Superiority

A black ant once strayed into a white ant’s territory. As it admired the amazing ant-hill, the white ant addressed the black ant thus: “O! black ant, behold our marvellous termite-city that even sun-light cannot pierce!”

The black ant shuddered at this and from its limited knowledge gathered courage and spoke: “Sir, I too have been admiring this but is it not built by destroying useful wood?”

The white ant got furious: “You dare call this advanced technology of ours a work of destruction! And wood, who cares about wood? Is it not a dead matter to be used for our advantage by superior life forms like us?”

The black ant agreed at the technological marvel but still tried to hold on to its point, “But sir what’s wrong with mud-houses like ours. We feel quite contented in it. There is enough sun and air, it is non-expensive and nothing is destroyed for our comfort”. The white ant grew impatient: “Content, you imposter. You call your incompetence a contentment. As to sun and air, we need it not for we have devised means to live without it. Even if the sun were to grow cold and the winds turn still, we still continue to thrive and survive.” So saying, it looked over its shoulder with an air of superiority.

The black ant pleaded a last time: “But sir, no other life-form welcomes you. The trees dread you, the human beings see in your coming a sign of misery and poverty”. The white ant grew furious and impatient at the black ant’s impertinence. “You black scum. You inferior one, no wonder the supreme Ant gave you a shadowy black colour of the night. And to us superior ones, it gave the white color of the sun. The humans and the tree are our arch-enemies and jealous of our science and our might. Therefore are they afraid of us”. So saying, the white shooed away the black ant from its holy termite city.

But as the black ant left that place full of technological marvel in horror and fear, human feet crushed the termite-city. To its dismay the black ant saw that what stood once as a proud termite world was reduced to dust in a moment. The black ant turned away from the dreadful sight and exclaimed to itself: “Of what use is such superiority that is gained at the cost of others and perishes without leaving a trace and whose end brings happiness to many hearts.” So saying, it scrambled quietly into its mud-hill.
– Courtesy, Sri Aurobindo Action.