A PROVERB

There is a Japanese proverb that translates into English as:

“Chase one rabbit, and you will get it.”

If you try to catch two rabbits at the same time, what will happen? One rabbit will run east and the other will run west. You might run east to catch one and then west to catch the other. The result is that both rabbits will run far away, and you won’t be able to catch either. In contrast, if you chase just one rabbit, all your energy will be focused on that one, making it easier to catch.

This issue isn’t just about the “rabbit”; it applies to everything. In life, it’s common for a person to see many things that seem desirable. They start wanting each one. But in trying to get many things, they often end up losing even the one they could have had. If they focused all their attention on just one, they would almost certainly succeed in getting it.

An example of this is the Kashmir issue. The partition of India and Pakistan was based on population demographics. According to this, Kashmir should have been part of Pakistan, since the majority of its population was Muslim. However, why did Kashmir not become part of Pakistan? The primary responsibility for this rests with Pakistani leaders. In 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided, Pakistani leaders aimed to seize both Hyderabad and Kashmir—Hyderabad because its ruler was Muslim, and Kashmir because most of its population was Muslim.

They wanted to apply the logic of the ruler being Muslim in Hyderabad’s case and the logic of the majority Muslim population in Kashmir. This was like chasing two rabbits at once, and for those who try to chase two rabbits simultaneously, it’s doomed that they won’t catch even one.