tales of Suchita

Deciding to drag him away
Beaten to teach him a lesson
Humiliated to teach one to the others
The man had become a public spectacle.
As if that weren’t enough
He was then sentenced to a beheading
Among screams of approval
The people’s bloodlust crying for satiation.

“What do we do?” asked the followers
“Why won’t he protest?” asked his children
But actions taken had caused an avalanche, unstoppable.

A day before the beheading,
His children gathered at the jail
Crying for a last discourse
With their beloved prophet.
Sitting at his feet,
Up close to the swellings and crusted blood
The children were roused to a violence
Which only his amenable heart could purge.
He soothed the tears,
Cooled the hot heads and hearts
And told them sternly,
“Is this all that I have taught you?
Are you too going to become like sheep
In the eye of the storm?”

Thus chastised and calmed,
The children clamoured for his last words
For they knew what he said now
Would be the very gods speaking through him.
The man, who was free even in a cage
Who had been elevated to prophet
Through the wisdom behind his words
Closed his eyes and collected his thoughts.

Three rules have guided my life, he said,
These three rules now I give to you
Listen well, with your hearts and minds
And mould your life around them.
If you wish to honour me
If you want to make my death worthwhile
If you want me to leave this earth fulfilled
Give me the gift of remembrance.

Be kind to those around you,
Even if they are your enemies, even if they have hurt you
For you will realize at the end
Who you were really being kind to was yourself.

Courage: build your life around this one word
Because even if the gods abandon you
And all seems bleak and hopeless,
It is courage that will tide you over to a new dawn.

Most important of all, the crowning rule: discernment.
But beware; for though it is the rule to rule all rules
It is also one that will cause you much heartache
As fear is its biggest enemy and so is complacency
For it is hard to both judge and be judged.

The night wound down,
The children asked many questions
And the prophet answered some
As the last hours were spent in happy contemplation.
At daybreak, he sent them away
Knowing it would break their minds
To see him thus, giving them one final farewell,

“What is destroyed today is only the body
My words live on through you
So don’t crave for my healing touch
But use the soothing balm of my words
And rejoice that I may accomplish my mission
In the new realm that is soon to become my home.”

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This is 16 of 26 Myths and Legends. To know more, click here.