Two Proud Horsemen : Short Story (for Kids)

For Batman alias Dhruv beta


Your Arun Periappa, sometime back, created a website where all our family members would be able to write about their experiences, and others can see and reply also.
(ask Appa and amma, who will tell you about this in more detail). Arun also told me that I should write in such a manner that all from Dhruv and Apporva, to Jinji thatha should be able to understand and like it.

On your tamil birthday, I am going to tell you a story, which I hope you would like and also reply as to how you liked it. Ok ? Here goes the story


Once upon a time in a small kingdom named "Gyana Bhoomi" there lived a just king named "gyani". In this kingdom there were two horsemen named "ahamkara" and "Eershya" who were not only very proud about their ability as horsemen but equally so about their horses which they believed were the best in the world. They were both at each others throats all the time, telling the other one as to who is better.

One day they decided to go to the king Gyani, to resolve their dispute. The king knew about these proud fellows and wanted to teach both of them a lesson. He wanted them to compete in a race from across their city, and to end it at the kings palace. He also told them that the fellow whose horse was slower, would be declared the winner.

The two realised the moment they started the race, that the king had given them a tricky task. If their horses were to be slower to win the race, they had to be slow, and hence both were unwilling to even start for days together. One day they met with a wiseman named "athmabodha" and asked him what to do? The wiseman just whispered a few words in their ears and immediately therafter, the two horseman were seen riding with lightning speed.

Can you guess what the wise man told the horse men? He just told them to change horses. With the horses changed, the fellow who comes first will be the winner, as his horse will be slower declared winner, however being ridden by the loser.

The story does not end here, as per Vichu thatha, the horsemen were still in dilemma, they started thinking; if they were fastest, their horses were slower. So on thinking more and more about this, they realised why the king gave them such a difficult test. It was to tell them, that both of them as also their horses were equally good, no one was superior or better. They should also rid themselves of their pride, and be friends.

Thus having realised this, they both lived as friends, and served the king and lived happily thereafter.........

How do you like the story? Pl write to me

Love and lots of kisses ---- Vichu chinna thatha


PS

Hi folks

Here is the adhyaathmic intrepretation of this story


The king Gyani represents the universal soul, He tells the horsemen that so long as they continue to be mired in the fantasy world of me, my horse, opponent his horse etc, they will be stuck in the slow grind of "samskara" not knowing when, how, if ever they will reach their destination namely the abode of the Universal soul.

The guru tells them to change their mindsets and tells them that the horse, the opponent , and self are all just manifestations of that Universal soul ( Thath twam asi) and the moment you begin to think on those lines, the only path to realisation ( naanya pantha ayanaaya vidyathe) is just open for you to gallop forth towards "nirvana".

Arun, Am I being simple enough, meeting up with your idea of "simple" ? and yet saying something which is not too mundane and insipidly archaic?

And if you all like it can we have similar story telling efforts aimed at the children. I do not think it is easy, nor is it going to be easy being rated as "good stuff".

Pl respond (to borrow Ambu's phrase) ASAP . This is the June months Jignyaasaa piece, (first) from me.


Love


Vichu

Dhruv's comments : This teaches how a little wisdom goes a long way !!!