The man- The glory of creation
The cunning fox was vexed at the glorification of man and his exalted position in God’s creation. He thought within himself: “Am I in any way less intelligent than man? Or is he less cunning than I am when he wants to cheat others? He is a living creature just as much as I am. In fact I am more contented than he. I don’t wear costly or a variety of clothes every season. I endure heat and cold patiently. I do not ask for cars to go from place to place. Though we animals possess all these and many more noble qualities, why should man be considered as superior to us? I shall see that this injustice is put to an end.
The fox ran here and there and incited other animals to join him. He was able to gather a number of them. Then they all went to the elephant. The wise elephant said, “Brothers, there is no doubt that there is some truth in what you say. Let us then go to another forest dweller and ascertain his views. There lives a sage in front in a cottage. Let us go to him and represent our case.”
They all agreed to the elephant’s suggestion and went to the sage. “Oh sage, you know me well,” barked the dog. “I am the symbol of gratitude. If a man beats me and gives me a morsel of food, I am grateful to him throughout my life and ready to give up my life in his service. But man forgets the services rendered to him and remembers the one wrong that his friend might have done. Completely ignoring the help received, he is ready to murder his own kith and kin if he is wronged once. How then, Sir, can you say that man is superior to beasts?
And this was the cow’s plea: “Man takes me to the pastures to graze. Sometimes he gives me a little straw or husk. In return I give him my nourishing milk. Sometimes he even starves my baby in order to feed him and his children. When I thus feed him and his family, he gives me shelter in a foul-smelling and unclean place at the back yard of his house. The moment I go dry, I am ill-treated and ignored. If I become old, I am driven out or sold to a butcher. Such is man who is considered very high. Please Sir, tell me why?”
Now it was the crow’s turn:” Has man got one quality that I possess, sage? Even if a small crumb of bread is thrown to me, I crow and call my brothers and sisters and share it with them. But man does just the opposite. However much he has, he hoards still more and even goes out of his way to snatch the bread of his neighbour. How can this selfish and greedy man is superior to me?
The fish whispered: ‘O sage! I shall not call man inferior to me, but I call him foolish! I cause him no harm. In fact I serve him by keeping the ponds, tanks, lakes and rivers clean. I eat away the dirt that is thrown into the river by him. But instead of being grateful, this foolish man catches me and kills and eats me even though there are enough varieties of vegetables available to him. Do you regard this foolish man superior to me?
The donkey brayed: ‘O Sir! The fish is quite right. Look at my pitiable plight. I am a beast of burden. I am famous for the divine quality of patience. I bear insult and injury patiently. Without my service, the people in the hills will perish for want of the necessities of life. I carry their food and other goods. What is my reward? Beating and more beating. Is this man superior to me?”
“Tell him everything, friends, tell him all about your qualities “chimed in the cunning fox.
“Sir, said the deer, “The very skin on which you sit and meditate on God belongs to our kind .Have you ever heard of man‘s skin being put to good use? In the matter of beauty, the most beautiful eyes of a damsel are often compared to mine. My lovely horns decorate man’s halls”.
“Can any man boast of having such a wonderful sense of smell as I have?”- enquired the dog.
“Can any man boast of having such a wonderful sense of sight as I have? Asked the kite.
“Can any man see during the night and the day with equal ease as I can? “- asked the cat.
“I can do great things, Sir. I have a big body. There are numerous stories about my intelligence. My tusk and bones are converted into lovely ivory images and idols. All this is true, Sir. But kindly enlighten us as to why man is considered superior to us. Though I do agree with the arguments of my friends, I feel that there must be some wise reason for this.”
All the animals waited patiently to listen to the sage.
The sage said, “Listen my friends of the jungle! All that you have said is true. But God has endowed man with a sixth sense, namely discrimination, the power which distinguishes the right from the wrong, the truth from the untruth, and the good from the evil. You are all governed by instinct. Man can develop intuition. He can control his instincts and through intuion and knowledge attain God “.
“And if he doesn’t?” asked the cunning fox.
“If he doesn’t, he is of course worse than a beast. If he does, he is far superior to all others in creation, said the sage.”
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