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| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
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Sunday parable The fool and the wise man by Sunanda Mahendra "Please don't keep company with that fool," said a certain elderly man to the wise man seeing the latter speaking to a fool in the village. "Why?"
"But I hope I can train that man to be wise." "I am not too sure whether you can do that, with that particular fool. But try if you may." The wise man wanted to leave his abode and go on a walk towards seaside. At that particular moment, the person branded as a 'fool' appeared before him. The fool had a walking stick. Would you like to accompany me?" asked the wise man. "Where are you going?" "I am going for a walk towards the seashore." "Oh that's good, I like to see the sea. So I'll join you." Some people, who passed them, bowed their head, with honour to the wise man. The fool, who accompanied the wise man too accepted the honour by bowing his head. The wise man saw this several times, but he kept silent. Then at a particular moment, the wise man uttered a certain stanza that he remembered. The fool listened as if he knew the meaning of that stanza. At other moment of the walk, the wise man would stop briefly, and watched in silence the beauty of nature. He enjoyed the walk, and gradually came to pass streams, trees, plants, monkeys and dogs etc. When a dog approached, the fool would brandish his walking stick and drive him off. "Please don't do it," said the wise man. "We never know the real nature of these dogs, for who knows they would bite us?" But the fool would argue in the negative. "I know the real nature of these stray dogs, perhaps you don't," the fool would say. "How did that happen?" "I used to breed dogs in the past." The fool would gradually become talkative. It looked as if he disliked the views of the wise man. But the wise man wanted to know more about the fool. "Why do you walk with the walking stick, when you can walk so well?" the wise man asked. "I can walk well. But I like to use a walking stick for my own defence." "Who gave you that walking stick?" "I made it myself, out of the best wood." "Oh I didn't know that you are a maker of walking sticks." "Do you want one?" "No. Thank you." "Next time when I meet, I will get you one." "Please don't bother to make one." "No, it's no a trouble for me. It would be a pleasure to give you a walking stick." It looked as if the fool was adamant in his views. Gradually they passed a certain flower garden. The wise man stopped to get a breath of fresh air. The fool too stopped and tried to imitate the wise man. The wise man drew a deep breath and said, "Oh how I feel the sweet scent of a Kapuru (chrysanthemums) flower." The fool too drew a deep breath and asked, "Why do you say, it's a sweet scent of a Kapuru flower?" "Yes, I am sure of that." The fool cast a wry face and looked at the wise man. "What's the problem?" the wise man asked. "It's not the scent of a Kapuru flower." "Then what's it my friend?" "It isn't the scent of the Kapuru flower. But the scent of a Palol flower." "No. But I am sure, I get the sweet scent of Kapuru." "You are wrong. It's Palol." All of a sudden, the wise man realised the rising anger in the mind of the fool. "Say it again," the fool said. "What do you want me to say?" "Say what you said earlier." The wise man felt that the fool was getting angrier and angrier. The fool held his walking stick when the wise man said, "I got the sweet scent of the Kapuru flower my friend." All of a sudden, the fool brought down the walking stick onto the body of the wise man, attempting to hit him. However, the wise man, had a narrow escape, uttering, "Yes, yes, yes, you are correct. It's Palol and not Kapuru." When the fool calmed down, thinking of his victory, the wise man thought to himself, "the wise man changes his mind, but fools never." |
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"He
is so foolish, that he can be dangerous as well."
