During one of his travels, Kalidasa felt very thirsty
and looked around for water. He saw a woman drawing water from a well.
He went up to her and asked her for water. She agreed to give him water,
but asked him, “Who are you? Introduce yourself.”
Now
Kalidasa thought that an ordinary village woman was not worthy of
knowing who Kalidasa was. So he said, “I am a traveller.” But his lady
replied, “In this world there are only 2 travellers – the Sun and the
Moon. Both Rise and Set every day and keep travelling perpetually.”
O
Then
Kalidasa said, “Alright then, I am a guest.” The lady promptly replied,
“In this world there are only 2 guests – Youth and Wealth … both are
temporary and hence can only be called as guests.”
Intrigued
Kalidasa said, “I am a Tolerant person (sahansheel vyakti).” Now the
lady replied, “In this world only 2 truly know the meaning of Tolerance –
Bhoomi (Earth) and Tree. How much ever you stamp the earth or throw
stones at the tree (for the fruits), both continue to nurture us.”
Now
Kalidasa was completely perplexed. He said, “Fine. I am a stubborn
person (hatavaadi).” The lady smiled and said, “There are only 2 truly
stubborn personalities – our nails and our hair. We keep cutting them
non-stop, but they continue to grow.”
Kalidasa
had been patient so far, but now in anger he said, “I am a fool”. Now
the lady gave a wide smile and said, “There are only 2 kinds of fools in
this world – a King who rules without having any capability or
knowledge & a Minister who is a sycophant to such a King and
lavishes praises on such a useless king.”
Kalidasa
realised that he had been outsmarted. He fell at the feet of the lady
and when he touched her feet and then got up, whom did he see? Mata
Saraswati – the Goddess of Learning and Wisdom. She said, “Kalidasa, you
are wise. But only if you know yourself do you become a Manushya (human
being). A person without any awareness of self has not reached the
pinnacle of being a Human.
Note:
The Guru who recounted this story in His Pravachan said, “Children
should become a Manushya & know themselves. More than teaching them
how to earn more money and become rich, parents should teach them to
become aware of themselves and become better Human beings.”
