They all went to the saint. Seeing so many of them, the saint asked them what was the matter. The villagers replied, "Mahatma ji, there is only one well in the village and we cannot drink water from that well."
The saint asked, "why, what happened? Why can't you drink water from it?"
The villagers replied, "three dogs were fighting with each other and fell into the well. Then they could not come out, and drowned in the well and died. Now the water stinks badly, how can we drink that water?"
The saint said, "do one thing, pour holy Ganga river water in the well."
So, eight to ten buckets of Ganges water were poured into the well, yet the problem remained as it is. People again reached the saint.
The saint said, "ok, so all of you gather in prayer and chant the name of God." People said okay. They did as instructed, but still the problem remained the same.
People again went back to the saint. This time the saint said, "get some fragrant substances put in the well." So, this was also done, but the problem still persisted.
Now the saint himself came to the well. People said, "Look Sir, the situation is still the same. We have tried everything now, got the holy Ganga water poured, got the prayers and chants done, distributed _prasad_ , put fragrant flowers and substances in the well - everything!"
The saint asked with a puzzled look, "You have done everything, but have you removed the three dogs that had fallen and died in this well?"
The villagers said, "well, you did not ask us to do that, and neither did we take them out. We did everything else, but the dogs are still in the well."
The saint was shocked at first, but then he calmly explained to the villagers that, "until the three dead bodies lying in the water are taken out, no external measures will have any effect. First you have to take out that dirt from the water."
*Moral :*
*Similar is the story of our life too. In our village-like body, there is a well of conscience, where many animals named lust, anger, greed, jealousy have fallen in their fight, and are stuck like termites. They are slowly eating away our conscience from inside. Now, the matter to think about is, what are we doing to get out of this rot?*
*We take in a lot of new things from the outside to enhance our lives, but what are we doing to eliminate what is already rotting or accumulating inside? Let us first get rid of them and then see the beauty of this world and celebrate abundance of Joy & Happiness*
