Once Dattatreya was sitting in meditation when King Yadu passed by and saw this young person sitting unaffected, happy and calm.
King Yadu approached Dattatreya and humbly asked, “ How do you remain unaffected by troubles, happy and calm? Why do you always seem to be floating in bliss (happiness)? What has made this possible?”
Dattatreya replied, “O King Yadu I have observed the world closely and obtained a little knowledge from a number of gurus (teachers). Listen carefully! I will tell you what I have learnt.”
Datta said, “O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from theSnake.”
“O King, you will observe that a serpent moves about alone. It is never absent- minded but always vigilant or alert.
Although it has a forked tongue, it does not make foolish noise.
People who own houses know from experience that when a house is built, many worries and troubles follow. The body does not last long, why should a house be built for it?
The serpent instead of wasting time building a shelter lives happily in a hole built by white ants.
O King, observing this I learnt that a silent sage (muni) should follow this example.
A person should be ever vigilant of his thoughts, speech and actions.
