Path of self-destruction
Aesop narrates the story of a frog that destroyed himself because
of his egomania. One of the frog’s friends once tells him that she had seen a
huge animal as big as a mountain with horns on its head. Apparently she had
seen a wild buffalo.
However the silly he frog made up his mind to convince her that there could be none as big as himself. So he starts blowing himself up to grow in size. “Was he as big as this?” he asked. The young friend immediately replied “Oh…no! Much bigger…”. He continued to swell himself without realizing the truth until he burst and lost his life.
However the silly he frog made up his mind to convince her that there could be none as big as himself. So he starts blowing himself up to grow in size. “Was he as big as this?” he asked. The young friend immediately replied “Oh…no! Much bigger…”. He continued to swell himself without realizing the truth until he burst and lost his life.
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Many times in life, we think & act similar to the frog. We put
lot of efforts to convince someone about something just to satisfy our ego. Pride will let us down. More often than not we end up losing a perceived battle that never existed and
it is then we realize how our past actions were so meaningless.
Contemplation would reveal that there was never a chance for us to win. The sheer insanity with which one reacts to various situations would sometimes be even fatal as we have seen it happening with the silly frog.
Is it not better to get away from this path of self-destruction as quickly as possible? We should constantly be wary of self-conceit getting in the way of our own growth. What can be termed more foolish than treading the path of self-destruction due to one’s own stupid deeds?
Contemplation would reveal that there was never a chance for us to win. The sheer insanity with which one reacts to various situations would sometimes be even fatal as we have seen it happening with the silly frog.
Is it not better to get away from this path of self-destruction as quickly as possible? We should constantly be wary of self-conceit getting in the way of our own growth. What can be termed more foolish than treading the path of self-destruction due to one’s own stupid deeds?
The rich beggar’s pride
Life brings us face to face with situations of varying
difficulties. It will not always be the same. It is the very nature of life to
be cyclic. A person who is rich today may become poor tomorrow and a beggar
this day may turn rich next day.
Wealth in terms of possession of money and material items is
just another transition in one’s journey of life. Keeping this in mind, we
should always strive to be on the path of righteousness. But unfortunately the
moment a person gets possession of such material wealth, a false sense of
superiority creeps into the mind.
If it is not curtailed in its initial stages of development, it will grow to become a monster known as pride. An egotistic feeling gets attached to any deed that is performed. The “I” factor becomes prominent in the behavior of such a person. The person would take it for granted that his possession will be with himself forever.
If it is not curtailed in its initial stages of development, it will grow to become a monster known as pride. An egotistic feeling gets attached to any deed that is performed. The “I” factor becomes prominent in the behavior of such a person. The person would take it for granted that his possession will be with himself forever.
It is well known that being excessively absorbed in oneself by
preening about one’s richness is bound to result in one’s downfall. Learned
people often draw a simile in terms of a beggar who becomes rich.
If a poor man becomes wealthy he would order a servant to hold an umbrella over his head at midnight. It may sound insane but such is life’s way of subjecting one to maya. The monster in beggar’s mind would play vicious tricks and drag him to his ruin. Before he understands the reality, he would have returned to his inferior status.
If a poor man becomes wealthy he would order a servant to hold an umbrella over his head at midnight. It may sound insane but such is life’s way of subjecting one to maya. The monster in beggar’s mind would play vicious tricks and drag him to his ruin. Before he understands the reality, he would have returned to his inferior status.
We should constantly remember the ways of nature and refrain
from becoming egotistic. When fortune smiles on us, we should be poised in our
behavior and have control on our mind in order to stamp out the pride before it
becomes a monster.
Being intelligently deaf
I’m sure you have heard of the motivational frog race story. Well,
if you haven’t, here is a gist. A group of frogs once organized a race. But it
was not an ordinary frog hopping race; the participants had to climb a tall
light pole. This was certainly a challenge for the four legged creatures.
The event started with lot of gusto however as time passed, one by one, frogs started falling down. Well, almost every frog had given up but there was one champion who never lost the focus and eventually reached the top.
Other frogs were happy that there was a winner and wanted to know the secret of this hero. They were in for a surprise. Everyone was dumbfounded when they realized that the winner frog was entirely deaf.
The event started with lot of gusto however as time passed, one by one, frogs started falling down. Well, almost every frog had given up but there was one champion who never lost the focus and eventually reached the top.
Other frogs were happy that there was a winner and wanted to know the secret of this hero. They were in for a surprise. Everyone was dumbfounded when they realized that the winner frog was entirely deaf.
The story goes on to explain that as the frog was deaf, he didn’t
hear the statements made by other frogs. And what were the fellow frogs saying?
“Ah, He will not make it to the top…” “Everyone has lost the race…he too would
fail” “Look, he’s slipping…” They were making all sorts of negative comments. No wonder, the frog won the race because he didn’t hear any of these words. The
story ends there.
Taking a cue from here, we have to acknowledge that these “other frogs” exist in our life too. We often meet people who are having a negative mindset towards what “others” do. To be the champion frog, we cannot afford to listen to them.
We face even a bigger challenge when our minds subconsciously accept negative thoughts sown by devils. But how do we figure out if a person is commenting genuinely or is there a hidden vested interest? Below tips could be helpful.
Taking a cue from here, we have to acknowledge that these “other frogs” exist in our life too. We often meet people who are having a negative mindset towards what “others” do. To be the champion frog, we cannot afford to listen to them.
We face even a bigger challenge when our minds subconsciously accept negative thoughts sown by devils. But how do we figure out if a person is commenting genuinely or is there a hidden vested interest? Below tips could be helpful.
1. Apply your own
reasoning: Don’t ever allow your subconscious mind to accept any comment
blindly. If you are upset by any comment or advice, write that down on a piece
of paper and think over it from the other person’s perspective. If, in any
angle, you find it useful consider it or else ignore it.
2. Validate: Check
the person’s consistency in terms of words and actions. If the person
“preaches” someone to do something and not doing it himself/herself, most
probably you should not pay heed to the person.
With our mental health at stake, we should consciously ignore the
other frogs who are only indulged in pulling us down. Are there any other tips
that you would like to add?
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