THE ELEPHANT'S BONDAGE

As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.

"Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free."

My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.

REFLECTION

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something or change something, simply because we failed at it once before or have a pre-conception or mis-conception about something?

We become so attached and entangled to the same views, thoughts, misconceptions and go round and round in this vicious cycle that we suffer due to bondage, caught in the web of maya or illusion.

So we should all make an attempt to grow further and be free and liberated from such unneccesary bondages in life, which are nothing but just like the unnesseccary heavy luggages we carry while travelling which makes our journey of life only even more difficult and hard to cross.

Be bold and have courage to make an attempt to free yourself consciously from such bondages in life, you may once or twice fail in your attempts, but NEVER fail to make an attempt!!

"Bondage is of the mind; freedom too is of the mind. If you say 'I am a free soul. I am a son of God who can bind me?...' free you shall be". - Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa.

"The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free." - Swami Vivekananda.

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

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