Ego in Check

In a small village in India, lived a pundit. A pundit is a brahmin, who is learned in various religious texts and earns his living by teaching religous texts and giving discourses to anyone who is interested. He was a very simple fellow. He used to go out every day to nearby villages to give discourses. His family comprised of his wife , a pious lady and a son, a student at the village school.

Every evening, the pundit would pass the village chowk, while returning to his home. At the chowk, the village chief who would be sitting with his band of followers, making mockery of people who pass that way. The pundit would give them a smile and walk on his way. One day, as he was returning home, the village chief told him, "You may be a pundit, but your son does not know value of anything!". As usual, the pundit did not care, gave his usual smile and walked away. This became a daily routine. The chief and his band, would make fun of the pundit every day.

One evening, the pundit decided that he would ask his son why they were saying so. So, he went home and told his son whatever he was hearing. The son gave him a smile and said, "Every day, when I return from school, the village chief shows me 2 coins - a gold and a silver one, and he asks me to take one. Each time, I take the silver coin". Then the chief becomes very happy and tells everyone around,  " Look, didnt I tell you so. The pundit's son is a fool. He does not know what is valuable...and every day, the same game continues".

The pundit asked him, why did he not pick up the gold coin? The son took him to his room. He opened a box, showed him many silver coins and said "If I ever pick up a Gold coin, the game will stop. As long as I keep the chief happy by proving him right, even though it means I have to subdue my ego, I will keep earning the silver coin for as long as the game continues".

Well, it may so happen that in your daily life, you may face many similar situations. As long as you keep your ego subdued, and keep the other person happy, you can keep minting the silver!