Once upon a time, as all Vedic period stories begin, so began the story of a Forest-prince. No, I am not talking about Robinhood--the darling prince among thieves, but our very own forest lad; Eklavya.
He grew up in the forest,collecting Honey,Rudraksha beads, Lac,gum,and other assorted berries which got traded for food subsistence,and meagre living in the nearby village. Near the edge of the forest stood a great sage Dronacharya's Ashrama.
He was a sage, who would admit only the princes and royal kings for education.For him, education in any form was not the purview of lowly-caste populace. Hence, he was aptly termed as the "Guru of Royals." In the same Ashrama, Arjuna,Nakula, Sahadeva; the great Pandava Princes had been admitted. They were to become expert archers.
Young Eklavya,also evinced interest in his tender mind, seeing these princes practicising with their Bow-and-Arrows; and one day finally mustered enough courage to ask the great sage Dronacharya for his tutelage. The great sage laughed mockingly. He summoned all the princes and infront of them also again discouraged young Eklavya. Never mind that on that day , with a grief-stricken heart, young Eklavya had to go away dissappointed to the forest.
Second and third day, again he came but the guru would now not be cowed down. Seeing his adamantine posture, Eklavya; went into the forest, and near a dilapidated fort, made a mud statue of his favorite guru. That's Sage Dronacharya. Now he, started fashioning an improvised bow-and-arrow from the available Teak tree. Naturally, with his day and night of practise without rest; his prowress grew by leaps and bounds.
One day a mad-dog entered the Ashrama, and Eklavya was hiding behind the forest thicket.
None of the princes could aim and shoot arrows at the dog. But were successful at driving him away. The dog went into the forest hiding. Eklavya sought his chance to show his Archery prowress, now was the time to display his skill and it was also a test of his ability. One arrow after the another went into the dog's mouth, so much so that the whole mouth was bleeding; and full of arrows. The dog ran in pain again to the river-side, where the great sage Dronacharya and his disciples had come for having a bath.The sage was awestruck at the sight and so were the princes. Who could be a greater Archer here? They asked each other , but all the princes drew their head down in shame. None could have matched the dexterity with which this person had done. Eklavya too followed , the dog. He felt that seeing this , atleast now the Sage Dronacharya would bless him.But the guru quickly knew that if he gave him the blessings , his prestige would be at stake. Also, his tutuelage, the princes would not be known as greater than Eklavya. So, he quickly asked from innocent Eklavya; His right-hand thumb as his "Guru-Dakshina"
Young Eklavya, gave it to him immediately such was the presence of his divine ordinance.
So, friends there are questions which "A Learned Mind" asks:
- Why was it necessary for Eklavya to be so innocent and give his thumb to the sage?
- Why does a learned mind falter, in the case of Pandava Princes?
- What is the strategy that you can see from this story?
- How will you apply such a learned mind story to your own ?
- Does this story fire your mind into any new ideas? Do share them here.
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