Once a sage was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and sage told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”
The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to my master to drink!”
So he came back and told his master, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again master asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.
This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed the master about the same. After sometime, again master asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to his master.
Master looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,” See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water.
Learning
