HOW TO IDENTIFY FOOLS Sanskrit literature touches every subject matter under the sun. The poets even composed couplets on fools and idiots. By reading such Slokas/couplets, we can easily identify the fools. We learn from them not to behave like fools.
To illustrate stupidity, Sanskrit literature use the simile of a person sitting on the top branch of a tree and cutting down the trunk. Even the great poet Kalidasa was described as stupid in the beginning and becam a great scholar by the grace of Goddess Kali. Stupid Lady at Shakespeare’s Birth Place Stupidity is not the monopoly of any particular race or religion though we hear lot of jokes about a particular community or religious group. A lady visiting Stratford –on-Avon, the birth place of Shakespeare, showed even more than the usual fervour. She had not recovered when she reached the railway station, for she remarked to a friend as they walked on the platform: “To think that it was from this very platform the immortal bard would depart whenever he journeyed to town!” Story from a Tamil Proverb The story goes that a certain man who was the important person in a town lost his mother. A lot of people came to console him and said, “O, Your mother was a great person. She was a mother to everyone. Now the village will be like a motherless child”. This is the Tamil way of consoling. One of the youths among the crowd was a fool. He did not know anything, but just pretended to be intelligent by imitating everyone. He also said the same thing to the grieving VIP. It went on very well for a time. But one day another important person in the town lost his wife. Now that he knew what to say in such a bereavement, he first went to express his condolences. He blindly followed the previous condolence message, “ O, Your wife was a great wife. She was not only wife to you but was wife to everyone in the village. Now the villagers look like a wifeless husband”. The people who watched him saying this, thrashed him and threw him out! I am pretty sure that every one of us would have done something foolish in our life. That is not unusual. But repeating the same mistake will push us into the category of FOOLS! Here below is the identification of stupid people: Duuratah sobate muurko lambasaataptavrutah A fool looks bright from a distance, with long beautiful attire around him. (If anyone goes near him, they can easily recognise him as an ignoramus; Tip top dress won’t save him) Taavascha sobate muurko, yaavatkinchinna bhaasate – Hitopadesa As long as a fool doesn’t open his mouth he shines! a sobate sabaamatye hamsamadye bhako yataa A fool in the assembly (of learned) is like a crane amidst swans. Apanditaanaam sangoabydayavibangah Friendship with the unlearned is the end of good things. Artho gato ghoshamupaiti nuunam Empty vessels definitely make much noise Asubam vaakyamaadatte puriishamiva suukarah – Mahabharata Like the pigs seek poo, bad people seek only bad things Kashtam kalu muurkatvam – Chanakya neethi Is it not difficult to be a fool? Jackass 1 One time, Abraham Lincoln, drawled as he read a story of a certain king who wanted to go hunting, and asked the court minister if it would rain. The minister told him the weather would be fair. Setting out, the royal party met a farmer riding a jackass. He warned the king that it was going to rain. The king laughed, went on, and no sooner got started hunting than a heavy downpour drenched him and his party. He went back, there out the minister, and called for the farmer. “Tell me how you kew it would rain” “I did not know, Your Majesty, it is not me. It is my jackass. He puts his ear forward when it it is going to be wet”. The king sent the farmer away, had the jackass brought and put in place of the minister. “It was here”, said Lincoln, “the king made a great mistake”. “How so? asked someone of the audience. “Why, ever since that time, every jack ass wants an office. Gentlemen, leave your credentials with me and when the war is over you will hear from me.” Jackass 2 A certain Colonel on the staff of Governor died suddenly. Many applicants for this post were clamouring to be heard. Before even the funeral had taken place, one of these managed to detain the Governor for a moment, asking “Would you object to my taking the place of the Colonel?” “Not at all”, snapped the Governor. “Speak to the undertaker.” KR IRS 6425 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZor4aKY9KEZ_-6TTjtQjJ46LYB5Z%3D6wooa3LrOFY8pqQHQ%40mail.gmail.com.
