Children, do not get scared at the title or the image of a Scorpion.
This is a story of two little children Ram and Shyam and a Scoprion that
helped in teaching them some life lessons.
In those days in the past, there were Gurukuls – schools, where children
would live with their teacher – the Guru who would teach them all
subjects from Maths to Science to Languages to Archery and many more.
One Guru and many skills to be learnt by a few students.
Ram and Shyam were two such students, best friends
and very good students learning all the lessons and
eager to apply the learnings in their daily life.
Guru would teach them moral values. One day he said
“ we should be helpful to all whether they are big or
small, human or animals, to all creatures in their time of
need. If you see a person in danger, you should see
how you can be of help and very importantly, it should
be done without expecting any reward or anything in
return.” The guru explained this with some short stories.
The next day, Guru was talking about safety and said
“what ever you do, you should first keep your safety in
mind and then only act. Don’t be foolish to get yourself
in trouble by throwing Safety to the Winds.”
Ram and Shyam listened attentively.
The next day Guru was telling the students about
“Revenge”. He said Revenge is bad sign of reaction
and is to be always avoided. A person acting in
revenge does not think but acts in haste. You may have
to regret later for acting without much thought.
A few days later Ram and Shyam went to the riverside
to gather flowers for Pooja for the Guru. After
gathering the flowers, they were sitting on the riverbank
recollecting the Guru’s teachings about how to lead a
good life. The river was full and flowing swiftly.
As they watched the water flow, they saw something
floating, it was a scorpion which had slipped and was
being carried away by the current.
Shyam noticed the scorpion is in distress and with an
intention to save it, he grabbed it by hand and got
stung hard. He yelled in pain and let go the insect into
the water.
At the same time Ram had looked around for a twig
and found one, to save the scorpion. He lowered the
twig in the river in the scorpion’s path, it managed to
cling to the branch and Ram gently laid it on the banks.
The scorpion thus saved, was moving towards a crack in
the ground for shelter. Here, Shyam who was still in
pain because of the sting, got angry at the insect and
picked up a stone to smash it saying that it was an
ungrateful creature. I tried saving its life and it stung
me!! Let me kill it in revenge.
Ram swiftly prevented Shyam from throwing the stone
and in that moment the scorpion crawled to safety
between the rocks. Ram attended to Shyam’s scorpion
bite and the pain subsided.
The two dear friends sat back to think about the events
that had happened swiftly.
Shyam said all this happened because I tried to follow
Guru’s teachings, I tried to help a creature in need.
Ram said, No Shyam, you did not understand Guru’s
teachings properly. You put your hand instantly into water
to save the insect and if had been any ordinary worm you
would have saved its life, but here, it was a scorpion which
stings by instinct when anyone touches it. Guruji had also
taught us that we should first think of our own safety
before any action. That was the mistake you did. You then
got angry because it bit you and wanted to take revenge
without even thinking for a moment. Had you killed the
scorpion, you would have committed another mistake.
Therefore children,
Think before you act.
Even a good advice could give a bad result if it not
properly understood and well thought of before acting.
GURU BRAMHA GURU VISHNU GURU DEVO
MAHESHWARA, GURU SAAKSHAAT PARABRAMHA TASMAI
SRI GURUVE NAMAHA
HAPPYMANTATA
