A tale of which the moral is that negation of the Self is a doctrine invented by the subject races of mankind in order that by this means they may sap and weaken the character of their roles
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HAST thou heard that in the time of old | |
The sheep dwelling in a certain pasture | |
So increased and multiplied | |
That they feared no enemy? | 540 |
At last, from the malice of Fate, | |
Their breasts were smitten by a shaft of calamity. | |
The tigers sprang forth from the jungle | |
And rushed upon the sheepfold | |
Conquest and dominion are signs of strength, | 545 |
Victory is the manifestation of strength. | |
Those fierce tigers beat the drum of sovereignty, | |
They deprived the sheep of freedom. | |
For as much as tigers must have their prey, | |
That meadow was crimsoned with the blood of the sheep. | 550 |
One of the sheep which was clever and acute. | |
Old in years, cunning was a weather beaten wolf, | |
Being grieved at the fate of his fellows | |
And sorely vexed by the violence of the tigers, | |
Made complaint of the course of Destiny | 555 |
And sought by craft to restore the fortunes of his race. | |
The weak, in order to preserve themselves, | |
Seek device from skilled intelligence. | |
In slavery, for the sake of repelling harm, | |
The power of scheming becomes quickened. | 560 |
And when the madness of revenge gains hold, | |
The mind of the slave meditates rebellion. | |
"Ours is a hard knot,'' said this sheep to himself, | |
"The ocean of our griefs hath no shore, | |
By force we sheep cannot escape from the tiger: | 565 |
Our legs are silver, his paws are steel. | |
'Tis not possible, however much one exhorts and counsels. | |
To create in a sheep the disposition of a wolf. | |
But to make the furious tiger a sheep-that is possible: | |
To make him unmindful of his nature-that is possible." | 570 |
He became as a prophet inspired, | |
And began to preach to the blood-thirsty tigers. | |
He cried out, "O ye insolent liars, | |
Who want not of a day of ill luck that shall continue for ever!57 | |
I am possessed of spiritual power, | 575 |
1 am an apostle sent by God for the tigers. | |
I come as. a light for the eye that is dark, | |
I come to establish laws and give commandments. | |
Repent of your blameworthy deeds; | |
O plotters of evil, bethink yourselves of good! | 580 |
Whose is violent and strong is. miserable: | |
Life's solidity depends on self-denial. | |
The spirit of the righteous is fed by fodder: | |
The vegetarian is pleasing unto God, | |
The sharpness of your teeth brings disgrace upon you | 585 |
And makes the eye of your perception blind. | |
Paradise is for the weak alone, | |
Strength is but a means to perdition. | |
It is wicked to seek greatness and glory, | |
Penury is sweeter than princedom. | 590 |
Lightning does not threaten the cornseed: | |
If the seed become a stack, it is unwise. | |
If you are sensible, you will be a mote of sand, not a Sahara, | |
So that you may enjoy the sunbeams. | |
O thou that delightest in the slaughter of sheep, | 595 |
Slay thy self, and thou wilt have honour! | |
Life is rendered unstable | |
By violence, oppression, revenge, and exercise of power. | |
Though trodden underfoot, the grass grows up time after time | |
And washes the sleep of death from its eye again and again. | 600 |
Forget thy self, if thou art wise! | |
If thou dost not forget thy self, thou art mad. | |
Close thine eyes, close thine ears, close thy lips,58 | |
That thy thought may reach the lofty sky! | |
This pasturage of the world is naught, naught: | 605 |
O fool, do not torment thy phantom! | |
The tiger-tribe was exhausted by hard struggles, | |
They had set their hearts on enjoyment of luxury. | |
This soporific advice pleased them, | |
In their stupidity they swallowed the charm of the sheep. | 610 |
He that used to make sheep his prey | |
Now embraced a sheep's religion. | |
The tigers took kindly to a diet of fodder: | |
At length their tigerish nature was broken. | |
The fodder blunted their teeth | 615 |
And put out the awful flashings of their eyes. | |
By degrees courage ebbed from their breasts, | |
The sheen departed from mirror. | |
That frenzy of uttermost exertion remained not, | |
That craving after action dwelt in their hearts no more. | 620 |
They lost the power of ruling and the resolution to be independent, | |
They lost reputation, prestige, and fortune. | |
Their paws that were as iron became strengthless; | |
Their souls died and their bodies became tombs. | |
Bodily strength diminished while spiritual fear increased; | 625 |
Spiritual fear robbed them of courage. | |
Lack Of courage produced a hundred diseases— | |
Poverty, pusillanimity, low mindedness. | |
The wakeful tiger was lulled to Slumber by the sheep's charm | |
He called his decline Moral Culture. | 630 |