The story of Ashtavakra is from the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. It is the story of a young boy who was born deformed but whose intellect and wisdom surpassed many learned…
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Truth at any cost
The Chhandogya Upanishad has a beautiful story.Let us begin with it. Satyakam asked his mother, Jabala, “Mother, I want to live the life of a student of supreme knowledge. What is my…
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Adi Shankaracharya: Philosopher-poet-saint-scholar-teacher
One day, while walking through the streets of Varanasi (Benares), Adi Shankaracharya, India’s celebrated Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher of the 8th century, encountered a chandala (an untouchable) carrying a load of…
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The story of Dhruva
Dhruva is a devotee of Vishnu, a Hindu god, in the Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana. Dhruva’s story is often told to Hindu children as an example of perseverance, devotion, and fearlessness. Manu, the…
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The meditating mind
There is a story. A powerful asura (demon) was doing severe penances to please Lord Siva. The vibrations of his austerities reached Heaven and Lord Indra was disturbed. He feared that when…
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Devotion to duty is the true virtue
This story from the Mahabharata highlights that our spiritual achievements are useless if we neglect our duties, or dharma: Kaushika was his parents’ only son. “Mother,” he said one day, ”I want…
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The story of Uddalaka Aruni
This is a story from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Ayoda Dhaumya was a famous teacher who lived before the Buddha, at least 3000 years ago. Princes and paupers came to him to…
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Walking on water
Once a man came to Ramakrishna. He was a great yogi. And he declared the same thing to Ramakrishna. He said, “Can you walk on the water? I can.” And Ramakrishna laughed…
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Unanswered prayer
In ancient India much store was set by the Vedic rites, which were said to be so scientific in their application that when the sages prayed for rain there was never any…
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Bhamati
I shall tell you of a wonderful incident in the life of Vachaspati Misra. His father urged him to marry. Vachaspati understood nothing of marriage. He however, bowed to his father’s wishes,…