Page 50 - Desire to Disaster

he hacked at him with his sword, and the snake died. Even
as he lay dying, his only regret was that he had been unable
to gaze at the gorgeous face of Princess Sunanda. His own
death and suffering were of no consequence to him.

Instead of realising that his own obsession, deep seated
attraction and desire for the princess had brought about his
downfall, he did not regret his passion, which had caused
him so much pain and sorrow. Such is the hold of delusion
over the human mind, that it fails to recognise the real causes
of immense sorrow: attachment and aversion.

If one realises that attachment and aversion are the root
causes of all worldly sorrow, and moves away from them, he
is genuinely fortunate. Attachment towards other persons and
objects is the greatest folly! Detachment should come from
within. It cannot be forced from outside. Pretending to be
detached when you are not, harms your soul.

The Snake reborn as a Crow
The snake died a wretched death. He was reborn as a crow.
And what sort of values and teachings would he have got
from a crow’s upbringing? Instead of feasting on the bountiful
fruits provided by Mother Nature, a crow eats the stinking
putrid flesh of dead animals! Crows ignore tasty food and
instead attempt to suck filth like nose snot, cough phlegms
from the ground!

Humans too are full of arrogance and deceit. And like crows,
they ignore the good and seek the bad. Instead of walking on
the straight and narrow path of goodness, he prefers the dark
winding pathways of evil. He competes with crows in being
mean and nasty, and like crows, he seeks the most worthless
objects.

Rupsen was born as a crow and grew up with the same values
and priorities as other crows. Soon, he grew into an adult

50 Desire to Disaster