Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Leaders & their Intelligence
Once there were the men of a large caravan of 1000 wagons, on realizing their party was too large to be manageable, held a meeting and picked two leaders to each lead 500 wagons. Though both leaders were skilful handlers of animals, only one had real management foresight. So the intelligent one said to the other, “It is impossible for us to travel together — will you go first, or should I?” The other leader thought, “If I can go first, the roads will be smooth; if I follow him, they will be rutted. If I go first, my oxen will eat untouched grass, the water will be untouched, and I can set my goods at any price I choose to set.”
So he chose to go first. The intelligent leader though, “Very good. If he goes first, he will smooth the rough spots of the road for his wagons to pass; I’ll be spared that work. His oxen will eat the old tough grass that has grown wild for a long time; mine will eat the fresh young grass that will grow after his oxen have moved on. He will dig wells where he cannot find water, and we’ll be spared that work. And he and his men will have to haggle for a good price; whereas I will sell my goods for whatever price his party was able to establish.
So he chose to go first. The intelligent leader though, “Very good. If he goes first, he will smooth the rough spots of the road for his wagons to pass; I’ll be spared that work. His oxen will eat the old tough grass that has grown wild for a long time; mine will eat the fresh young grass that will grow after his oxen have moved on. He will dig wells where he cannot find water, and we’ll be spared that work. And he and his men will have to haggle for a good price; whereas I will sell my goods for whatever price his party was able to establish.
” The foolish caravan leader entered a “demon-wilderness” (there are five kinds of wilderness: robber-wilderness, wild beast-wilderness, waterless wilderness, famine-wilderness and demon-wilderness). Before entering that wilderness, the leader filled big clay jars with emergency water provisions and had the carts loaded with extra leaves and grass for the animals.
In the middle of the wilderness, they were met by a black person riding an ass who was soaking wet and garlanded with fresh blue and white lilies. The black man hailed the foolish leader in a friendly manner. The leader surmised that there must be plentiful water and plants up ahead. The black man heartily agreed, telling the leader that he should dump out the water and throw off the grass and leaves from the wagons to lighten the load so that the caravan could more quickly reach the oasis up ahead. The leader ordered this to be done. But there was no oasis, and the entire caravan met its end in the desert. When the intelligent leader approached the demon-wilderness, he had made the same preparations and was met by the same black man on the ass. But he told the man on the ass, “Begone with you. You appear to me to be the bearer of all inauspicity. We shall not lighten our load one bit because of your suspicious statements.” And so the caravan crossed the wilderness, and found the remnants of the first caravan on the way.
In the middle of the wilderness, they were met by a black person riding an ass who was soaking wet and garlanded with fresh blue and white lilies. The black man hailed the foolish leader in a friendly manner. The leader surmised that there must be plentiful water and plants up ahead. The black man heartily agreed, telling the leader that he should dump out the water and throw off the grass and leaves from the wagons to lighten the load so that the caravan could more quickly reach the oasis up ahead. The leader ordered this to be done. But there was no oasis, and the entire caravan met its end in the desert. When the intelligent leader approached the demon-wilderness, he had made the same preparations and was met by the same black man on the ass. But he told the man on the ass, “Begone with you. You appear to me to be the bearer of all inauspicity. We shall not lighten our load one bit because of your suspicious statements.” And so the caravan crossed the wilderness, and found the remnants of the first caravan on the way.
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