THE SOURCE OF OUR FRAGRANCE
“Who
looks outside, dreams;
Who
looks inside, awakes.”
Karl
Jung
One
of the often-told stories, relating to our happiness and self-worth, comes from the
ancient texts – Upanishads. How timeless and how apt it is to our lives, even
today! It’s the story of ‘Kasturi Mriga’ - the Musk Deer.
One
day, when this musk deer was roaming in a forest, it got drawn to an alluring
fragrance of musk. The musk deer was so captivated by the fragrance, that it went
on a long, hard and desperate search of it… It hopped from one terrain to
another, one forest to another, one mountain to another… only to be alluded by
it. Finally, one day, in desperation to find the source of musk fragrance, it fell
off a mountain cliff… There, in that battered state, it was astonished to find,
at last, where the fragrance emanated from: its own navel!
Alas!
By then, it was too late…
What a sad
ending that’s!
The story of Kasturi
Mriga – the musk deer – is regularly told to us to make us aware of our own
ignorance and desperation. Like the deer, we look for our source of happiness –
and sense of self-worth – ‘somewhere out there’… Far, far away. The whole life
goes in this frantic pursuit. But, unlike the deer, many of us don’t even
realize, till we die, where our fragrance comes from!
I have told this
story, hundreds of times, to young ones to drive home this point: “Your
talents, strengths and skills are inside you… Wake up to them. It’s the source
of your self-worth and happiness.”
“Kingdom of God
is within you.”… Did someone tell this to us, long, long ago? “The Acres of
Diamonds are right under your own feet.”… Did a wise man say this, too, to us, long years ago?
Despite these reminders,
our ignorance and blind pursuit persist…
Alas!
There
is another story, which is, often, told to us… but, for a different reason. It’s
the story of that donkey who carried sandalwood on its back. This donkey was drunk
with another belief: the rich fragrance, that enriched the lives of people
along its way, actually emanated from it!
What a delusion!
I tell this story, often, to remind my students and readers, that we need to be humble and grateful… That, we all are just the sandalwood-carriers… God has placed the sandalwood on our back, so that we can become His medium to enrich lives around us… We shouldn’t forget that… We should not be drunk with our delusion.
Can the musk deer
become the donkey, and can the donkey become the musk deer in these stories?
It helps to know
where you and I stand in these stories!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic's.: pixabay
Video: Dare to do Motivation
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