Olden Story, Golden Moral

This post is also available in: Hindi Polish

Once upon a time in a village, there was a man who used to break stones for a living. He used to go to the hills at the outskirts of the village for chipping away at stones. Once, while at work, a thought occurred to him – ‘I work hard all day to break these stones and people use them to build their mansions. How I wish that I had a mansion too!’ Immediately there was a prophecy from the skies. ‘All your wishes will be fulfilled.’ Indeed the man was graced with a beautiful mansion. He spent a few days in joy.

One day, a King’s convoy was passing by his mansion. Seeing the Ming seated in lavish comfort on an elephant, he thought ‘Wow! It must be so wonderful to be a King and go around in such luxury. I wish I were a King…’ This wish was immediately granted too.

Having become a King, he began roaming around in his cavalcade. After spending a few days enjoying this luxury, he began to feel hot inside his carriage. It was summer and he was perspiring in the severe heat. A thought struck him ‘The sun seems to be stronger than the Sun. If only, I could be the Sun…!’

He did become the sun, but his happiness lasted only till the end of summer. With the onset of the rainy season, the sky was overcast. The clouds veiled the sun. He felt, ‘The clouds seem to be more powerful than the sun; I wish I were a cloud.’ Presto! He became a cloud. He was thrilled to wander as a cloud in the sky. As you might expect, strong winds began to shove the clouds from one end to the other. While being jostled thus, he thought ‘The wind is stronger than the clouds. I would love to be the wind…’ No sooner did this thought arise, that he became the wind.

Delighted to be the wind, he was blowing all over. He uprooted many trees in glee. But he realized that he could not budge the hill. The hill blocked his movement. This meant that the hill prevailed over the wind. He thought, ‘It would be better to be a hill….’

With this thought, he became a hill. After a few days, there came a man who started striking the hill for stones. ‘The person striking the stone appears to be dominant over the hill. I wish I could be that person’. And lo and behold, he became a stone breaker again.

Thus, this man went through the whole journey from being a stone breaker till he returned to the life of a stone breaker with awareness. Having been through all these experiences, he no longer desired to change his job or situation. He continued stone breaking for the rest of his life. However, having been through the entire journey with awareness, he now remained always happy.

Many will say the moral of the story is just that one should be aware. Or it will be said it is contentment – being happy where you are. It is a little more deeper. The purpose of the story is to show how the mind works. The mind keeps jumping from one thing to another and is rarely happy. The best way to be established in a permanent state of happiness is to return to your original state. Know who you are – be established in the consciousness of the Self. There is nowhere to go. With the understanding of what the Final Truth is – everything is here and now!