Once upon a time, in a small hamlet, there lived a wise brahmin. He had a few disciples whom he had taken under him. He passed on his knowledge to these disciples. The brahmin performed periodic rituals through which he paid tribute to his parents who were long gone. As part of the ritual, a feast was prepared by the wife of this nobleman. He would first offer the food to the dead and only after that have his meal. The entire hamlet followed his stride. In fact, the neighbouring villages too asked the noble brahmin to perform the rituals, and they all ate only after the food was offered to their ancestors.
In fact, the neighbouring villages too asked the noble brahmin to perform the rituals, and they all ate only after the food was offered to their ancestors.
Once it so happened that just before the rituals, the brahmin realised that there was no milk in the ashram. All the cows were gone for grazing too. So the brahmin asked one of his disciples to go run and find a cow nearby and fetch some milk. He said, I need the milk quickly, my ancestors can't wait hungry, and they need to drink the milk. He also asserted to the disciple, "I can't keep them dissatisfied, so you better rush." The disciple diligently took a pot with him and went finding a cow nearby.
It was almost two hours and the disciple had not returned. The brahmin was getting impatient and jittery. He took the charge to himself and set out to find this disciple. He found his disciple by the river. The disciple was sitting and the cow was laying on the ground a little further. The brahmin asked his disciple, what was he doing. His disciple replied that the cow was sleeping, so he thought if he fed her first, she would let him milk her. And so I brought some grass for her to graze. But the cow still continued to sleep, so I have to now wait until she wakes up to milk her.
His disciple replied that the cow was sleeping, so he thought if he fed her first, she would let him milk her. And so I brought some grass for her to graze. But the cow still continued to sleep, so I have to now wait until she wakes up to milk her.
The brahmin got suspicious and went further to check. The cow, as the wise brahmin had anticipated, was sadly dead. The brahmin got angry at his disciple and said, "You idiot, can't you see that the cow is no more? What were you trying to do by placing the grass and a pot full of water in front of the dead cow?" The disciple calmly replied, "I was just doing exactly that you are." He continued, "if the cow can't eat the grass who is gone just a few moments ago, how do the ancestors, who're long gone, eat the food that you offer?"
Upon hearing this, the brahmin put his head down in shame. He had realised that when his parents were alive he did not serve them well but was now trying to show the world how much he loved them. He realised what he thought was his life's purpose was only a petty motive.
He realised what he thought was his life's purpose was only a petty motive.
If we look at the brahmin's story, it was not that the brahmin intended to con the world. It's just that he truly believed that he was being noble. Many times we get so invested into what we do that we confuse our petty motives as our life's purpose. Only facing the truth with not being invested into - with our ego and our identity allows us to see the world clearly. The brahmin, upon this realisation, became a wise man.
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