There is a story of Alexander the Great, which illustrates the glory of Indian culture.
It seems Alexander used to go incognito to the villages around his camp in India, in order to learn the habits and manners of the strange new land into which fate had brought him. One day, he found a man pleading with another to accept a pot of gold, which the other was refusing even to look at! He came to know that the pot of gold was discovered under the soil of the field purchased by the man from the man who refused to accept it. The buyer argued that he had bought only the land and was therefore not entitled to own the pot of gold; the seller said he had no right to any thing found on or in the plot that he had sold.
Alexander watched this contest for some time; both did not yield. At last, the village elders were called in to decide the issue. And, even as Alexander watched, the elders found a happy way out; the buyer's son shall marry the seller's daughter, and the pot of gold shall be given to the bride as dowry!
Alexander felt elated at the heights to which human virtue could rise; he was also ashamed at his own adventurous ambition to conquer another's property by force of arms. The ideals underlying the ancient culture of India have to be studied and practised by every Indian at least, so that the world might have the benefit of the great example this can provide.
(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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