There is an interesting story that my grandfather told me a long time back. There was a man with a few goats. He was once going to the big market in the nearby village to sell one of his goats. Three charlatans saw him and made a plan! One of them came to the man and told "Hi, brother. How are you? Where are you going with this dog?". The man rebuffed him telling "This is a goat you blind one!". After a few minutes, another of the three guys came to the man and told "Hi, brother. How are you? Where are you going with this dog?". This time the man was not so sure. He told "Don't bother me. This is a goat!" After some more time, the third guy came to the man and told "Hi, brother. How are you? Where are you going with this dog?". The man was really pissed. He thought he made a mistake. Maybe this is actually a dog. Then he left his goat and went home!
A few days back a very melancholic thought struck me. Most of the elderly people I know in the west personally never give up the pursuit of money! Even at the age of 80 and something they would not do a single thing without payment. That made me think, will I also become like this when I am old? Is this the side-effect of living in the west? In some ways, it was like the WTF-moment that prince Siddhartha experienced. Prince Siddhartha (who later became the Buddha) grew up in a household where his father took every care to make sure that Siddhartha does not come across any of the difficulties of life. One day young Siddhartha was travelling through the capital and he saw a sick person by the road. He asked his charioteer, "who is this person and why is he suffering so much"? His charioteer, Channa, told, "Prince, this guy is sick". Then the prince asked, "will I also become sick?" Channa told, "yes my lord".
Looking at the elderly in the west made me think, shall I also become like this when I am old? When so many people tell that life is a dog then you tend to doubt your own convictions. You tend to think that everyone will be like this when she/he grows old; stuck in the rat race of money and name.
A few days later, I was talking to an ex-student of mine who is teaching English in China. He was telling me this interesting experience of him where he came across a beggar playing an instrument in a busy street of China. While he was comprehending the beauty of a frail old mand completely lost in his own music in the midst of the chaos and cacophony of a busy Chinese street, for a few seconds time stood still. I have felt such fleeting feelings at times as well. Suddenly, I realised that even though most people say so, life is not a dog. Life is a goat!
