10th May 2011
`He is greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own'
Henry Ward Beecher
As I am typing this piece, the country is waiting for the election results for the various State Assemblies. Throughout last few months the political leaders were very busy making various election promises to appeal to the voters to vote for them. The voters will decide whom to vote depending on whether their expectations are met or not. If a political party has correctly understood the mind of the electorate, it will be voted to power. But the key issue is: how to know exactly what the people want? I don't think we have any technology to exactly find out what is in the mind of the people.
I recall a Zen story I read somewhere. A person happened to find an old lute, which is a stringed musical instrument. He did not know how to play the instrument. But every day at a fixed time he will sit underneath a tree and play the instrument. He was doing this months together. Over a period of time the birds which were living in the tree used to gather around him and dance to his tunes.
Another person saw this. He knew how to play a stringed instrument. He wanted to play the same instrument and make all the birds to dance to his tune. He purchased a very costly lute, and learnt how to play the same from an expert. After practicing the same for over three to four months rigorously, he came to the same place where the other man used play the lute. He chose the next adjacent tree and started playing a very melodious and wonderful note which was far better than the music played by the other person. He expected all the birds from the adjacent tree to come in front of him and dance. But it did not happen. He continued to play even more rigorously, but the birds will not come.
He went to the other man asked what is that he is doing to make the birds to dance to his tunes, even though the quality of the notes he was playing was awful. The other man replied that it is not how well he plays the lute, but the more important thing is whether the birds like the music!
Life is also like this. No matter what we do and promise, the most important thing is whether the people want what e promise and do!
Have you learnt something very useful from the story?
N C Sridharan
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