Alert at First, Careless Later
A battle took place near the dwelling place of a fox. In those days, during battles, they used to play drums to instill fear in the enemy and also to raise enthusiasm among their own soldiers. In the Atharva Veda, there are mantras to energize such battle drums. Then their sound becomes all the more lethal and dangerous.
The battle was over. The fox was about to settle back into a routine. Suddenly, he heard a loud, scary creaking sound. Not just once, but again and again, every now and then. He was shocked.
'What is this? I have never heard any animal make a sound like this before. It can't be an elephant. It can't be a horse. It can't even be the roar of a lion. Very strange sound. Very scary sound. It must be some very dangerous animal. Let me leave this place before it sees me.'
Then the fox thought, 'But we have been living in this place for generations. I know every nook and corner of this place. Going to a new place? I don't know what dangers will be there or how I will find food. Let me also not run away like that. I should be bold. Let me go and see what this new animal is like.'
He very cautiously went into the battleground, hiding behind this and that. Finally, he identified the source of the sound. He saw that this huge new animal was just lying there, probably dead, and the branches of some bushes nearby were rubbing against its skin, what you call the drumhead. That was the sound that was coming.
The fox moved even closer, carefully. Yes, it seemed to be lifeless. It must have died in the battle. He saw the skin, a huge body.
'How much flesh must be inside? Good that I didn’t run away. I would have really missed this huge catch. This can easily last for a couple of weeks.'
The fox started biting through the skin. Finally, he managed to cut through—at the cost of a tooth—and realized that there was nothing inside. It was just hollow. The only thing that happened was that he lost a tooth.
The courage of the fox is appreciated. He didn’t flee just on hearing the sound. His spirit of adventure is appreciated. Did he jump to conclusions? No, but only initially. He didn’t just go by the sound, what he heard.
Some people are also like this. They make a lot of noise, big claims.
'I do this, I do that. I am so good. I know this person. I know that person.'
Don’t just believe. Ascertain, verify before you believe. The fox did the right thing. But then, did he sustain it? No. The moment he saw the skin, he concluded that it must be an animal and that there would be meat inside. This is what happens with most people. They are watchful initially but then start taking things for granted.
I remember an incident. A doctor took an insurance policy through a call center. With a lot of due diligence, everything went properly. He made the payment, and the policy came. The agent became very friendly. He bought more policies.
Then he had cash with him. The consultation fee mostly came in cash. The usual mentality—how to avoid paying tax. He asked the agent. The agent said, 'No problem, you can pay in cash.'
He started paying the premium in cash. The agent used to deliver the policies and receipts. The doctor was successful in evading tax since he didn’t account for the cash. He never thought about what would happen when the insurance company paid back. That can never be in cash. It will come to the account only. How will he explain that?
Anyway, that day never came. One day, the agent’s phone was switched off. It never became active again. He didn’t even know where his office was. It was so convenient. The agent came and collected cash, then delivered policies and receipts at his door. The doctor never bothered to check.
By this time, do you know how much he had handed over to the agent? Nearly 30 lakhs. The agent was gone. This man went to the insurance company with all the policies and receipts. They were all fake, forged.
Of course, this was a result of dishonesty with the government. You can't be choosy if you want to be honest. 'I am honest with my family but not so honest with the state'—that is not honesty.
But here, his behavior was similar to the fox. Cautious initially, but then he jumped to a conclusion—that this man, the agent, could be trusted forever. Be clear in your mind. People can change overnight, for the better or for the worse.
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