One proud dung beetle was hiding in his hole & he smelt fresh horse stool near his place.

[krsna]

THE PROUD DUNG BEETLE

 

 

 

There was one dung beetle. He was hiding in his hole, and he smelt fresh horse stool near his place. What had occured was that some travellers on horseback had come by, stopped for a few minutes, ate, drank a little wine, the horses had passed stool and they had got on the horse and ridden off.

 

So the little dung beetle had come out of his hole, following the smell of fresh horse stool. And he crossed over a wet patch where wine had been spilt, and by the time he reached the horse stool, he was completely intoxicated. So intoxicated was he that he thought that as he looked at the horse stool he thought that he was at the foot of the high Himalaya mountains. And he felt himself most powerful.

 

"Now I am going to conquer these great mountains, and in this way assert my mastery over the earth." So then he scrambled up higher, higher and finally came to the top. And he considered in his drunken state, "Now I have conquered Mount Everest."

 

And as he stood in the middle of the pile of horse stool, because it was wet, still fresh, it sunk beneath him. And he said, "Just see how powerful I am. I have conquered the Himalayas, and now I'm pushing the whole earth down."

 

So he was just basking in his own glory on the top of the pile of horse stool, and one elephant came out of a nearby forest. The elephant was walking directly towards the dung beetle. The dung beetle saw this big elephant coming, and the elephant with his long nose happened to pick up the smell of horse stool.

 

And elephants don't like this smell. So then the elephant turned to one side. He thought, "Horse stool straight ahead. I won't go there." So he turned. The little dung beetle watched this, and he said, "Hey elephant, don't try to run away! I see how afraid you are of me. Come back here and fight!"

 

The elephant has big ears, so he can even hear a little dung beetle. The elephant stopped and looked around. "What? Who's speaking?" And he saw on top of the horse stool a little insect with his chest puffed up and shaking his fists.

 

And the elephant thought, "That's remarkable. This little dung beetle, just by climbing on this lump of stool, thinks now he can defeat the elephant. So if it's stool that makes him feel so great, then more stool he shall have."

 

So the elephant backed up, positioned himself over the horse stool, and let fly with a huge ball of elephant stool, completely crushing the little dung beetle. He was no more after that. He had merged into the impersonal absolute.

 

MORAL: This is what the Isopanisad is warning by a little touch of knowledge, which is not properly understood from the lips of the bonafide representative of Vedic knowledge, Krishna or His pure devotee, even though one may seem to be on the right path of spiritual advancement, one will become intoxicated, waylaid, and finally get hit in the worst way by maya just like the little dung beetle.