Safe in the Forest

Learning to play the flute

- Devdutt Pattanaik

In the beginning, there was nature - wild and untamed. In the forest, animals are always afraid; afraid they might not find food and starve to death, and afraid that they may become food and be killed. Thus, death lurks in every corner. Humans alone, thanks to the larger brain, are animals that can imagine a place where one does not have to struggle to survive, where one is not afraid of a predator. This is why, from the Bible, comes a thought to describe the Kingdom of God, "The lion shall lay with the lamb." This imagery is found in Hindu scriptures too, where in the hermitages of sages, one finds the goat safe in the company of tigers. This is heaven, a place where one feels secure: a place without a 'rat race', a place that is not a 'dog eats dog world'.

Popular phrases indicate how people perceive the corporate world. It is equated with the jungle. Like animals, executives feel they have to compete in order to survive and thrive. In the markets, everything seems fair. Since violence is not considered an acceptable code of conduct, except by gangsters, the corporate world feeds on cunning. The more cunning seems to reach higher in the food chain. No one likes being here. Everyone yearns for a piece of heaven.