooosh! Birds flew flutter-flutter!
The sanyasi, Dev Sharma noticed the commotion and began watching with interest.
He saw that a hungry jackal was approaching the rams from behind a bush.
Rustle… tip-tip… sniff-sniff…
The jackal saw drops of blood fall from the rams’ heads onto the ground. Drip… drip…
“Ah!” he thought. “Fresh blood without hunting! How lucky!”
The rams moved back to catch a breath. The hungry jackal crept forward to taste the blood on the ground.
Pat-pat-pat!
Slurp… lick…
The rams charged once more. Dhadaaaam!!!
Too quick. Too strong. Too late before the jackal could realise.
CRASHHH!
Their hard horns struck – with the jackal in between.
Crunch! Thump!
The rams staggered back. They saw the jackal and walked away.
On the ground lay the foolish jackal. Still. Silent.
Only the wind spoke whooosh… whoosh……
The sanyasi saw all this and said, “When giants clash, do not stand in between them for small gain. That foolish jackal should have been wiser. When someone knowingly walks into risk for small gain, he has only himself to blame for the consequences.”
Meanwhile, at the riverbank, Ashadhbhuti stared at the bundle in his hand.
His heart went, dhak-dhak… dhak-dhak…
He looked left and right. No one!
Quickly – Snatch! Pat-pat-pat! went his running feet. Whoooosh! He went through the bushes.
After witnessing the miserable fate of the jackal, the sanyasi made his way back to the riverbank. He was shocked to see that no one was there.
No disciple. No treasure bundle.
The sanyasi was devastated. His heart went thud as he realised, he put his trust in a stranger too quickly and believed his sweet words. His own greed and foolishness caused him to lose everything.
Just like the silly jackal, he could only blame himself for losing his treasure.
The sanyasi learned two important lessons that day:
- If you try to gain something, however small it is, from someone else’s fight, you will only get into trouble.
- Do not trust someone merely because they speak sweetly. Blind trust without thinking wisely leads to loss.
Moral of the story:
Let wisdom guide you, not greed or blind faith.
Both the stories narrated above, remind us that our own weaknesses – being greedy or acting without thinking -often cause problems for us. Therefore, we should learn to control our desires, be patient and think before we act.
