King Prachin Vahirsh yawned openly listening to Narad Muni’s long sermon about the need to distance oneself from the lure of this world. Finding that the old king was not much interested in what he was saying, Narad with his yoga power created a vision before him. There, up in the sky, was a beautiful garden, lavish with fruit bearing trees, a variety of fragrant flowers and lush green grass. In a moment, a wild deer came prancing into it and began to graze hungrily. The king saw that the garden was walled, with four gates going out of it. Soon after, his eyes fell on a hunter making preparations to catch the deer. The man fixed a net on one gate, on the second he posted his fearsome dog, the third he barred with a blazing fire and on the fourth, the hunter sat himself with his bow and a quiver full of arrows. Yet, the beast kept feeding itself on the delicious grass, unmindful of the threats to its life and liberty. ‘Do you see that silly creature?’ asked the sage. King Prachin Vahirsh nodded thoughtfully and replied, ‘Yes, I do. The deer is doomed anyway, so what is wrong if he enjoys life while he can?’
The king’s response was in keeping with his nature. It must have silenced Narad. He had made a splendid garden and put a deer in it. He made sure that the creature won’t escape from it alive. Poor deer would have been struck dumb if someone had told him to ignore what the garden offered and think only of death! That was the view of Prachin Vahirsh, who had sacrificed countless animals in his yagyas just to be sure that he continued to enjoy, even after his death, the pleasures of swarga.
Scriptures tell us that the Universe is ‘Ananda Kanda’ – a space of bliss, not some kind of a prison, pen or a cage in which the creatures are kept only to die of violence, sickness or of old age. Is not enjoyment of simple pleasures of life a compliment to the Creator? But man is more than a beast. Beyond the satiation of animal hunger are the joys of knowing, of growing inwards and out. He has to know the world around him, know himself, know who has put him in this garden and why. Death has given him only so much time to partake of the joy that he is born to. The sooner he realises this, the better it is for him.
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