UNITY IN DIVERSITY
Three cats lived in
neighbouring houses. They were close friends and used to meet to discuss matters of common interest. One of them was
white in colour. Another one was black. The third was brown. One day the black
cat argued that his colour was the best as he could hide in dim light and
pounce on the prey without getting noticed. He added that the white colour of
his friend was a terrible disadvantage in catching a prey in dim light.
The white cat retorted
that white was a superior colour as it
was a combination of all colours and a symbol of purity. He added that black
was the absence of any colour. When the argument became
uncontrollable, the brown cat intervened. He said, "I will tell a story.
Listen carefully and then decide which is the better colour." He narrated
a novel story:
"Before the creation of cats,
God made models of cats using clay. Then he put them one by one in the fire to
strengthen and harden them before instilling life into them. When he introduced
the first model in the furnace, he had no idea about the optimum time for
hardening. He kept it for a long time and it got charred and over burnt. That
was how the first 'black' cat was created. He learned a lesson but brought the
black model to life. All black cats are his descendants. The next time, God was
very cautious to avoid overheating. So he removed the model from the furnace a
bit early to avoid overheating. The model was under burnt and white in colour.
The white cats descended from him. Now God became proficient in the art and
science of hardening the models. So the third experiment was successful and the
model was removed after correct heating. It was perfect and had a beautiful brown
colour. All brown cats, including me, are his descendants. We were heated and
hardened correctly for the optimum time and temperature. Now you know who is the result of a perfect
creation."
The story amused the
black and white cats though they knew that it was fictitious. They stopped
their fight and became friends again, realizing that external appearance is insignificant
and that nobody wins by an argument.
Man has fought thoughtlessly, throughout human
history, arguing about the superiority of one race over others. Men may differ
in characteristics and qualities such as calibre, caste, character, charm, cognition,
colour, community, complexion, costume, courage, creed, culture and customs.
But he is the roof and crown of
creations and a noble work of God. We must appreciate unity in diversity and
harmony in variety.
"God created man
in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created
them" {Genesis 1: 27}.
.............................................................................................................
© By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of
Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof.
Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally and
Leo. S. John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for
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is Story No. 222 in the second site. Please click ‘Older
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2 comments:
super story
super story
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