It is written in the Mahabharata that once Yudhisthira asked
the elder statesman Bhishma, “How can one get peace?” Bhishma replied
with this example: Once a king made his elephant drink a lot of wine,
then went on it for a ride. On the way, the intoxicated elephant threw
the king off. He was terrified and ran for his life. He fell into a well
and was caught up in the roots of a fig tree. After a short while, the
elephant reached there, trumpeting. Meanwhile, the king noticed that one
black and one white mouse were eating away the root which was holding
him up. He looked down and saw many snakes and scorpions waiting to bite
him. On the other hand, the mad elephant was waiting outside the well
to kill him. However, the king saw a beehive. He opened his mouth hoping
to drink some honey. He forgot everything except how sweet the honey
was.
The king represents the individual, the mind is the elephant, attachment is the wine. With these a person comes to see the world. Here the mind has thrown the individual into the well of rebirth. He is being supported by a very thin root which is his life-span and which is being cut shorter by the mice of day and night. As soon as his allotted time comes to an end he will go back into the well of rebirth where he will have to suffer various kinds of miseries arising from lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. The poor creature hopes that he will get happiness some day, but he doesn’t get it. Thus, his life comes to an end. Beings can get rid of these vicious elements which make life a misery only during the human lifetime. You can only hurt yourself in the dark. Birds and animals cannot remove darkness. Only man lives in light. He uses electricity or a lamp to remove the darkness.
www.manavdharam.org
The king represents the individual, the mind is the elephant, attachment is the wine. With these a person comes to see the world. Here the mind has thrown the individual into the well of rebirth. He is being supported by a very thin root which is his life-span and which is being cut shorter by the mice of day and night. As soon as his allotted time comes to an end he will go back into the well of rebirth where he will have to suffer various kinds of miseries arising from lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. The poor creature hopes that he will get happiness some day, but he doesn’t get it. Thus, his life comes to an end. Beings can get rid of these vicious elements which make life a misery only during the human lifetime. You can only hurt yourself in the dark. Birds and animals cannot remove darkness. Only man lives in light. He uses electricity or a lamp to remove the darkness.
www.manavdharam.org
