Story
The wisdom of a fowler ?
In the ancient times, there lived a brahmin by name, Sanyaman. He was a descendant of sage Atri. One day, while he was going to take his bath he met Nishthoor, a fowler, who used to catch birds and animals for his livings.
Sanyaman reprimanded Nishthoor for his evil deeds and said- “Why do you trap innocent birds and animals?”
Nishthoor replied, “The almighty God is present in each living creature. One who is desirous of attaining salvation must under no circumstances allow his ego to dominate him. The 'doer' is not the man but the supreme Almighty present in him. Keeping this fact in his mind a man should perform his duties with a sense of detachment. If I earn my livelihood by catching birds and animals then it is the will of almighty.”
To prove his point, the fowler spread his iron-net and kept dry blocks of wood underneath it and then requested Sanyaman to ignite those blocks. Sanyaman burnt the wooden-logs as per the fowler's instruction. In a short time all the wooden-blocks became ablaze and the flames start coming out from the thousands of small holes of the iron-net.
The fowler then told to Sanyaman, “ just see, the flames coming from each hole appeared to have distinct sources, yet the fact is that the flames manifested from the single source-wooden blocks that were burning beneath the iron-net”.
The fowler again explained his view point, "It was impossible to extinguish the fire until and unless the source of the fire was extinguished. Each hole of the iron-net can be compared with an individual and the almighty God as the source of fire. A man does what God wills and he can never experience sorrow provided he constantly remembers the Almighty even while he is performing his daily chores."
Sanyaman was very much impressed by the fowler's wisdom.