There is an old fable involving a swan and a crane that reads like this:
A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments, the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired:
“Where do you come from?”
“I come from heaven!” replied the swan.
“And where is heaven?” asked the crane.
“Heaven!” said the swan, “Heaven! Have you never heard of heaven?” And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of her home. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones, and of rivers, pure as crystal. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane.
Finally the crane asked: “Are there any snails there?”
“Snails!” repeated the swan; “No! Of course there are not.”
“Then,” said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, “you can have your heaven. I want snails!”
Too often, we live our lives as the crane. We choose to focus our attention on the temporal enjoyment of things that are less important: money, big houses, nice cars, fancy clothes, cutting-edge technology…
And in exchange, we have lost sight of the beautiful things that truly matter.
Dr. Shreehari V G (Ph.D. in Sanskrit) says
This conversation we find in Sanskrit verse composed in the metre called Shardulavikridita.
This verse is included in the Sanskrit Textbook of grade 12 from the state of Maharashtra, India.
I am very happy to see the same here. The only difference is Swan has come from Maanasa lake which is in Himalaya regions.
kastvam lohita-lochanaasya-charano hamsah kuto maanasaat
kim tatraasti suvarna-pankaja-vanaanyambhah sudha-sannibham |
ratnaanaam nichayah pravaalamanayo vaiduryarohah kvachit
shambuka api santi neti cha bakairakarya hihikrutam ||
joshua michael says
The swan sees the crane wading through a slimy pond and wonders why it would prefer this life over a life in a beautiful world where it comes from…….the crane is content with living in this world, but he is only focused on only what he wants now. He cannot understand what is so special about the place the swan describes.
We focus so much on what we WANT in this world. We often can’t appreciate the things that God has to offer us…
Nola says
Are snails not also God’s creatures? Perhaps heaven is where snails are never eaten, cranes are never hungry and swans delight in their own beauty whilst learning humility through watching flights of angels! Thank you for this interesting discussion.
dennis d says
Snails in this fable is only a representation of the fleeting things of the world. They are but temporary, able to give us happiness for the time being but they never last.
Todd says
I don’t believe in God or the Devil. I don’t believe in heaven or hell. But I do believe in snails. They’re totally real.
Rakesh Babu says
Because God (Positive) and Evil (Negative) are Energies. With Positive energy you will feel Happy. With Negative energy you will feel Sorrow. Energies are Invisible or Metaphysical or Spiritual. These can be seen only with your mind.
Where as rest of the world are Physical which you can see with your Physical eyes.
dennis d/ says
Who made the snails?
Ramanathan says
Dear Joshua, Just now I have read the fable, which is very beautiful. This story reminds me of a Dohe (i.e. couplet) of Kabirdas, a famous philosopher cum saint of fourteenth century, which was roughly translated as below:
“The crane and the swan appear alike,
They feed from the same lake;
Crane hankers after fish alone,
Swan prefers gems to take.”
Explanation:
The swan and the crane appear alike while feeding in the same lake but while the crane looks for fish and dirt, the swan craves for gems on which she feeds. Appearances are no indication of one’s nature. Moreover, swan symbolises discrimination of right and wrong. Therefore, one should have his own discrimination. This is the implied meaning of the couplet.