Dear Friends,
Can you imagine a situation where you and your deadliest enemy both got placed in the same coupe in a first-class railway bogie? You both have to travel for 3 days. What would be your immediate reaction? Will you look at each other’s faces? Will you quarrel? Or will you go to the extent of fighting each other? Or do you both ignore each other until you reach your destination? Definitely, it is the most uncomfortable situation, right?
In such a situation, what if you are offered some good food by your neighbour? Will you eat happily, burying the rivalry or suspicion? Or eat with hesitation? Or reject it totally? Unless we experience such a situation, we may not be able to answer correctly.
However, animals behave differently. A few days back, a little bird got stuck on our balcony. It was barely able to fly. At a distance, the mother kept watching but couldn’t enter due to the parapet wall. It took a while. My son prepared a decent enclosure and started feeding it. Surprisingly, it did not eat, despite being given the right food. It was also unable to make any sound. After some time, he took the enclosure to the garden and dropped her near a plant, guarding her from predators. Suddenly, a few of her relatives came and pushed her forcefully. She gained confidence and flew away with them.
You might be wondering — what is so great about this story?
Recently, an incident took place in Kadukkkachiy in Idukki, Kerala. A tiger and a dog were stuck in a pit at a cardamom plantation (The Hindu). Everybody wondered why the tiger did not kill the dog — after all, they were barely a foot apart in a 10-ft-deep pit. It was an easy prey for the tiger. A DFO and a wildlife expert revealed something new. Normally, tigers do not attack or ambush inside traps. When dogs chase tigers, the tiger usually escapes. Generally, we think the other way around. However, experts say, “Instinct was to survive, not to kill.” This is animal dharma.
Many life lessons and management theories can be drawn from this. Today, the whole world is experiencing various phenomena — wars, famine, natural disasters, health outbreaks, human trafficking, slavery, and many more unwanted and undesired conditions. A few are man-made, while a few are natural. We can avoid man-made disasters and collaboratively and collectively handle natural ones.
What is one lesson we can learn from these tigers? The instinct is to survive, not to kill. We are all people trapped on this big planet. Maybe we need the same instinct — to survive. I’m sure everyone will have their own reason. At least, we can reduce the friction. Human life is so short. We send best wishes to family members, greet each other — and within hours, we’re not sure whether we’ll return safely or not. In the process, we build great dreams, make big claims, and create all kinds of noise. But where is the guarantee that our claim will be fulfilled in our own eyes?
Nature’s lessons are always great. They teach us philosophy, science, engineering, architecture, and much more. I think some universities should start a bachelor’s program exclusively on “Bachelor's in Nature Understanding.” It should be a transdisciplinary subject covering all philosophies.
What does your instinct say?
Ravi Saripalle
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