Alexander the Great conquered the
frontier land of India. The man who was fighting him was a man of
immense insight and immense power – but not physical power. Alexander
had a bigger army, more developed techniques of destruction.
Poras – that was the name of the man who ruled on the boundary of India – was really a brave man. His very name ”Poras” means a real man, an authentic man. And Alexander, for the first time, was afraid; although he had more armies, he did not have that spiritual quality that Poras had,that meditativeness, that presence.
Alexander had heard many stories about Poras: nobody has ever been able to conquer his land although bigger armies have attacked it. The man has something in him, so that his very presence makes his army ten times bigger. His people feel that their victory is certain because Poras is leading them, and Poras knows no defeat.
Alexander was, for the first time, trembling inside, and for the first time he behaved as a politician – ugly. Up to that point he had simply been a great warrior, but hearing about Poras, he thought, ”He is a far greater warrior, not only physically but spiritually; and just an army won’t do.” So Alexander played a cunning strategy.
In India, in the month of Shravan in the rainy season, there is a day, the day of brothers and sisters. The sister binds a thread to the brother’s wrist. It is called rakshabandhan, a contract that ”You will protect me.” The brother promises her that even if he has to lose his life he will protect her.
And Alexander sent his wife on that day to the palace of Poras. Of course she was received with great honor. Everybody was surprised that she had come, because on the other side of the Sindhu River Alexander was waiting for the right time to attack. And his wife came alone. She said, ”I want to see Poras.”
Poras had no sister. She went to Poras and she said, ”You don’t have any sister; I don’t have any brother. I want to become your sister.” And she had brought the traditional thread. She put the thread on the wrist of Poras, and Poras touched the feet of the woman and said, ”You need not be afraid of anything. As long as I am alive I will protect you. If you want to ask for anything that I can give to you, I will be honored.” And she said, ”In the war that is going to happen please don’t kill my husband; he is your brother-in-law. You will be destroying my lover. Remember this thread. You have promised to protect me.”
Poras could see the strategy, but he was a man of his word. He said, ”Don’t be worried.” And she was sent with security so that she could reach her camp on the other side.
And this was the reason that Poras was defeated. History books written by Westerners simply don’t mention the fact; it was not a victory for Alexander, it was a victory for Poras.
There came a time when Poras attacked Alexander, and Alexander fell from his horse. Poras was on his elephant – Indian armies fought on elephants – and he was just going to kill Alexander when he saw the thread on his own wrist. The spear that was going to kill turned back in a second, and Poras said to Alexander, ”I cannot kill you. I have promised your wife that I will not harm anything that harms her, that I will protect her.”
This was the reason that Poras lost the war. But Alexander still could not understand, because he could not understand the way of the East, that Eastern people have been thinking in totally different terms. It was really a spiritual victory, a great victory for Poras.
Poras was brought in chains, handcuffed, into the court of Alexander, but he came there like a lion – of course encaged.
And this is the sentence that I want you to understand. Alexander said to him... Remember that this man Poras is certainly rare: his spear had reached just near Alexander’s heart; one second more and he would have been dead, and he pulled it back because of a promise given to an unknown woman.
Alexander asked Poras, ”How do you want to be treated?”
Poras laughed, and he said, ”I should be treated as an emperor is treated by another emperor.”
There was silence in the hall. In Alexander’s court they had never heard such a thing – that a king who has been enslaved should laugh and say, ”There is no question. You should have learned manners. An emperor should be treated as an emperor.”
For a moment Alexander was indecisive, but then his better self came over him. He remembered, because seeing on the wrist of Poras the same thread... It was still there; it is not removed until it falls off by itself.
He told the people, ”Make him free. Give his kingdom back to him. And we cannot go deeper into India. It is dangerous. If on the frontier this episode happened, what will happen in the interior parts we don’t know. We are going back. It is enough that we have conquered.”
Poras – that was the name of the man who ruled on the boundary of India – was really a brave man. His very name ”Poras” means a real man, an authentic man. And Alexander, for the first time, was afraid; although he had more armies, he did not have that spiritual quality that Poras had,that meditativeness, that presence.
Alexander had heard many stories about Poras: nobody has ever been able to conquer his land although bigger armies have attacked it. The man has something in him, so that his very presence makes his army ten times bigger. His people feel that their victory is certain because Poras is leading them, and Poras knows no defeat.
Alexander was, for the first time, trembling inside, and for the first time he behaved as a politician – ugly. Up to that point he had simply been a great warrior, but hearing about Poras, he thought, ”He is a far greater warrior, not only physically but spiritually; and just an army won’t do.” So Alexander played a cunning strategy.
In India, in the month of Shravan in the rainy season, there is a day, the day of brothers and sisters. The sister binds a thread to the brother’s wrist. It is called rakshabandhan, a contract that ”You will protect me.” The brother promises her that even if he has to lose his life he will protect her.
And Alexander sent his wife on that day to the palace of Poras. Of course she was received with great honor. Everybody was surprised that she had come, because on the other side of the Sindhu River Alexander was waiting for the right time to attack. And his wife came alone. She said, ”I want to see Poras.”
Poras had no sister. She went to Poras and she said, ”You don’t have any sister; I don’t have any brother. I want to become your sister.” And she had brought the traditional thread. She put the thread on the wrist of Poras, and Poras touched the feet of the woman and said, ”You need not be afraid of anything. As long as I am alive I will protect you. If you want to ask for anything that I can give to you, I will be honored.” And she said, ”In the war that is going to happen please don’t kill my husband; he is your brother-in-law. You will be destroying my lover. Remember this thread. You have promised to protect me.”
Poras could see the strategy, but he was a man of his word. He said, ”Don’t be worried.” And she was sent with security so that she could reach her camp on the other side.
And this was the reason that Poras was defeated. History books written by Westerners simply don’t mention the fact; it was not a victory for Alexander, it was a victory for Poras.
There came a time when Poras attacked Alexander, and Alexander fell from his horse. Poras was on his elephant – Indian armies fought on elephants – and he was just going to kill Alexander when he saw the thread on his own wrist. The spear that was going to kill turned back in a second, and Poras said to Alexander, ”I cannot kill you. I have promised your wife that I will not harm anything that harms her, that I will protect her.”
This was the reason that Poras lost the war. But Alexander still could not understand, because he could not understand the way of the East, that Eastern people have been thinking in totally different terms. It was really a spiritual victory, a great victory for Poras.
Poras was brought in chains, handcuffed, into the court of Alexander, but he came there like a lion – of course encaged.
And this is the sentence that I want you to understand. Alexander said to him... Remember that this man Poras is certainly rare: his spear had reached just near Alexander’s heart; one second more and he would have been dead, and he pulled it back because of a promise given to an unknown woman.
Alexander asked Poras, ”How do you want to be treated?”
Poras laughed, and he said, ”I should be treated as an emperor is treated by another emperor.”
There was silence in the hall. In Alexander’s court they had never heard such a thing – that a king who has been enslaved should laugh and say, ”There is no question. You should have learned manners. An emperor should be treated as an emperor.”
For a moment Alexander was indecisive, but then his better self came over him. He remembered, because seeing on the wrist of Poras the same thread... It was still there; it is not removed until it falls off by itself.
He told the people, ”Make him free. Give his kingdom back to him. And we cannot go deeper into India. It is dangerous. If on the frontier this episode happened, what will happen in the interior parts we don’t know. We are going back. It is enough that we have conquered.”
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