Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), Last week I drew your attention to one of many, ‘Teaching Stories’. This week I bring to your attention yet another story which is extracted from an interesting and thought provoking work, ‘Tales of Dervishes’ by Idries Shah.
Dervish tales were never presented merely on the level of a fable, legend or folklore. They stand comparison in wit, construction and piquancy with the finest stories of any culture, yet their true function as teaching stories is little known.
The Ant and the Dragonfly
An Ant with a settled programme in its mind was looking at some nectar when a dragonfly swooped to taste from the flower’s cup. It flitted away and came and swooped again.
This time the ant said:
‘You live without a labour, and you have no plan. As you have no real nor comparative purpose, what is the dominant feature of your life – and where will it end?’
Said the dragonfly:
‘I am happy, and I seek pleasure, this is existence and objective enough. My aim is to have no aim. You may plan as you will; you cannot convince me that there is anything better. You to you plan, me to mine.’
The ant thought:
‘That which is visible to me is invisible to him. He does not know what happens to ants. I know what happens to dragonflies. Him to his plan, I to mine.
And the ant went his way, for he had admonished as far as was possible in the circumstances.
Some time later their paths crossed again.
The ant had found a butcher’s shop, and he was standing under the chopping-block with discretion, awaiting what would come to him.
The dragonfly, seeing the red meat from above, came gliding down and settled on it. At that moment the butcher’s cleaver descended and cut the dragonfly in two.
One half of the body rolled on to the floor at the feet of the ant. Taking up the corpse and starting to drag it towards his nest, the ant recited to himself:
‘His plan is finished, and mine continues. “He to his plan” is ended, “Me to mine” begins a cycle. Pride seemed important, it was transitory thing. A life of eating, to end with being eaten by something else.
When I suggested this, all he could think was that I might be a killjoy.’
Tales of Dervishes – Idries Shah
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As I conclude today’s episode;
I want to draw your attention to these wise words of a Storyteller which I have extracted from a monumental work ‘Kalila wa Dimna’, which has been inspired from “The Panćatantra” which in turn has inspired many story telling traditions directly or indirectly.
My stories require, at this stage, no extra commentary, imaginings, or guesswork by you, me, or anyone else. The very worst would be that of moralizing. To explain away is to forget. Thus, let the stories which you can remember do their own work by their very diversity. Familiarize yourself with them.
Excerpt from Doctor’s orders:
Kalila Wa Dimna; Vol.1 – Ramsay Wood
And also let us remember: Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. We feed the hunger blindly. Once the mechanism is brought to our attention and we begin to study it, it is as if a veil has been stripped off ordinary life, and we become freer in our action and choices.
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