The animals are being pushed hard, to their maximum ability, like an athlete. the athlete trains himself to work under great stress all the time. So that is that the way it is with the oxen. They should be prepared to be under stress all the time. Whenever they pull, you are going to want them to pull with their maximum strength, as hard as they can, and as long as they can, without spending excess time resting. In order for them to do this there has to be a very strong relationship between the driver and oxen. The relationship is that of master and servant. The master is firm but kind, he never abuses his servant, but he is very demanding and he expects him to perform nicely.

That relationship has to be established. And it has to be very clear, more so than with a person, because an ox is a dumb brute. This is perhaps the most difficult thing in training oxen - to accept that you are not working with another human being. Although there is also a spirit-soul within the ox, and he is quite conscious, still, he doesn't speak your language. You have to over-emphasize all your commands and instructions or he won't even hear them. You have to get his attention, which requires that you magnify all your emotions about a hundred times more than if you were dealing with another human being.

When a good relationship is established with the oxen, they become very loyal and hard working. They love to work. It's their nature - their dharma - as long as you don't allow them to be on the, lazy mental platform. Their tendency is to be lazy, just like us. It seems that, like us, they have this fall-down tendency. The tendency is to just stand around and eat. But if you take them off that mental platform, by giving them strong, clear commands, they will work very hard, be loyal servants and come to fully depend on your instructions, following them without hesitation. On the other hand, if your instructions are vague and unenthusiastic, they will adopt all kinds of bad habits, all designed to avoid hard work.