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| Sunday, 13 February 2005 |
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The divine vehicle Sunday parable by Sunanda Mahendra "I smell an impending disaster of some sort," said the King of the Frog community to his closest companions in the once upon a time kingdom, one morning just before the rise of the sun.
"We all know that we had to struggle with a disastrous flood the other day. With that we also saw, how many strangers of varying types entered our territory with various temperaments but we were unsullied for sometime. Now I see that the time has come when we have to surrender." "This is rather challenging as we are not sure what our king is trying to express", said one Wise Frog to his fellow frog. "Sometimes our king talks nonsense, because most kings in the past have been like that. So we have to pardon him." "But if there is an impending disaster we have to be watchful". At this moment there entered a Messenger Frog. "What news?" asked the King of Frogs. "There is shocking news." "Tell me quickly." "A black snake has entered the region." "A black snake? He is an enemy, don't you realise.." "No my lord, he had a casual chat with me and he said that he has come as an emissary of the God of Water." "Are you in your proper senses?" "Yes perfect sense, I met him right now, and he says that he is the divine vehicle of the God of Water." "This is unbelievable," said the King of Frogs, while the other important frogs listened to the dialogue. "So tell us what else did he say?" asked the King of Frogs. "He said that he wants to see you, as you need help at this moment." Then they discussed what they should do. There were so many varying arguments as some said that whatever the stance was, the snake was a snake by birth and whether he had come to help them or not, one should not try to be too close to him. Then the others said that even a snake could be good depending on the circumstances, so it would be wise to see and try to understand his mission rather than reject the offer. Finally the King of Frogs asked a question in the form of a statement. "So it looks as if the snake has come in the form of a visitor, with a helpful mission and not as an enemy." The frogs croaked in agreement. "Now the question is how, is he going to do that?" "That is something that you as our King should discuss with the visitor?" said the messenger Frog who craned his head and looked at the wise frog. The Wise Frog nodded. "Tell me something more about his mission." "He says that he can even take us on his back to a distant place where we can live decently." "On his back you say?" "Yes like a row of birds perched on the branch of a tree." Then everybody laughed and said. "That is going to be funny, on the back of a snake, what a jolly ride it is going to be on the back of an enemy. Never heard such a story." "So the mission is for the snake to see me in the first instance. Shall we call him?" asked the King of Frogs in a pensive mood. The majority of frogs agreed. Some however were rather sceptical. The Wise Frog said something striking. "At a crucial moment, a snake can even be helpful in many ways, for instance, he will forget his normal nature and allow us to regain our lost existence. This factor has been seen in many areas in the animal kingdom and among humans too." There was nobody to disagree with him as he was the wisest of the frogs. A silence ensued, and nobody dared to disagree to the Wise Frog. "Then we should invite our divine vehicle or the divine messenger of the God of Water," declared the King of the Frogs. The messenger-frog, ushered in the snake who looked jet black and striped and round hooded with a long body that resembled a shivering dance in the water. The frog community croaked in a special way greeting the distinguished visitor. The snake too nodded his head accepting the salutary gesture of the frogs and declared: "I am a divine messenger. I have come to help you and you must not misunderstand my words. I have been serving the God of Water for some years and got to know that you all have undergone a period of sorrow. My kith and kin may have been preying on you in the past, but that era is over now. I have to abide by the word of my master and I have come to help and not to be treacherous like my kith and kin of the past. So don't be afraid of me, come closer, those who are at a distance and listen to me. If you so desire I can carry you all to a place you like so much and live happily ever after. I am not going to talk too much, talking too much will never help anybody at a moment like this. I just wait for your verdict or let us live in peace here until the days become good for us once again. I just want a quiet place to live and that is all I want." The King of the Frog told him to guard his region. The snake agreed. Life in the frog community went on as usual. But the sceptics had their own vision of the snake. "Whatever it is, he is a snake and an enemy of ours," they said and added "his mission may not be the mission of the God of Water." Those who were on the side of the supporters of the king said, "This snake looks different, and looks divine. Once a snake is divine he cannot be poisonous." The verbal duel was a normal phenomenon to all groups when there was disagreement. It may also lead to physical duels. But luckily for the frogs, it did not happen. In fact some frogs were seen alighting on the back of the snake and taking jolly rides. Some others, were playing hide and seek with him. This was really surprising for a snake to carry frogs on his back and to play with him. "Can this really happen?" pondered the Wise Frog and went on meditating over the matter. Then one fine day, the snake apologetically told the King of the Frogs that he had heard some nasty comments on the part of the cynical frogs and he would not mind getting rid of them. At this point, the King of Frogs faced a quandary. But he kept silent without giving any verdict. Again the snake appeared from his nook and declared to the King of Frogs "Allow me to say the truth and listen my lord I am starving and hungry by not getting the right kind of meals like in the divine territory, where I used to live." Having considered the situation of the divine missionary the King of Frogs told the snake solemnly: "If you so desire, you may partake of some of these unwanted low bred rapscallion frogs for your meal without letting it be known by the entire community..." So the divine missionary devoured one by one the cynical frogs in the first instance and then gradually came to prey on the others. The day dawned for the snake to devour the close associates of the Frog King. The whole frog region was disturbed. Is this a divine missionary? What is he up to? They all clamoured. But the snake just said without much of a fuss: "Permission was granted to me by no other person than your highness the King of Frogs." |
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"What sort of a disaster do you think?" asked the companions
in a sorrowful mood.
