{"id":4340,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4340"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:19","slug":"21-prudence-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02\/21-prudence-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-21_Prudence.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\nSeven <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\nPrudence <\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n                \u201cG<\/font><\/span>ood shot!\u201d
\nThe cry rang out as the young Indian let fly his arrow and hit his mark. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d someone said, \u201cbut it is broad
\ndaylight. The archer can see his target. He is not so skilled as Dasaratha.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd what does Dasaratha do?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHe
\nis Sabdabhedi.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhat is that?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHe
\nshoots by sound.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWell, he can shoot in the dark. At night he
\ngoes out into the jungle and listens, and when he has judged, from the sound of
\nwings or footsteps, what kind of game he has encountered he lets fly his arrow
\nand hits it as surely as if he had shot by day.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Thus the reputation of Dasaratha, prince of
\nthe city of Ayodhya, was noised abroad. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nwas proud of his skill as Sabdabhedi, and pleased with the praise of the
\npeople. At dusk he would go out alone in his chariot to lie in wait in the
\nheart of the forest. Now he would hear the tread of a buffalo or an elephant
\ncoming to drink at the river, now the light-footed deer or the stealthy
\napproach of a tiger. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>One
\nnight as he lay among the bushes, listening for the sound of leaves or water,
\nhe suddenly heard something moving on the shore of the lake. He could see
\nnothing in the darkness, but was not Dasaratha a Sabdabhedi? The sound was
\nenough for him: it was most certainly an elephant. He shot an arrow.
\nImmediately a cry rang out which made him leap up. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHelp! Help! Someone has shot me!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nbow fell from Dasaratha’s<\/span> hands; he suddenly felt
\ndizzy with horror. What had he done? Wounded a human being instead of a wild
\nbeast? He rushed through the jungle towards the <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 204<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n <\/span>lake. On the bank a young man was lying in his own blood, all dishevelled<\/span>, holding in his hand a pitcher which he had
\njust been filling. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cO
\nsir,\u201d he groaned, \u201cwas it you who shot the fatal arrow? What harm have I done
\nyou that you should treat me so? I am a hermit’s son. My aged parents are
\nblind; I look after them and provide for their needs. I came to draw water for
\nthem, and now I shall no longer be able to serve them! Follow this path to
\ntheir hut and tell them what has happened. But first pull out this shaft from
\nmy breast, for it gives me great pain.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Dasaratha removed the arrow from the wound.
\nThe young man breathed a last sigh and died. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then the prince filled the pitcher with water
\nand followed the path the dying youth had shown him. As he came near, the
\nfather called out: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cMy
\nson, why have you taken so long? Was it to swim in the lake? We feared that
\nsome harm had befallen you. But why do you not answer?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>With a trembling voice Dasaratha said: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\nam not your son, O holy hermit. I am a Kshatriya, and until now I was proud of
\nmy skill with a bow. This night as I lay in wait I thought I heard an elephant
\ndrinking at the water’s edge. I shot my arrow. Alas! It was your son I struck.
\nOh, tell me how to atone for my fault.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then the old couple cried out and wept. They
\nbade the prince lead them to the spot where their son lay, their only son. They
\nrecited sacred hymns over his body and sprinkled the water of the funeral
\nrites. Then the hermit said: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cListen, Dasaratha! Through your fault we shed
\ntears over our dear son. One day, you also shall weep over a beloved son.
\nBefore that many years will pass; but the punishment shall surely come.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>They made a pyre to burn the dead body, then
\nthrew themselves into the flames and perished also. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Time passed. Dasaratha became king of Ayodhya
\nand mar-<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 205<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

ried<\/span><\/span> the lady Kausalya<\/span>. And his son was the
\nglorious Rama. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Rama was loved by all in the city, except
\nQueen Kaikeyi<\/span>, the king’s second wife, and her maid.
\nThese two women plotted the downfall of noble Rama, and because of them he was
\nsent into exile for fourteen years. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then Dasaratha mourned his son, as the aged
\nparents had mourned in the jungle for the young man who had died at midnight by
\nthe lakeside. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Dasaratha had once been so proud of his skill
\nthat he had lacked prudence and given no thought to the risk of wounding
\nsomeone in the darkness. It would have been better for him only to draw his bow
\nin full daylight than to trust so rashly in his skill as Sabdabhedi. He meant
\nno harm, but he lacked foresight. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A
\nmerchant of the city of Benares once took pity on two old vultures who were
\npoor and miserable. He took them to a dry place, lit a fire and fed them with
\npieces of meat from the pyre where people burnt dead cattle. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When the rainy season came, the vultures, now
\nstrong and well, flew away towards the mountains. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nin their gratitude to the merchant of Benares, they decided to pick up all the
\nclothes they could find lying about so as to give them to their kindly friend.
\nThey flew from house to house, from village to village, snatched up all the
\ngarments drying out in the open and took them to the merchant’s house. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nappreciated their good intentions, but he neither used nor sold the stolen
\nclothes; he simply put them away carefully. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>However, traps had been set everywhere for the
\ntwo vultures, and one of them was caught. He was brought before the king, who
\nasked him: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhy are you robbing my subjects?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cOne day a merchant saved the lives of my
\nbrother and myself; in order to repay our debt, we have collected these clothes
\n<\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 206<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

for him,\u201d the bird replied. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nmerchant was summoned before the king and questioned in his turn. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSire,\u201d
\nhe said, \u201cthe vultures did indeed bring me many clothes, but I have kept them
\nall safely and I am ready to give them back to their owners.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nking pardoned the vultures, for they had acted out of gratitude, though without
\ndiscernment; and thanks to his prudence, the merchant too was spared.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nJapanese have a picturesque way of expressing their idea of prudence. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>They have in one of their temples an image of
\na meditating Buddha seated on a lotus-blossom. In front of him are three little
\nmonkeys, one with its hands over its eyes, another over its ears, and the third
\ncovering its mouth. What do these three monkeys signify? By its gesture the
\nfirst one says: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\ndo not see evil and folly.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nsecond one says: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\ndo not hear them.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nthe third: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI
\ndo not speak them.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In
\nthe same way, the wise man is prudent in what he looks at, in what he listens
\nto, and in what he says. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>He
\nconsiders the consequences, thinks of the morrow, and if he does not know his
\nway, he asks. <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 207<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seven   Prudence                   \u201cGood shot!\u201d The cry rang out as the young Indian let fly his arrow and hit his mark. \u201cYes,\u201d someone…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","wpcat-123-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}