Once upon a time there lived a bull in a rich and abundant jungle blessed with all the abundance on earth. It was wise and intelligent and lived a happy and contended life. It grazed in fields, pastures and meadows and drank water from sweetest of river and lakes. As the bull was wise and intelligent, so all the animals respected it.
Slowly the wheels of time turned and the rich and contended bull started finding all the abundance and prosperity getting turned from blessings to curse. The bull became fat and unhealthy and started feeling disappointed and dissatisfied with its life. The bull wished life should be more exciting and challenging, but life seemed dull to it. The confusion and dissatisfaction started ruling and ruining bull`s life.
One rainy season the jungle witnessed good rains. The forest was fresh and lush with greenery and water. It was raining continuously and the bull was resting under dense thick tree and was waiting for rain to stop. It wanted a bellyful of fresh grass to munch before retiring for sleep. But it seemed that today rain had forgotten to stop. The bull after waiting for long time finally fell into deep slumber.
It dreamed, "The jungle was busy in wild celebrations and everybody was enjoying wine, food, dance and music. The celebration was about great expedition and scaling a great mountain by bull. The Bull was centre of attraction. Congratulations and love was flowing in abundance towards bull. The announcements were made, "The Jungle`s Grand Bull had conquered the mighty mountains. Few weeks back the bull had stood tall before highest peak of the world in its vigorous, shapely and healthy form. " The bull murmured in dreams, "I am so happy scaling that Northern summit."
Suddenly there was lightening and thundering in the sky and this awakened the bull. The bull felt at serene peace after sleep. The bull was happy seeing itself vigorous, shapely and healthy in dreams. The bull felt a wave of desire to go north to mountains and return to sturdy and shapely in body.
For past few years, the bull felt it had turned lazy and It constantly worried about vague future. The agility and alertness of bulls mind was fogged with uncertainty and doubts over many years of excessive rest and sleep. Now, panic and fear had gripped bull`s thought and bull no longer felt itself as free soul. The bull thought that it must visit wise white elephant, who was a foreteller and sage.
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A giant cave was elephant`s abode. The elephant was deep in meditations and bull thought of waiting for elephant`s meditations to get over. The wise elephant said without opening his eyes, "Certain is death for the born and certain is birth for dead." He further said, "Oh wise bull, you must travel to the northern mountains for your fortune is waiting for you there." The bull was amazed at elephants words, but it was doubting whether it would be really able to travel north with its ailing body. The elephant`s voice grew louder and echoed in cave, "Action is far better than inertia. In laziness, you cannot sustain your body. Act in wisdom! Act with courage! Action is key!" The bull still was not convinced by elephant`s words and still wanted to wait for elephant to come into its full awareness and talk about its dream. The elephant slowly opened its eyes and saw the doubting and lazy bull. Finally elephant said, "Oh Wise bull, remove dust and smoke from your wisdom through action. As you have to munch grass to make it sweet to you, so you have to act to live with luxurious wisdom. Wisdom without action is ignorance. Time is the greatest destroyer and the greatest healer. Please come some other day when the time is ripe. Oh wise bull, you must travel to the northern mountains for your fortune is waiting for you there. Action is the final cure to all your worries"
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The bull was happy that his fortune was in north. Bull knew in north there was dense forest, rich valleys, mountains and a peak. He grazed in best of fields and drank water from best of river, but still found mountain more attractive. Bull thought, "I have seen a dream of my happiness and joy and it was vision of Goddess of jungle, who blessed me that dream. The wise elephant also wanted me to travel north for meeting my fortune. Soon, I must begin travel; still I should share my thought with my herd and other animals."
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The animals laughed at bulls thought and said that elephant in cave was crazy sage. The friendly rabbit said to bull, "Elephant always says crazy things to animals to travel north from where no one has returned alive. The northern mountains devour whoever enters them. Even wolf, bear and eagle keep themselves away from those rocky and icy mountains. There is a valley, which is known as valley of dead." The rabbit further said, "In forest, we have everything in abundance. We already live in paradise, then why must we travel north. I have seen you grazing in these beautiful meadows and also, hillside pastures, so stay here. Don`t think of moving to undiscovered rocks from whose lap no traveler returned" The bull was saddened by animals` laughter and rabbit`s advice.
Now, animals mocked bull and called it crazy bull. After staying in moments of ridicule and doubts for many months the bull got restless. He thought that it is always wise to talk to sage whenever you have dream, for ordinary animals crush their dream and don`t care to understand it. They can at best ridicule the language of the divine. He had queer feeling of visiting the elephant again and thought that time is perhaps ripe now.
On one beautiful evening, the bull reached the elephant`s giant cave and saw it empty. There was no one around and bull waited and waited in that cave for hours together. Seeing no sign of life for hours, the bull ventured outside and heard echo coming out of cave. The echo was loud and clear and it said, "Don`t let the noise of others` opinion drown out your own inner voice. Listen to voice and vision inside you." The bull was surprised as no one was there in cave.
