Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation). Last week I shared an excerpt titled – ‘Reciprocation’ from a book titled ‘Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion’ by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D. This excerpt pointed to “Web of Indebtedness” – a unique adaptive mechanism of human beings and its role in our evolutionary history as a society.

Now, SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation) to the ones paying heed, this is where we try to draw your attention to things that matter and the importance of your attention, because, ‘Our life’s experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to’.

Attention: is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. Once our attention is drawn to the mechanism of why and what we give attention to, it is as if a veil has been stripped off and we become freer in our action and choices. And that is our endavour.

This week as I draw your attention to a story titled – ‘The Frogs that rode Snakeback’ a thought prompts one to think – What are we Riding on? Now this story is from a book titled ‘The Panćatantra’, tradition ascribes this fabulous work to Vişņu Śarma (“Preserver of Bliss”), faced with the challenge of educating three unlettered princes, to awaken their intelligence, Vişņu Śarma (“Preserver of Bliss”) evolved a unique pedagogy – for his aim was to teach the princes howto think, not what to think.

The Frogs that rode Snakeback

In a certain region lived a black serpent of a ripe old age, named Weak Venom. He deliberated over his sad situation thus: ‘How in the world can I now manage to have a comfortable living?’ He then crawled along to a deep pool inhabited by a great assemblage of frogs. There he flopped down as if he were infirm.

As he stayed thus, one of the frogs swimming near the edge of the pool asked, ‘Uncle, how is it that you are not gliding around today, as you normally do, hunting for food?’

My good friend, replied the serpent. What desire for food can someone like myself have whose fortunes are at their lowest ebb? Just now, in the early hours of the night, I was crawling around looking for food and noticing a frog I duly prepared to grab him. He too having noticed me, slipped in somewhere where a group of Brähmanas were intent on reciting the sacred texts to themselves; nor could I make out which way the frog had slithered away. But at the edge of the pool the son of one of the Brähmanas was standing and mistaking his great toe for a frog, I bit it hard; the boy died instantaneously. The father, stung by grief, cursed me in the following words: “Oh! You! Villainous creature! Because you stung to death my innocent son, you shall suffer for this evil act by becoming a vehicle for frogs; and you shall live entirely on what the frogs allow you for food.” So here I am, your vehicle, O, you frogs!

The silly frog immediately carried this news to all the other frogs. They were all so excited about it that they approached the frog-king, Watertoes, in a body and told him of it. He, in turn, thinking what a wonderful happening it was, swam out of the pool in a great hurry and accompanied by his ministers went to where Weak Venom lay and climbed on to the serpent’s outspread hood. The other frogs in order of seniority also climbed on to the serpent’s back. Why say more; yet others, not finding any room on the serpent’s back hopped behind Weak Venom as best as they could as he started moving. Weak Venom for his part keen on securing a comfortable living for himself, showed them many different fancy turns and movements that he knew, so that King Watertoes enjoying the contact with the serpent’s body exclaimed with delight:

‘Oh! What fun it is to ride on Weak Venom!

No horse or lordly elephant no fine chariot, or palanquin can at all compare with him.’

The next day, Weak Venom, wily rogue that he was, barely managed to crawl at a snail’s pace, which prompted Watertoes to remark, ‘Why, friend Weak Venom, why are you not carrying us nicely as you did before?’ To this Weak Venom promptly replied,

‘My lord, through lack of food, I do not have the strength to carry you properly today!

Well, my good chap, why don’t you eat a few of these low-born commoner frogs?’ said Watertoes casually.

The sound of these words made Weak Venom thrill with delight in every limb. But then he made haste to observe, You see, my lord, I have this curse of the Brahmana hanging over my head. But now that you have issued this command for me to eat a few frogs, I am simply delighted’

Weak Venom now started eating frogs and he continued to do so without interruption, so much so that in a few days, he grew strong.

Eventually Weak Venom succeeded in gobbling up every one of the frogs. Not a single frog was left; not even for seed.

Tale from ‘The Panćatantra’

As this story ends here and before another interconnected story begins, I want to draw your attention to these wise words of a Storyteller which I have extracted from yet another monumental work which has been inspired by “The Panćatantra”, it is titled Kalila Wa Dimna; compiled from different source books by Ramsay Wood

‘My stories require, at this stage, no extra commentary, imaginings, or guesswork by you, me, or anyone else. The very worst would be that of moralizing. To explain away is to forget. Thus, let the stories which you can remember do their own work by their very diversity. Familiarize yourself with them.’

I am sure that you will find this book a delight to read and find in it a treasure of stories interwoven into each other. To get your copy click on the following link:

Enjoy reading it with your family, friends and near and dear one’s.

Namaste!