We have little proverbs and sayings in English like –
Don’t judge a book by its cover, or
He who laughs last, laughs best or
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Any of these could be the moral to this Indian proverb about a camel:
Once upon a time, a potter and a vegetable seller jointly hired a camel to transport their produce to a nearby town. The potter loaded his side of the camel with earthern pots and the vegetable seller with vegetable and greens. As they proceeded on their journey, the camel helped himself with the greens from the vegetable seller’s pack. This made the potter laugh, who thought he had the best bargain and mocked at the vegetable seller’s bad luck. To this the vegetable seller said “We shall see my friend, which side the camel sits”. After sometime, they had to stop and make the camel kneel to rest. He naturally sat on the heavier side that had the potter’s package and also probably because it had an eye on the vegetables. This caused all the pots to smash.
Hence, the saying: Let’s see on which side the Camel sits!
Isn’t it curious and interesting that camels sit in vajrasana; rock or diamond pose. And notice the relaxed face this camel has. That is the attitude with which we will approach camel – with ease and relaxation. Some instructions say to hold camel for up to a minute and unless the pose feels very safe and comfortable, the minute won’t be possible. That’s what we will be exploring in class this week; finding a sustainable camel pose no matter what your body composition and structure.
