2022 Jagadguruttam Divas
One day, Guru Dronacharya, the teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas, set up a target in the shape of a bird on a tree and invited his students to shoot at it. When they took aim, he asked each of them a question.
First, Duryodhana took up his stance. “What can you see?” asked Dronacharya.
The answer was, “I can see the bird, the leaves, the tree...”
Dronacharya ordered him to put the bow down and go back to his place. Next was Yudhishtra, but the answers were the same. Some others added that they could see the teacher, their cousins and people standing around. The princes began muttering among themselves as one by one, they were all sent back to their place without being allowed to shoot. Even Ashwatthama, Dronacharya’s son, could not understand what his father wanted. Finally, Arjuna was the only one left.
First, Duryodhana took up his stance. “What can you see?” asked Dronacharya.
The answer was, “I can see the bird, the leaves, the tree...”
Dronacharya ordered him to put the bow down and go back to his place. Next was Yudhishtra, but the answers were the same. Some others added that they could see the teacher, their cousins and people standing around. The princes began muttering among themselves as one by one, they were all sent back to their place without being allowed to shoot. Even Ashwatthama, Dronacharya’s son, could not understand what his father wanted. Finally, Arjuna was the only one left.
Story of Arjun and the eye of the bird
Dronacharya asked Arjuna to come up and take his stance. When Arjuna picked up his bow, set the arrow and drew the string, his teacher asked, “What do you see?”
Arjuna replied, “The eye of the bird.”
“Can you see the tree?” asked Dronacharya.
No, only the eye of the bird,” was the answer. Dronacharya then went through a list: tree, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, his brothers, cousins, even the teacher himself.
To everything Arjuna’s answer was the same: “No, I can only see the eye of the bird.”
When Dronacharya gave him the order to shoot, Arjuna released the arrow. It sped straight to the target and pierced the bird's eye. Dronacharya embraced the boy and then told the others, “When you want to achieve something, you must focus on it. Close out all other distractions and concentrate only on your target.”
Arjuna replied, “The eye of the bird.”
“Can you see the tree?” asked Dronacharya.
No, only the eye of the bird,” was the answer. Dronacharya then went through a list: tree, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, his brothers, cousins, even the teacher himself.
To everything Arjuna’s answer was the same: “No, I can only see the eye of the bird.”
When Dronacharya gave him the order to shoot, Arjuna released the arrow. It sped straight to the target and pierced the bird's eye. Dronacharya embraced the boy and then told the others, “When you want to achieve something, you must focus on it. Close out all other distractions and concentrate only on your target.”
Moral:
This is Kaliyuga. There are a lot of philosophies and ideologies floating around and new ones are constantly forming. This is very confusing for ordinary human beings. But if you really want to attain God AND you have already met a genuine saint then shut out all that noise and follow the precepts of the Guru. Only then can you achieve your objective of attaining God.
This is Kaliyuga. There are a lot of philosophies and ideologies floating around and new ones are constantly forming. This is very confusing for ordinary human beings. But if you really want to attain God AND you have already met a genuine saint then shut out all that noise and follow the precepts of the Guru. Only then can you achieve your objective of attaining God.
