The Moral Vision
Warding off Danger
~ 231 ~
WARDING OFF DANGER
I once went to spend a few days at a religious
institution situated on the outskirts of Alwar, a city
in Rajasthan. To the one side there extended the
buildings of the city and, to the other, there were
open fields stretching far and wide. During my stay
there, I went out one evening at sunset to have a
walk in the fields. Unfortunately, after I had gone
some distance, I was rushed at by a pack of dogs all
barking and snarling. I had to throw stones at them
to chase them away. On my return, I mentioned to
my host how I had almost been set upon by these
animals. My host, Maulana Mufti Jamaluddin
Qasmi, who presides over the institution, simply
smiled and said, “All right, I’ll come with you
tomorrow.” The following day, we set off together,
the Maulana having armed himself with a stick
which was quite long enough to be visible from
afar. When we reached the spot where I had come
upon the dogs the day before, they were there all
right, but there was not so much as a whimper out
of them, far less a bark. Not one of them made a
move to rush at us. So we passed by undisturbed.
On our way back, they were still there, but, they did
