Story ‣ Two Beggars

Two beggars live in a forest, near a city.

Naturally they are enemies, because they are in the same profession and in competition.

One is blind and one is lame. And they are always quarreling about their clients.

You don’t know what beggars say about you. They have their clients, they have their territories.

Beggars are continuously fighting. There is great struggle and competition.

And those two beggars had been enemies for years. But one day the forest caught fire.

The blind man was perfectly able to walk and run, but it was dangerous.

He could not see whether he was going in the right direction, where there was no fire, or whether he was running through the fire towards more.

The lame man could not run on his own.

And the fire was spreading so fast and the winds were so strong, but he could see that there was still a possibility to get out.

There were a few places where the fire had not reached yet. But soon it would be reaching there.

Soon, they would be covered by fire from all over the place. They both forgot all their antagonism, competition.

This was not the time to fight, this was a time to unite.

And the blind man took upon his shoulders the lame man, and they became one personality.

Now they had eyes and they had legs, both.

The lame man could see, and direct where they had to run, and fast – and which directions had to be avoided.

And the blind man was strong enough to run, carrying the lame man on his shoulders. They came out of the forest without being injured.

This ancient story is about your mind and your heart. Your heart can see, but cannot say. Your mind can say, but cannot see.

If you are capable of bringing your heart and mind closer, your love and logic closer, your experience and expression closer, perhaps mind can also say something significant.

It may not be complete, it may not be an entire expression, but it may be an indication in the right direction. It may be a finger pointing to the moon.

It may not be the moon, but it can indicate towards the moon.