Now, the bull was ambling in wild undecided, when he saw a pack of squirrel munching fresh fruits on trees. He asked squirrels about elephant. The squirrel said that it had seen elephant going to the river on the north. The bull went to the river and asked fish about the elephant. The fish told that it saw wild elephant going into the hills. The bull thought that now it is time to travel north as wild elephant also
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"My mind has befriended my soul. Action is greatest source of knowledge and wisdom. The power of God is within me." The bull kept singing this song while walking north unmindful of dangers ahead. It knew that elephant too had travelled the same path few months ago, so it need not worry much. The bull continued with its song, "The silence is the greatest music. Hunger is the best taste. Generosity is the biggest knowledge. Faith is the greatest shelter. My mind has befriended my soul."
The bull continued its journey in greatest spirit and faith. Now he had two passions: first to meet sage elephant and second to travel in mountains. Finally he reached the boulder from where the mountain range started. He found pebbles, rocks, streams and waterfall were his old friends. The bull looked at them in wonder. The mountain breeze was welcoming bull as if it had waited for him since ages. The bull thanked sage elephant for making its journey so wonderful.
It continued walking and reached valley with great view. He saw forest filled with tress, and the tree tops touching the azure sky. He felt wonderful on seeing cliffs, passes, ridges and peaks laden with clouds and snow. The bull saw the mountain full of life and thought, "Only fool can call it the land of dead." He thought why dreaming elephants were always considered auspicious and felt thankful to wise
He went to lake and saw its` reflection of muscular and aggressive body. It drank water from beautiful lake and grazed in valley and suddenly stopped and saw most beautiful alluring snow crested slope ending upward in the highest summit. The summit was covered with beautiful perpetual snow. On seeing it bull said to itself, "Finally, I will reach and conquer you successfully. It will be a new dawn in forest and animals will stop harboring fear of you"
The bull felt the strange power of mountains wanted it to conquer the summit. It also heard in its mind the encouraging voice of elephant saying, "Certain are death and life, As only action sustains." It also saw in his mind Goddess of forest blessing him with success. He finally murmured, "My mind and soul are finally one."
The bull looked at sky and thought that now it must remain cautious of weather more and must think and decide fast as only right decisions will take him to summit. The bull knew that blizzards and strong wind were very common. It also knew that now it was less of walking and more of mountain-cum-rock climbing and glacier crossing.
Early next morning, the bull started climbing and hiking the rocks and mountains. It was successfully climbing the mountains till afternoon. The Sun was shining very brightly and seeing this bull halted and sheltered in small snow trench. Suddenly, it saw that in a glacier that it had planned to cross next, there was movement and it started sliding fast. Suddenly, he saw on eastern side, an avalanche started falling along with rocks. The bull thought this has happened as it had not offered prayers to God Mountain and started praying, "Oh Mountain Lord, Whatever offences I have committed knowingly or unknowingly, Please forgive all that. Oh ocean of love and compassion! give me strength to reach summit. Glory be to you.!"The mountain lord perhaps was happy and blessed bull.
Again the weather changed rapidly and it became windy and cloudy. Clouds thundered loudly and lightening fell at nearby peak. The bull decided to rest and sleep thought it will make its` next ascent at dawn. It thought, "Dawn was good for climbing mountains and rocks, as ice and rocks were reliable and also, glaciers and avalanche were almost stationery."
The bull continuously reminded itself from dawn to dusk, "I am Taurus and I belong to mountains. Action, faith and Courage were my allies." This still voice and vision gave more courage to bull. This routine continued for weeks together and now climb was becoming steeper, so was bull becoming more efficient in its adhesion, Front and back foot hold and self arrest. Finally, bull passed a ridge and decided to rest in pit. The mountain air at ridge was thin and cold very harsh. The bull rested and saw summit and felt happy that finally tomorrow morning it will reach summit. The bull planned about descend that night and thought, he cannot let excitement turn against it. The bull prayed at night and thanked God for his blessings. In dreams today, there bull saw stars, goddess of Jungle, the lord of mountains and white elephant rejoicing at bull`s feat. Bull got early at morning and thought that the early he should start early so that scale and return to this place happens before Sun become harsh.
The bull took note of weather. It was pleasant and refreshing the bull continued and crossed the saddle and shoulder of mountain range and finally scaled the summit. It was happy seeing world all around it and still reminded itself, "I have attained supreme peace and I am still in my voice, thought and vision." . It found itself lifted to higher sphere of thought that enabled him rest all his little worries and annoyances. It was morning and Sun has started rising in the east. The bull felt tears in its eye and found that strange bliss had enveloped it. It finally thought, "I had conquered a territory from where nobody returns, so I must also plan my return carefully. Now, I must auto suggest myself, not auto intoxicate"
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The bull was happy returning to jungle again and it found that great white sage elephant was meditating in his cave alone. When bull wanted to inform elephant about its feat, the elephant said without opening its eye, "Your mind is your spiritual estate. Dear bull, you conceived and you achieved. Please spread this message to all. I see a new vista on the horizon"