Jim Corbett, after whom a famous national park in
India has been named, was an expert on the nature
of tigers. He once wrote: “No tiger attacks a human
being unless provoked.” People who live in jungle
areas where tigers roam will confirm the truth of
Jim Corbett’s words. There is usually no cause for
concern when one comes face to face with a tiger.
Unless it is provoked or harbours deep-rooted
suspicion of human beings the beast will ignore one
and continue on its way.
And how does this suspicion form in some tigers?
Tigers are by nature not ill-disposed towards
human beings. Only very few of them can be called
man-eaters, and even they were not born as such.
They became man-eaters, not through any fault of
their own, but through the folly of human beings.
Usually it is inexperienced hunters who do the
damage. They shoot at a beast, wounding but not
killing it. A tiger injured in this manner becomes
man’s enemy. Wherever it sees a human being, it
attacks and kills. The same is true of most beasts of
prey. They only attack man when they have already
been wounded by him.
This information from the world of nature holds
deep significance for man. It shows that one should
not think of anyone—not even the most savage
people—as one’s enemy in advance. One will only
be treated as an enemy if that is how one sees
others. If one does not view them with animosity,
they are more likely to be amicable in return.
The second lesson is that one should not take
measures against anyone without sufficient
preparation. If the measures that one takes are
indecisive, they are sure to be counter-productive.
The other party will only become further provoked,
and tension between the two will deepen further.
Everyone has certain needs and desires in this
world, which they remain busy fulfilling. The secret
of life is not to stand in a person’s way. If one does
not make oneself a target for another’s vengeance,
but lets everyone continue pursuing his own goal in
life, then one is not going to find one’s own path
blocked by others. One will find everyone so
asborbed in minding his own business that he has
no time to interfere with that of others.
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
