Cycle of Evil - Tales of Bidpai (Panchatantra)

Cycle of Evil

(Based on a story in the ‘Tales of Bidpai’, an Arabic version of the Panchatantra.)

There was once a king who was so cruel and unjust that his subjects yearned for his death or dethronement. However, one day he surprised them all by announcing that he had decided to turn over a new leaf. “No more cruelty, no more injustice,” he promised, and he was as good as his word. 
He became known as the „Gentle Monarch‟. Months after his transformation one of his ministers plucked up enough courage to ask him what had brought about his change of heart. And the king answered, “As I was galloping through my forests I caught sight of a fox being chased by a hound. The fox escaped into his hole but not before the hound had bitten into its leg and lamed it for life.

Later I rode into a village and saw the same hound there. It was barking at a man. Even as I watched, the man picked up a huge stone and flung it at the dog, breaking its leg. 

The man had not gone far when he was kicked by a horse. His knee was shattered and he fell to the ground, disabled for life. The horse began to run but it fell into a hole and broke its leg. Reflecting on all that had happened, I thought: „Evil begets evil. 

If I continue in my evil ways, I will surely be overtaken by evil‟. So I decided to change”. The minister went away convinced that the time was ripe to overthrow the king and seize the throne. Immersed in thought, he did not see the steps in front of him and fell, breaking his neck.

Moral: Cycle of Deeds always gives us back what we give to others. If we do good to others, our good will happen, If we do bad to others, our turn will also come.

The Three Types of People

A teacher shows three toys to a student and asks the student to find out the differences. All the three toys are seemed to be identical in their shape, size and material. After keen observation, the student observes holes in the toys.

First toy it has holes in the ears.

Second toy has holes in ear and mouth.

Third toy has only one hole in one ear.

Then with the help of needle the student puts the needle in the ear hole of first toy. The needle comes out from the other ear.

In the second toy, when the needle was put in ear the needle came out of mouth.

And in the 3rd toy, when the needle was put in, the needle did not come out.

First toy represent those people around you who gives an impression that they are listening to you, all your things and care for you. But they just pretend to do so.

After listening, as the needle comes out from the next ear, the things you said to them by counting on them are gone. So be careful while you are speaking to this type of people around you, who does not care for you.

Second toy represent those people who listens to you all your things and gives an impression that they care for you. But as in the toy, the needle comes out from mouth. These people will use your things and the words you tell them against you by telling it to others and bringing out the confidential issues for their own purpose.

Third toy, the needle does not come out from it. These kinds of people will keep the trust you have in them. They are the ones who you can count on.

The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered there is opportunity for growth.

Marble and Sweets

A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed.

The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised.

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

Scattered Paper

Once upon a time an old man spread rumors that his neighbor was a thief. As a result, the young man was arrested. Days later the young man was proven innocent. After been released he sued the old man for wrongly accusing him. In court the old man told the Judge: 'They were just comments, didn't harm anyone....’ The judge, before passing sentence on the case, told the old man: 'Write all the things you said about him on a piece of paper. Cut them up and on the way home; throw the pieces of paper out. Tomorrow, come back to hear the sentence.'

The next day, the judge told the old man: 'Before receiving the sentence, you will have to go out and gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out yesterday.' The old man said: 'I can't do that! The wind spread them and I won't know where to find them.' The judge then replied: 'The same way, simple comments may destroy the honor of a man to such an extent that one is not able to fix it. "If you can't speak well of someone, rather don't say anything".

Moral: Let's all be masters of our mouths, so that we won't be slaves of our words.

The Wooden Bowl

(David Langerfeld)

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl!

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometime he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

The Elephant Rope

As a man was passing 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 nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” 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.” The man 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?

Moral: Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.