LIFE IS LIKE A BIRD IN A CAGE
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From the Thoughts of HH Shri Bhola Nathji (1902-1992) a Great Spiritual Luminary of His Time. He was lovingly known as HH Shri Nathji.
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From the Thoughts of HH Shri Bhola Nathji (1902-1992) a Great Spiritual Luminary of His Time. He was lovingly known as HH Shri Nathji.
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The year was 1950 and Shri Nathji had gone out for a walk on the
Camel's Back Road in Mussoorie, in the Himalayas of Northern India, when
he met a renowned philosopher and author, Shri Dewan Chand, who had
great respect for HH Shri Nathji.
Shri Dewan Chand said to Shri Nathji:
"Maharaj! Sire! Sometimes I feel that I am like a bird trapped in a cage!
Even if the cage is made of gold, it is still a cage.
Do you ever feel like that?"
HH Shri Nathji said in his usual polite and humble tone:
"Yes, Shri Dewan Chandji! I too feel like that way sometimes.
But then I am reminded of the Bird in a Cage.
"A Bird had been caught and placed inside a Cage by a hunter, who fed it daily to keep it alive.
"The Bird was in great agony at this captivity, which was against its natural mode of freedom in the garden and the sky.
"And it fluttered its wings in an agony of torment. But the more it fluttered its wings the more it hurt itself.
"And then, suddenly, the Bird received enlightenment from within. The freedom of the garden was it real or unreal? If it was real why did it not stay forever? If it went away like a dream then it must have been unreal.
"The present is the only reality that I know now. And it is this cage. The more I flutter my wings to get out, the more I hurt myself.
And then suddenly upon an impulse it began to sing:
"Jee kafas men lag gayaa apnaa chaman se bhee sivaa
Ham ko ai sayyaad parvaaye rihaayi kyaa rahi!"
"The cage has entranced my heart more than the garden now,
O Hunter, what care I for freedom now!"
"Rather than struggle against unkind circumstances in life, take them to be the Will of God and be happy in their midst.
"That is the only way to be free!!"
Shri Dewan Chand was greatly pleased at this brief sermon of HH Shri Nathji on the road, and went home in a state of great peace and contentment.
Shri Dewan Chand said to Shri Nathji:
"Maharaj! Sire! Sometimes I feel that I am like a bird trapped in a cage!
Even if the cage is made of gold, it is still a cage.
Do you ever feel like that?"
HH Shri Nathji said in his usual polite and humble tone:
"Yes, Shri Dewan Chandji! I too feel like that way sometimes.
But then I am reminded of the Bird in a Cage.
"A Bird had been caught and placed inside a Cage by a hunter, who fed it daily to keep it alive.
"The Bird was in great agony at this captivity, which was against its natural mode of freedom in the garden and the sky.
"And it fluttered its wings in an agony of torment. But the more it fluttered its wings the more it hurt itself.
"And then, suddenly, the Bird received enlightenment from within. The freedom of the garden was it real or unreal? If it was real why did it not stay forever? If it went away like a dream then it must have been unreal.
"The present is the only reality that I know now. And it is this cage. The more I flutter my wings to get out, the more I hurt myself.
And then suddenly upon an impulse it began to sing:
"Jee kafas men lag gayaa apnaa chaman se bhee sivaa
Ham ko ai sayyaad parvaaye rihaayi kyaa rahi!"
"The cage has entranced my heart more than the garden now,
O Hunter, what care I for freedom now!"
"Rather than struggle against unkind circumstances in life, take them to be the Will of God and be happy in their midst.
"That is the only way to be free!!"
Shri Dewan Chand was greatly pleased at this brief sermon of HH Shri Nathji on the road, and went home in a state of great peace and contentment.
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