Learning from a donkey

Man is a bundle of ego, greedy and is never easily satisfied.He is by nature comfort-seeking and grumbles when there is hard work and starts looking for easy options.The rich contentment and a serene detachment are possessions of only a very small few."No pain,no palm; No thorn,no throne;No gall,no glory;No cross,no crown." said William Penn to fellow quakers referring to the sufferings of Jesus Christ.He was crowned with thorns,was given gall to drink at his Crucifiction, and suffered pain on the cross.The message conveyed is that nothing worthwhile can ever be achieved without effort,struggle and sacrifice, be it in education ,character building, career growth or spiritual progress.

I was reminded of a verse in Subhashithani which reads as below:

अविश्रामं वहेद्भारं शीतोष्णं च न विन्दति

ससन्तोषस्तथा नित्यं त्रीणि शिक्षेत गर्दभात्

(He carries loads without rest, is not deterred by the heat or cold, is always content.These are the three things one should learn from the donkey.)This animal with its poker face devoid of any emotion is the most derided one and a constant butt of ridicule. Called a beast of burden , it has no appealing features with a voice that evokes scorn and contempt.It hurts none unless you go to its rear.It is otherwise a calm animal with no ego and doesn't create a ruckus.Give him the food and shelter, it works tirelessly without grumbling. It never claims recognition for hard work it does.It is always contented and does not fight with others of its ilk.

There is no detraction from dignity if we can learn even from this lowly animal.