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, ‘World Tales’ by Idries Shah.
‘World Tales,’ is divided into five volumes and contains stories from great works like Panchatantra, Thousand and One Nights, Straparola, Boccaccio, Chaucer and Shakespeare and a dozen others which now form the basis of the classic literature of Europe and Asia.
The Ass in Pantherskin
There was once a donkey belonging to a washerman, which was exhausted through carrying heavy loads of laundry. His owner, to help him recover, put a panther’s skin over him for warmth and turned him into someone else’s field to graze.
The ass could eat as much as it liked, for people thought that he was a panther and did not drive him off, and so he revived somewhat.
A certain farmer, glimpsing the wild animal’s skin, was greatly afraid and stole away as cautiously as he might, wrapped in his grey cloak.
But the donkey, seeing what he took for a female ass in the distance, started to run after it. The man put on speed. The ass thought that he would give a mating-call, in case his quarry had mistaken him for a panther.
As soon as the man heard the donkey braying, he knew what he was, and, drawing his bow, killed him on the spot.
World Tales – Idries Shah
Many traditional tales have a surface meaning (perhaps just a socially uplifting one) and a secondary, inner significance, which is rarely glimpsed consciously, but which nevertheless acts powerfully upon our minds.
You can buy your copy from any of the bookstores near you or via any on-line portal selling books or also by clicking the following link:
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”.
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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Gaana | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS