In the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, there is a story about a Brahmin called Kaushik. He meditated and practised yoga for a long time in a forest. After years of hard work, one day he sat under a tree when bird droppings fell on his head. When he looked up, he saw a crow. He glared angrily at it. With his yogic powers, a flash of fire shot from his head and burnt the bird to ashes. He was delighted to see his powers, and arrogance crept into his mind. Later, when he went to beg for food in the town, he stood at a door and said, ‘Mother, give me food.’ A lady replied from inside, ‘Wait for some time, my son.’ The Brahmin thought, ‘How dare this wretched woman make me wait? Doesn’t she know my powers?’ The lady again said from inside the house, ‘Don’t think too much of yourself. I am not a crow.’
The Brahmin was astonished. When the woman finally came out, he said, ‘How did you know what happened in the forest?’ The woman said, ‘I made you wait because my husband is very ill, and I was nursing him. I do not know yoga. I just know how to do my duty. That is how I could read your thoughts.’ The Brahmin asked her how he could learn this too. The lady asked him to go to the next town and meet a vyadha—a hunter and butcher. The Brahmin felt odd at being asked to learn from a vyadha, but he still went. In the market, he saw a big, fat butcher cutting meat and bargaining with his customers. The butcher looked up at the Brahmin and said, ‘Please take a seat until I am finished with my business.’
After the butcher had sold all the meat, he collected his money and took the Brahmin home. The vyadha gave the Brahmin a seat and went to wash and feed his parents. When he was free, the Brahmin asked him a lot of questions about the soul and about God. The vyadha patiently explained everything to him. This discourse forms part of the Mahabharata and is called the Vyadha Gita.
The astonished Brahmin said, ‘You have such great knowledge; then why are you doing such ugly work?’ The vyadha said, ‘I was born into this trade, and this is all I know. I don’t know yoga, and I have not become a sanyasi. I serve my parents. I just know what my duty is and try to do it to the best of my ability. Everything I have learnt is through doing my duty.’
