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Once a dog ran into a museum- where all the walls, the ceiling, the door and even the floor were made of mirror.

Seeing this the dog froze in surprise in the middle of the hall, a whole pack of dogs surrounded it from all sides, from above and below. 

The dog bared his teeth -and all the reflections responded to it in the same way. Frightened, the dog frantically barked – the reflections imitated the bark and increased it many times. The dog barked even harder and the echo was keeping up. The dog tossed from one side to another, biting the air – his reflections also tossed around snapping their teeth.

Next day in the morning the museum security guards found the miserable dog, lifeless and surrounded by a million reflections of lifeless dogs.

There was nobody, who would make any harm to the dog. The dog died by fighting with his own reflections.

Story from Sikhism 

A man went to Guru Nanak Sahib and asked, “What’s the value of life?”

Gurunanak ji gave him one stone and said, “Find out the value of this  stone, but don’t sell it.”

The man took the stone to an Orange Seller and asked him what its cost would be. The Orange Seller saw the shiny stone and said, “You can take 12 oranges and give me the stone.”

The man apologized and said that the guru has asked him not to sell it.

He went ahead and found a vegetable seller. “What could be the value of this stone?” he asked the vegetable seller. The seller saw the shiny stone and said, “Take one sack of potatoes and give me the stone.” The man again apologized and said he can’t sell it.

Further ahead, he went into a jewelry shop and asked the value of the stone. The jeweler saw the stone under a lens and said, “I’ll give you 50 Lakhs for this stone.” When the man shook his head, the jeweler said, “Alright, alright, take 2 crores, but give me the stone.” The man explained that he can’t sell the stone.

Further ahead, the man saw a precious stone’s shop and asked the seller the value of this stone. When the precious stone’s seller saw the big ruby, he lay down a red cloth and put the ruby on it. Then he walked in circles around the ruby and bent down and touched his head in front of the ruby.  “From where did you bring this priceless ruby from?” he asked. “Even if I sell the whole world, and my life, I won’t be able to purchase this priceless stone.

Stunned and confused, the man returned to the guru and told him what had happened. “Now tell me what is the value of life, guru ji?”

Gurunanak said, “The answers you got from the Orange Seller, the Vegetable Seller, the Jeweler & the Precious Stone’s Seller explain the value of our life… You may be a precious stone, even priceless, but people will value you based on their financial status, their level of information, their belief in you, their motive behind entertaining you, their ambition, and their risk taking ability. But don’t fear, you will surely find someone who will discern your true value.”

Respect yourself.
You are Unique.
No one can Replace you!!

There once was a merchant who had a bird as a pet that he kept in a cage. One day, the merchant said to the bird, “I am going to India on business, the land that you are from. Do you want me to bring anything back for you.”

The bird replied, “Not really, I just want my freedom.”

“No,” the merchant responded.

“OK then,” said the bird, “Can you at least go the jungle in India and tell the free birds over there about me and how I am in a cage.”

So the merchant agreed and complied with the bird’s request when he got to the jungle in India. And as soon as he finished his statement, a wild bird that looked just like his own fell to the ground.

“Oh dear,” the man thought. “This must be a relative of my bird, whose sadness of hearing about my bird’s captivity has caused him to die.”

When the merchant arrived home and the bird asked what happened, the merchant sadly replied, “Unfortunately, when I spoke about you, one of your relatives collapsed immediately upon hearing how you are in a cage.”

When the bird heard this, it too collapsed in its cage.

The merchant thought, “Now the news of his relative’s death has killed my bird!”

Greatly saddened, he picked up the bird and put it near his window. Immediately after he did this, the bird flew out the window and to his freedom.

From a distance, he said to his former owner, “You have been tricked. You thought that misfortune had struck me, but in actuality the opposite has happened. The message of the way I could free myself was sent by my relative through you.”

And with that statement, the bird flew away.

Dasharatha means one who can run ten chariots at a time. Your body is Dasharatha, the ten chariots, which include the five organs of senses and the five organs of action. These take the mind into ten different directions.

The three names of Dashratha’s queens are also very interesting. The first wife is Kaushalya, which means skill. The second wife is Sumitra, which means good friend. There could be many friends, but not all are good friends. Many times, friends drag you in the wrong direction. Sumitra is one who takes you in the right direction. The third wife is Kaikeyi, one who stands by your side, although she appears differently; but deep within, she does benevolence. It is like a doctor who gives you a bitter medicine, or a vaccination. As soon as the children see him, they start yelling and crying, but the vaccination does good to them. Similarly, Kaikeyi who apparently is not pleasant, but inwardly, does that which is good for you.

Dasratha did a yagya called Ashwamedha, after which he got four sons. Shwa means yesterday or tomorrow, Ashwa means today – not yesterday, nor tomorrow. It means it is eternal and the present moment. Medha means purification. Medha also means intellect. Ashwamedha means purifying the intellect by being in the present moment, purifying the spirit, the senses, the body-mind complex; going deep in the spirit.

When Dasharatha did the Ashwamedha yagya, Rama was born. This is the spiritual significance of Sri Rama’s birth. The words – ‘rays’, ‘radiance’, all these come from the Sanskrit root Ra, which means to shine, radiance, brilliance and light. Ma means within me, in my heart. ‘Rama’ means ‘the light in my heart’. When the mind in this body, with some skill gets into the present moment, it purifies the mind and the heart, and then Rama, the light in our heart, shines.

Four things come out of you when Ashwamedha is done. When your senses are purified, then what comes up is the Divine light in your heart (Rama), and awareness (Lakshmana). Then, you have no enemies (Shatrugnan), and all the talents (Bharat) come to you.

Retold by Aditi Wardhan Singh. Illustrated by Shruti Prabhu.