INDIAN ETHOSINDIAN ETHOS

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION• Panchatantra tales are renowned for its efficiency

and effectiveness of practicing Management.• Each story gives you a practical guide to face the

world as it is. Tantra means Strategy or method to be applied in a given situation.

• There are 5 Tantras or 5 Strategies in all which you need to master. That is why it is called PANCHATANTRA.

• To become successful you can not afford to miss analyzing these stories.

• The stories may be considered similar to Statements of law which are open for interpretations. It is up to any one to interpret and correlate a real life situation with the Panchatantra stories.

1.The Brahmin and his dream:

 Remember the story of the Brahmin??

Who begged for a living, who dreamt that he will sell the rice, buy goats, then have herds of cows….and would become richer than ever before?

And in the sleep, he hit the pot in which he stored the rice and alas…..

Moral : Set realistic goals.

• If you want to achieve the goals, work hard for them rather than building castles in the air and living in the same.

• If you want to get through the exam or get noticed at work, study hard, sweat yourself out.

• Push yourself to your extremes. Give your best.

  2 . The Blue Jackal:                             So there was this blue jackal, which

fell into a tub of dye and made advantage of the situation and fooled every animal in the jungle.

But one day, unable to control, he howled in front of all the animals and they all killed him.

  Moral:  Be  yourself.

You can fool others about your appearance, your qualifications, your knowledge, and your possessions.

But it is not possible to do that in the long run. So it is always better to be the best you rather than a better some one else.

3. The Brahmin and the goat:

 The Brahmin was cheated by three

cunning fellows who made him believe that he was carrying a donkey, dead calf and dog instead of a goat. But did that transform the goat?

Nope, but the Brahmin deserted the goat and ran away whereas the three fellows relished their meal.

Moral:                        Believe in yourself.

Let other Tom, Dick and Harry say anything they want to say. You should have firm belief in your ideas and values.

You should know the value of your dream and have conviction about the fact that what others say doesn’t affect the achievement of your goals.

Don’t succumb to peer pressure.

4. The Monkey and the crocodile:

 In this story, the crocodile revealed his

intentions to the monkey after reaching the midst of the river.

But monkey managed to save his life!! He doesn’t know how to swim, his friend broke his trust, and he had no other option. Still the crocodile was left ashamed and the monkey reached the tree. How?? He didn’t panic.

Moral: Don’t panic.

It doesn’t matter how worse the situation is.

What matters most is the way you approach the situation and how you find the most feasible solution to it.

The story goes as follows:

A goat with its kid was grazing in the jungle when they came near a Lion's cave. The kid out of curiosity wanted to go inside the cave and see how a Lion's cave looks like. Even though the goat rejected the proposal, she had to agree due to the kids obstinate pleadings.

Before they could come out, they saw the lion approaching towards the cave and both trembled at the prospect of going to become easy prey to it. The quick witted goat thought of a smart plan. It modulated its voice and said aloud, "Kid! today, we shall have a Lion for Lunch".

Hearing the coarse and booming voice, the lion got frightened and took to its heels. The lion was stopped by a fox on the way and out of curiosity, asked the reason for the lion's flight. After hearing the lion, the fox understood what had happened and asked the lion to return back with it. However, the lion would have none of it.

So the fox told the lion, "If you are still frightened, why don't you tie our tails so that we shall go together and see for ourselves?". To this the lion agreed and they tied their tails and started back for the cave. 

Now it was for the goats to be doubly frightened. Still, hiding inside the cave, the mother goat gave out a shrill cry and shouted, " Well, Well, Our loyal friend fox has brought back our prey - the Lion" Hearing it, the lion, now suspicious of the motive of the fox started running far as fast as its legs could carry it.

The fox, not being able to keep up with the speed of the lion, got pulled over stones and bushes and died. The goat and its kid went home safely and had a hearty laugh.

Let us take a deeper look and analyze the characters.

First let us take the lion:

• It is the king of the forest. The cave is its own home. Still hearing a strange voice, it got frightened.

• It did not have trust in its own might. It was not familiar with its own territory. Had the Lion ventured into the cave, the story would have taken a different twist. 

• So, the moral is: Realize your own strengths first and act accordingly instead of panicking when faced with unknown situations.

Next, let us take the fox:

• It had no business in trying to advise the Lion. Probably it was the greed of a sumptuous meal (After the Lion's hunt) that made it advise the lion.

• By tying its tail to that of the lion, it left for itself little or no chance of escape and due to that, it met with a horrible death.

• So, the moral is: Do not poke your nose into matters that don't really concern you especially when dealing with the high and mighty.

Third, Take the goat and the kid:

• They knew that it was the lion's cave. They knew the danger that was present. When they entered the cave, if the lion had been there, they would have become easy prey. It was sheer luck that the cave was empty.

• They would not have had a chance even if the Lion cubs had been around. Knowing that danger was around when they entered the lion's cave, they should at least have thought of and made an escape plan before venturing inside.

• It was dumb luck and sheer presence of mind that they managed to escape.

So, the moral is: • Know your path before you tread. • Have an alternate plan. • Be quick witted and act with presence

of mind. • When faced with danger, do not panic.

And so, we have more than five or six morals to learn from this very simple story.

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