The wind was furious.
The trees were bearing the brunt. They swayed left and right , up and down, trying their best to hold on. A sparrow’s nest on a tree could not help falling and crashing down , in Sonu’s courtyard. Sonu saw it. There was one egg in it. “There must be a little one inside”, thought Sonu. “Let me help it come out”.
So he brought the nest home, carefully, and placed it a safe niche.
Next morning he was pleasantly surprised. A crack had appeared in the egg shell and a tiny bird was struggling to come out of it. The bird’s body was yet to be formed fully. No wings and an extremely tender skin. Sonu watched keenly. The tiny creature was putting all force at its command to pull itself out of the shell, but to no avail. It would exert, fail, get exhausted, lay back, and start trying again. This cycle was repeated a few times. The compassionate heart of Sonu wanted to help the bird. “Poor creature”, he thought, “ I should assist it to come out.”
He took a thin twig and widened the crack in the shell, a bit. “That will solve its problem”. He was anxiously waiting for the bird to come out. But he was surprised. The bird, instead of jumping out, as he had expected, retracted further into the shell”.
“Perhaps the crack is still not wide enough”, he said to himself. “ I will have to break the shell completely”. And that was what he did. With one gentle but hard tap, he broke open the whole shell.
He was again in for a surprise greater than the previous one. The bird did not move at all. It lay there. Motionless, effortless and still. All activity had ceased. All struggle had ceased. Now that no shell remained, what should it try to come out of ?
“The bird is sure going to die”, he lamented. “What I thought was help, actually became the reason for its death.” Sonu’s heart was heavy. “Had I not interfered, and allowed the bird to come out, naturally, it would have generated the necessary vitality in itself.”
Sonu became much wiser, suddenly. The whole episode had taught him the essence of life.
Every being will have to develop its power, intellect, mind and experience, wherever and under whatever circumstances it is living. Unnatural aids like slyness or inappropriate and immoral support will only make it retract into the very shell it is supposed to break free from.
Bigger the problem, greater the chance to develop. Stronger the cage, greater is the opportunity to achieve and lesser is the fear of failure. It is easier to fight a battle from the confines of a fort; much greater valor is required to battle under the open sky.
First let us muster the power, within our limitations. To deceive your way out of limitations through slyness, and other shortcuts, will only handicap you. The limitations, if treated and followed with due reverence, will be transformed into regulations which will serve as effective shields protecting you from treacherous foes like Kama, Krodha and the like.
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