Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), before we begin today ‘let us remember this about ‘Attention’.

Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. We feed the hunger blindly. Once the mechanism is brought to our attention and we begin to study it, it is as if a veil has been stripped off ordinary life, and we become freer in our action and choices.

Last week I drew your attention to one of many, ‘Teaching Stories’. This week I bring to your attention yet another story which is extracted from an interesting and thought provoking work, ‘World Tales’ by Idries Shah.

‘World Tales,’ is divided into five volumes and contains stories from great works like Panchatantra, Thousand and One Nights, Straparola, Boccaccio, Chaucer and Shakespeare and a dozen others which now form the basis of the classic literature of Europe and Asia.

How Evil Produces Evil

A certain hermit was walking one day in a deserted place, when he came across an enormous cave, the entrance to which was not easily visible. He decided to rest inside, and entered. Soon, however, he noticed the bright reflection of the light upon a large quantity of gold within.

The hermit, as soon as he became aware of what he had seen, took to his heels and fled as fast as he could.

Now in this desert area were three robbers, who spent much time there so that they could steal from travelers. Before long the pious man blundered into them. The thieves were surprised, and even alarmed, at the sight of the man running, with nothing in pursuit; but they came out of their ambush and stopped him, asking what was the matter.

‘I am fleeing, brothers,’ he said, ‘from the Devil, who is racing after me.’

Now the thieves could not see anything following the devout old man, and they said, ‘Show us what is after you.’

‘I will,’ he said (for he was afraid of them) and led them to the cave, at the same time begging them not to go near it. By this time, of course the thieves were greatly interested, and insisted that they should be shown whatever it was that had caused such alarm.

‘Here’, he said, ‘is death, which was running after me.’

The villains were, of course, delighted. They naturally regarded the recluse as somewhat touched, and sent him on his way, while they reveled in their good fortune.

Now the thieves began to discuss what they should do with the booty; for they were afraid of leaving it alone again. Finally they decided that one of their number should take a little gold to the city and with it buy food and other necessities, and then they would proceed to the division of the spoils.

One of the ruffians volunteered to run the errand. He thought to himself: ‘When I am in town I can eat all I wish. Then I can poison the rest of the food, so that it kills the other two, and all the treasure will be mine.’

While the rogue was away, however, his companions were also thinking. They decided that as soon he returned, they would kill him, eat the food, and divide the spoils so as to gain the additional third share that would otherwise be his.

The moment the first thief arrived back at the cave with the provisions, the two others fell upon him stabbed him to death. Then they ate all the food, and expired of the poison which their friend had bought and put into it...