Shah’s Fables in The Way of Sufi :: Way of Sufi Essays

Shahs Fables in The Way of Sufi When most state answer the question, What is a fable? they usually define it as a story with talking animals that teaches subscribers a lesson or moral. Although most fables do sound into this category, Idries Shah, an author of hu objet dart beingsy fables, believes that there is more to a fable than alone being an interesting story that teaches a lesson. In fact, Shah writes in the beforehand of his book Reflections, Do you imagine that fables exist only to amuse or to instruct, and are based upon fiction? The beat out ones are delineations of what happens in actually life, in the community, and in the individuals mental processes (1, 2). What Shah means is that the best fables describe life, ones mental processes, and the surrounding community to the fullest. In The Man, the Snake, and the Stone, from his book Caravan of Dreams, Shaw gives insight to the way hu spells mental processes are and how they should be. The fable seems to be a t ale about a curious, to that degree ignorant, man who desperately tries to justify his action of releasing the snake from at a lower place the stone so that the snake does not kill him. However, this fable shows the reader how selfish, bluff, and unreasonable humans are with their animal friends. One thing this fable demonstrates to the reader is how selfish humans are in their ways. The fable starts with the man who picks up a stone and releases a venomous snake. The snake, of course, threatens to kill the man, provided the man pleas for his life because he claims he set the snake free. The man cries, Give me one more chance. Please let us harness someone else to give an opinion, so that my life may be spared (904). The man cares nothing about how the snake has been inconvenienced. All he cares about is attempt to keep the snake from killing him. Another issue this fable addresses is how inconsiderate man is to the animals of this planet. The fable gives two typesetters case s of animals that are treated unfairly. The first example tells of a flock of sheep which have provided humans with wool for many years. Now, aft(prenominal) all the years of helping the humans, the humans turn around and quit the favor by killing the sheep for mutton. A sheep sarcastically adds, That is the measure of kind-heartedness of men (904).