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 the Fish.”

“Oh King Yadu, know that of all the sense organs, the tongue is like an invisible thief. Munis (monks) observe severe penance, take vows of silence, remain without food and gain control over all the senses yet they cannot control the tongue.

The tongue appears to be easy to control but therein lies its deception. Until the tongue is controlled, conquest of the other sense organs is not complete. One can be ruined by an uncontrolled tongue.

Look at the fish, it has no weakness except for its tongue. The fish fall prey to the bait on the fishermen’s hook. The fish’s uncontrolled tongue is the cause of its death.

Thus observing the fish, I have grasped the importance of controlling and conquering the tongue.”

Lessons learned from the FISH further illustrated