In a certain place the fishermen were catching fish. A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing. Which-ever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it. The kite flew to the south and the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the north and still the crows followed after it. The kite went east and west, but with the same result. As the kite began to fly about in confusion, lo, the fish dropped from its mouth. The crows at once let the kite alone and flew after the fish. Thus relieved of its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and thought: ‘That wretched fish was at the root of all my troubles. I have now got rid of it and therefore I am at peace.’
As long as a man has the fish, that is, worldly desires, he must perform actions and consequently suffer from worry, anxiety, and restlessness. No sooner does he renounce these desires than his activities fall away and he enjoys peace of soul.
A farmer kept bananas in a jar, which a monkey would frequently steal when the farmer walked away. To stop this, the farmer forced the bananas inside a jar with a much narrower neck. The monkey climbed down, put its hand inside, and grabbed the fruit, but found it could not pull its hand back out while still holding the banana. Because the monkey was so attached to the banana, it refused to let go, and consequently took a severe beating from the farmer.
The moral of the story is that the monkey was not actually trapped by the jar, but rather by its own desire and confusion. To escape the thrashing, all the monkey had to do was let go of the banana. Spiritually, this teaches that you must learn to let go of the things that never truly belonged to you anyway. Anything that belongs to the world, the body, or the mind is not part of who you are; you are simply the witness.
The Story of the Floating “Blanket”
Once, during a heavy monsoon, a terrible flood swept through a village. The river breached its banks, carrying away trees, houses, and all sorts of debris in its raging currents.
A man was standing safely on the riverbank, watching the floodwaters rush by. Suddenly, he spotted a large, dark mass floating down the river. From a distance, it looked exactly like a heavy, expensive black wool blanket.
Thinking he had found something valuable, the man thought, “Winter is coming, and that is a fine, thick blanket. I must have it!”
Ignoring the dangerous currents, he jumped into the swirling river and swam out toward the floating object. However, what he thought was a blanket was actually a large black bear that had been swept away by the floodwaters. The bear was desperately trying to stay afloat.
When the man finally reached the object and grabbed it, the terrified bear instantly threw its heavy arms around the man, clinging to him for dear life. The man, realizing his dreadful mistake, began to struggle, but the bear’s grip was impossible to break.
The man’s friends, watching from the safety of the riverbank, saw him thrashing about in the water. Thinking he was just having trouble swimming with heavy wet wool, they shouted:
“Leave the blanket! Let it go and swim back to the shore!”
Gasping for air and struggling against the bear’s claws, the desperate man shouted back:
“I want to let go of the blanket, but the blanket won’t let go of me!”Sri Ramakrishna’s Message
Sri Ramakrishna used this brilliant metaphor to explain the nature of worldly desires, wealth, and sensory attachments—which he often referred to as Kamini and Kanchana (lust and greed).
- The Illusion: Just like the bear looked like a comforting, valuable blanket from a distance, worldly attachments look highly desirable and comforting to a person who hasn’t yet experienced their trap.
- The Trap: We dive into the “flood” of worldly life to grab hold of these pleasures. But once we lay our hands on them, they grasp us back.
- The Struggle: Eventually, a person might realize that their endless pursuit of wealth, fame, or material pleasure is drowning them, and they may decide to renounce it. But by then, the habits and attachments have grown so strong that they refuse to let go.
The parable perfectly captures the spiritual truth that it is easy to jump into the currents of worldly attachment, but incredibly difficult to untangle yourself once you are in its grip.
Related Articles: