WISDOM + JUSTICE = SOUND LEADERSHIP
Consider the strange tale of a wild pig
living in the jungles of Tripura. She lived happily with her children. One day,
while foraging through the jungle for her children’s food, she noticed a
weeping tiger cub behind a bush. Finding
no trace of the cub’s mother, she thought that the tigress might have been
killed by hunters. The mother pig
immediately took pity on the cub and thought, ‘How can I leave this orphan cub
in such a condition? After all, I am a
mother. I shall take the cub with me and
rear him up.’
The mother pig began to look after
the cub, along with her own children, as best as possible. Thus that tiger cub became a member of the
pig family. He and the piglets played
together, ate together, roamed together and slept together.
The days passed on and eventually
the mother pig died. The cub was, by
then, a full-grown tiger and the piglets were no longer little; they were big
fat pigs. By nature, a tiger lives on
flesh, so a deep desire for eating flesh gradually developed in the tiger. He was tempted to devour the pigs, but a direct
attack could earn him a bad name as they had grown up together. Therefore, he mapped out a subtle plan.
One day, he said to one of the pigs,
“Brother, last night I had a dream. In
my dream, I saw I was eating you up. As
you might imagine, it is a sin to dishonor a dream. Therefore, I have decided to kill you and eat
your flesh. I am ready to fulfill your
last desire, if there be any, before killing you.”
The terrified pig tried his best to
make the tiger see that his dream had nothing to do with reality. But the tiger was adamant. By then, the pig realized that it would be difficult
to escape from the clutches of the huge tiger.
At last, the pig said, “If you kill me, other pigs will defame you. I think it would be better if three animals
accept your argument before you kill me.”
The tiger agreed to the proposal. So first of all, they went to a monkey and explained
the entire story. The monkey supported
the tiger. Then, both of them met a hen
who also supported the tiger. The tiger
was very delighted but the pig was understandably upset.
Finally, they took their case t0 a
bat. After hearing the claim of the
tiger, the bat realized his intentions right away. However, he disclosed nothing and only said,
“It is a complicated matter. I would ask
you to go to the king for proper judgment.”
He informed them that he would appear in the king’s court at the time of
the hearing of their case.
Both the tiger and the pig appeared
before the king in his court and narrated the whole episode. The pig informed the king that a witness would
appear very soon. The king asked them to
wait while he handled other royal business.
Suddenly, the bat fell from the ceiling of the royal court on the ground
and began to dance with joy. The king
warned the bat not to misbehave in the royal court. The bat begged forgiveness for his behavior,
saying “My lord, I fell asleep while waiting on the ceiling of the court. At that time, I had a dream but I am afraid
to reveal it,” the bat said, trembling with fear. The king told him, “Don’t worry, you can disclose
your dream without fear.”
The bat said, “In my dream, I saw
myself marrying the princess.” He pleaded that the king would fulfill his dream
by arranging a marriage to the princess.
The king became angry and warned the bat not to press for such an absurd
demand: “It is not proper to put forward a proposal on the basis of a dream,”
insisted the king. “A dream is a dream
and has no connection with reality.”
The bat seized the opportunity and
asked, “Since that is true, how could the tiger kill the pig and eat his flesh
on the strength of his dream?” The king
accepted the bat’s arguments and rejected outright the foolish proposal of the
tiger. He also ordered the tiger and the
pig to live separately, thereafter, in the jungle.
– Author Unknown
It is of paramount importance that
leaders develop a sharp sense of discernment.
Additionally, they must be open to hear and consider the viewpoints of
others, recognizing that leaders do not possess a monopoly on insight and understanding. Finally, in every deliberation and decision, leaders
must be consciously fair and conscientiously just. The final words of King David summarize these
truths so well:
II Samuel 23:1-3 (KJV)
1 Now these be the last words of
David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the
anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
2 The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my
tongue.
3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of
Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over
men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
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