The Brahmin and His Cow

There is this story about the Brahmin and his cow, which left an impression on me, even when I heard it as a kid.

A Brahmin was very proud of his garden and tended to it like a doting parent. His garden bloomed under his loving care and soon its fame spread in the entire district. Whoever saw the garden, always asked the Brahmin the same question- “Who tends to this garden?” Puffing out his chest in pride, the Brahmin would reply, “I do. With my own hands.”

Once, the Brahmin’s cow was accidentally let out of its shed and wandered into the garden. Seeing the lush foliage, the cow started munching away. The Brahmin, who had gone out for some work, returned home and to his shock, saw his cow chewing away his precious flowers. Blinded by rage, the Brahmin took a stout stick and mercilessly hammered the cow. So ruthless was his punishment that the cow succumbed to its injuries. The Brahmin was horrified! Killing a cow was a sacrilege. It was the ultimate sin. As news of the cow’s killing spread in the village, the Brahmin was heard telling people, “Brahma is the controller of our hands. He makes us do the actions which we do. So, I had no control on my actions. It was Brahma who made me kill the cow”. The simple and ignorant villagers believed him and soon the Brahmin felt he was absolved of his crime.

One day, an unknown gentleman entered the village. He too stood admiring the Brahmin’s garden. On being asked about the flowers, the Brahmin proudly proclaimed, “I have tended to this garden with my own hands”.  About the fruit trees, this is what the Brahmin said, “I have tended to this garden with my own hands”. He said the same about the coconut plantation also. Suddenly, the gentleman asked the Brahmin, “...and what about the cow?”. Taken aback at the sudden question, the Brahmin replied that it was not his fault that Brahma controlled the hands and he was in no way guilty. The gentleman, who was actually Brahma in disguise, scolded him and cursed him. “When you used your hands to create this beautiful garden, you took all the credit but when you used your hands to kill a dumb animal, you blamed Brahma. You are nothing but an evil soul and shall never find redemption for this”.

The reason I bored you with the story here is to pin point how we too resort to this tactic. When our child does something good, it is “Mera beta…my son”…and when he/she does something wrong, we go, “Your son is becoming naughtier by the day…aakhir tumhara beta hai”.  When we are praised for our spotless houses, it is always, “ I am very particular about cleaning my house myself. I always like it neat and clean” but when we litter our surroundings, it is “Our government/ municipality keeps the city so dirty…what difference does one paper thrown by me make?”.

Why is it that there is so much rush to take credit but no one to take up responsibility?