Hi,
It was the last day of the fair in the village. The fair had a very long tradition. The organisers though many times were accused of being in cahoots with the traders and sometimes make a mess of it by blocking some great trades by forming cartels. The fair was the greatest event for the village. It was customary for the village council to offer something very unique at the end of the fair. This happens mostly a day after the fair. For very intimate villagers the day after the fair was more important than the fair itself. That was the day some of the biggest deals are struck and the villagers get an opportunity to acquire some great ideas, work, practice, wealth etc etc. So more than the days of the fair the real men waited for the day after the fair. Some offered special prayers in the temples, churches, mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras, viharas, derasars, agyaris and at all probable places where they good get a connection with god. Families prayed together and expected.
This time the village council declared to be the greatest choice and expected the largest congregation ever and anywhere in the world.
On the day day after the fair was over and the ground was becoming deserted left with only those who were serious with lives and who were determined to arrive at some point in life had gathered there even though their eyes were also puffed up due to lack of sleep having enjoying the fair for the last seven days in a row for this was the time when the men and women had the freedom to enjoy all kinds pf pleasures some discreetly some openly some very cautiously some sinfully some passionately some dressed in gowns and some nakedly but the tradition was respected even if the families had to bring up children whose parentage were to be kept a grand secret from everybody for every time or sometimes were in question or even doubted and in some cases even totally unknown for the enjoyers were totally drunk and were not in a position to decipher an i from a t..
Once the gathering was in place and the designated time had arrived the entire village council, this time all the kings and monarchs, dictators, presidents and prime ministers, CEOs of large corporations all stood in humble modest veneration and were anxious to receive the monumental deal from the village council as part of the village fair.
After the usual pleasantries of welcome speech, presidential address, chief guest address, the village council got up and stood up in a line. From the extreme left the person held up the word 'S' followed by the person on the extreme right holding up 'P'.
The silence that followed was deadening. In fact the weight of silence was so much that most of the head of states, kings and even monarchs had to be evacuated in ambulances in lightning speed.
Slowly, slowly the words sprung up and finally when the letters formed the two words, the sky shone with a million stars and celebrated.
The gathering went into a tizzy.
The village head rose and declared the offer:-
"श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतः
तौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः ।
श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते
प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद्वृणीते ॥ "
This verse 1. 2 2 from the Kathopanishad was all that a man had to choose. This was the secret of true success and false failure.
Never again the village and its people were the same.
It was the last day of the fair in the village. The fair had a very long tradition. The organisers though many times were accused of being in cahoots with the traders and sometimes make a mess of it by blocking some great trades by forming cartels. The fair was the greatest event for the village. It was customary for the village council to offer something very unique at the end of the fair. This happens mostly a day after the fair. For very intimate villagers the day after the fair was more important than the fair itself. That was the day some of the biggest deals are struck and the villagers get an opportunity to acquire some great ideas, work, practice, wealth etc etc. So more than the days of the fair the real men waited for the day after the fair. Some offered special prayers in the temples, churches, mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras, viharas, derasars, agyaris and at all probable places where they good get a connection with god. Families prayed together and expected.
This time the village council declared to be the greatest choice and expected the largest congregation ever and anywhere in the world.
On the day day after the fair was over and the ground was becoming deserted left with only those who were serious with lives and who were determined to arrive at some point in life had gathered there even though their eyes were also puffed up due to lack of sleep having enjoying the fair for the last seven days in a row for this was the time when the men and women had the freedom to enjoy all kinds pf pleasures some discreetly some openly some very cautiously some sinfully some passionately some dressed in gowns and some nakedly but the tradition was respected even if the families had to bring up children whose parentage were to be kept a grand secret from everybody for every time or sometimes were in question or even doubted and in some cases even totally unknown for the enjoyers were totally drunk and were not in a position to decipher an i from a t..
Once the gathering was in place and the designated time had arrived the entire village council, this time all the kings and monarchs, dictators, presidents and prime ministers, CEOs of large corporations all stood in humble modest veneration and were anxious to receive the monumental deal from the village council as part of the village fair.
After the usual pleasantries of welcome speech, presidential address, chief guest address, the village council got up and stood up in a line. From the extreme left the person held up the word 'S' followed by the person on the extreme right holding up 'P'.
The silence that followed was deadening. In fact the weight of silence was so much that most of the head of states, kings and even monarchs had to be evacuated in ambulances in lightning speed.
Slowly, slowly the words sprung up and finally when the letters formed the two words, the sky shone with a million stars and celebrated.
The gathering went into a tizzy.
The village head rose and declared the offer:-
"श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतः
तौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः ।
श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते
प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद्वृणीते ॥ "
This verse 1. 2 2 from the Kathopanishad was all that a man had to choose. This was the secret of true success and false failure.
Never again the village and its people were the same.
